Twilight Sparkle was asleep in her castle when Shining Armor burst into her room along with the six of her friends.
"Twily! Princess Celestia has gone missing!” Shining shook his young sister awake. The purple pony warily opened her eyes and looked over to her see her brother shaking her vigorously. “Twilight!”
“It's the middle of the night!” She thundered. Her grogginess hovered over her like a rain cloud. It didn't leave her. It didn't even want to leave her.
“Twilight, it's seven o’clock in the morning!” Her brother was starting to get worried. “C’mon, Twily, Celestia has gone missing!”
“Wait, what?” The cloud of grogginess disappeared. “What do you mean?” She shot out bed and began searched for something within her massive chamber. “Is she really gone?”
"Yes-”
“How long have you been searching for her?”
“About five hours ago, but-”
“Well, we should look for her!” Twilight ran past her friends and outside of her castle to see eternal night. She slowed down and looked upwards. She was thrown aback a bit by the sight of the sky. It reminded her of Nightmare Moon. Her eyebrows furrowed and she hastened her pace. Twilight was determined to find Celestia. Her friends caught up with her.
“Twilight, wait! I don't want you to get hurt!” Shining ran for his beloved sister. “There have been more disappearances than Celestia’s. This is no ordinary evanescence.”
“Exactly why we need to work together and find them!” She turned to look at her brother. Her voice was quite phlegmy and tired. “Who else has vanished?”
“Scootaloo, Applebloom, Spike,”
“Spike?” Twilight’s mouth went agape.
“Sadly, yes. But we can't let that get in our way of finding them. Most of Apple Jack’s family has gone missing. A few of the Wonderbolt’s are gone along with half of the Canterlot guard.”
“Wait, what?” Rainbow Dash flung herself in front of Twilight’s brother. “ The Wonderbolts are gone, too?”
“I hate to say it,” Shining began, “but yes. We need to search for them. Some of the Canterlot guard suspect that whoever is doing this comes from beyond Equestria.
“Wait, you mean-” Rarity was interrupted.
“Yes. We have to search there.” Shining Armor closed his eyes in pity for his sister’s friends.
“But we haven't gone out that far, how are we to know it is safe?” Twilight asked her protective brother.
“We don't.” Princess landed near the group. “Which is why I'm coming with you. Cadence, will you take on my duties as princess of the moon?”
“Of course, Luna. But why must you come?” Cadence questioned.
“Because whoever took my sister is going to feel my wrath.” She snarled, but then stopped to realize what she was doing. “Will you be alright if I join, Princess Twilight?”
"Of course, Princess Luna, but how did you know we were talking about leaving Equestria?”
“Because I actually came down to speak with you about the horrid news, but I see Prince Shining Armor has beat you to it.” The princess of the moon sighed. “I just hope my sister is alright.”
Meanwhile in a large throne room, sat Queen Emerald. An emerald crown sat upon her head, and her dragon rested around her neck. She walked down many stone stairs. The mare was heading towards a chained up Princess Celestia. A grin spread across her face. Eventually, she reached the Princess’ cell.
“Princess Celestia, I presume?” Emerald smiled at the ruler of the sun.
“Who are you?” Celestia shouted.
“Why, excuse my lack of manners. I'm Emerald. Queen Emerald,” her smile left her face.
“Why are you doing this to my people?”
“I'm doing this because my kingdom has been at war with the griffons for a painfully long amount of time. My army is growing small and weak. We need more soldiers. Which is why you and I can work together to turn everyone in Equestria into soldiers,” the Queen smiled as she turned around and walked up the stairs. “It's your choice on how they’re treated, Princess!” Emerald reminded Celestia. “Though, it depends on if you want to help me or not.”
“I'd never help you, you corrupt annelid,” Celestia spat.
“Oh, you’ll come around.” She chuckled, and left the prison.
“My Queen,” a soldier ran up to Emerald. “Shapeshifters are advancing in our direction. I've been told they have a letter from GriffonStone,” he said urgently, eager to get a response.
“Take their letter, but make sure they don't do anything stupid.”
“Of course,” the stallion nodded and turned to face the exit to the throne room. The Queen smiled as she watched the pony leave. The sound of his gallops echoed throughout the hall. Her dragon yawned and lifted its head only to reposition its sleeping position. Emerald looked at her dragon and smiled, nuzzling it. It was small for an adult.
“It's alright, Ferocity,” the Queen looked at her throne. “Soon, we will be able to defeat the griffons who cold heartedly killed my grandparents within that war. They will regret ever messing with our kingdom. I don't want any more of my people getting hurt by those wicked creatures,” Emerald said as she hopped up onto her throne. “The lives within my city are too valuable to be killed by a worthless griffon. We need all of the equestrians we can get to fight for us.”
Twilight and her friends were getting ready to leave. Each of them gathering things they might need on their journey.
“Twilight, how many outfits might we need for this trip? Surely the ponies outside of Equestria wouldn't hurt us if we had a good sense of fashion,” Rarity said as she folded an array of outfits and set them into her saddlebags.
“C’mon, sugarcube, we need clothes we need, not clothes we want!” AJ snorted in disgust at Rarity’s many unnecessary pairs of clothes. “At least take something warm and something that'll protect you from any major heat. You will also need lots of, water-”
“Girls!” Twilight corrected them.
“Sorry,” they apologized in unison.
“Thank Celestia, I can do one day without tons of redundant squabbling,” Twilight two more things into her bag before turning to face her companions. “Is everyone ready?”
“Ready to party!” Pinkie Pie jumped gleefully outside of the castle. Everyone else followed her steps in a gallop. Agreeing with the pink pony. Except for one.
“I don't know, it seems pretty scary. How about I stay behind to help out Cadence?” Fluttershy pleaded.
“Aw, come on Fluttershy!” Rainbow complained. “It's not that bad, it's just outside of Equestria. We’re not going to die out there,”
“We m-might,” Fluttershy replied timidly. This caused Rainbow to facehoof in frustration.
"Fluttershy-”
“Rainbow, stop. Fluttershy can help out Cadence if she wants to. It's not up to you,” Apple Jack said firmly as she stared angrily at Rainbow Dash.
“Ugh, fine,” Rainbow began, “can we leave yet?” Twilight smiled at Fluttershy.
“Will you be okay?”
“Of course,” the shy pony replied with a smile.
“Let's go!” Twilight ran west, her friends following close behind as they let out excited laughter. Luna and Rainbow Dash flew over the group, determined to find their lost princess.
Polar Wind hid under a rock. He shook in fear and sadness. He saw things that nobody should ever see. He remembered what he saw and it was brutal. His guard was torn in half directly in front of him, he could hear the awful sound of the poor stallion's bones cracking under the pressure. The scream started as a shriek, then became a garbled hodge-podge of incoherent sounds as his vocal cords were split in half. They had barely crossed the border of Equestria before they were ambushed by pegasi that were almost as fast and agile as the Wonderbolts.
Polar stood up weakly and looked around. He had many wounds and possible a fractured rib. he looked down at his left front leg only to see that it had a very ugly wound that looked more like a shark bite than anything else. He fell back onto his haunches and let a tear roll off of his cheek. He couldn't feel his leg. Polar then widened his eyes as he felt something fleshy under him. The stallion looked down to see a dead body laying under him. The instant he noticed, the smell of death entered his nostrils and he shot up off of the ground and out into the open.
"What have I done?" Polar Wind asked himself, looking around at the silent area. His gray fur was covered in dried blood and the plume of his helmet was torn to the point where it looked more like a dead animal. Where will I go? the stallion thought to himself. He looked in the direction of Equestria. The scenery was a lot more different from Equestria's. Rolls of hills piled over each other with scattered rocks. Mountains ruled in the distance. A river was close by, and it had many rocks in it that created a violent current. Not many trees to be seen other than the pine trees that surrounded the river.
Polar Wind eventually looked back at what used to be an army, and then in the direction of Equestria. He limped forwards, hoping he wouldn't die before even being able to warn the rest of the Royal Guard.
"Fluttershy, are you sure you want to help me?" Cadence asked the timid pegasus as they flew into Canterlot.
"I'm positive," she responded quietly. "I don't want any animals to go missing."
"alright," Cadence flew over to the castle doors and opened them. She walked in and sighed. The doors flew open behind the two ponies. Cadence looked over to see what all of the commotions could be, and saw the captain of the earth pony guard.
"Princess! We've been ambushed!"
Author's Note
Sorry if there's anything wrong with my writing! I have ADD so I skip a lot of things often.
"Twilight, you brought a map, correct?" Luna asked the princess of friendship.
"Yes. Why do you ask, Princess Luna?" Twilight tilted her head at Luna.
"Well, I was wondering in case we get lost."
"Guys, are we taking the train or not?" Rainbow Dash complained. She was bugging the group about taking the train for a while, and it was starting to annoy Rarity.
"I want to take the train too, but I doubt that will get us any closer to where we need to be. Why take the train when you can run straight to your destination?" Rarity responded as she galloped with the rest of the group.
"Rarity, are you alright?" Apple Jack asked the unicorn. She didn't exactly favor roughing it, but clearly, she didn't mind right now.
"Yes, Apple Jack, I am perfectly fine!" Rarity said. She knew her words were harsh, though it was the only way she’d be able to close the mouths of her friends. As she stated, she did feel fine. She felt fine physically. But mentally, she was disgusted having to run through the middle of muck. She felt the dirt in her fur, which sent chills down her spine like nails on a chalkboard. The white mare also was very concerned for the Princess.
“Well, it doesn't look like it to me,” the orange earth pony replied. She was sure that Rarity was going through something serious in her head. Rarity rested her eyes on Apple Jack. She could see the fear in her friend’s expression. “I'm sure the princess is alright,” she began, “she is an alicorn, after all.” The earth pony smiled at Rarity to comfort her. She smiled back.
“Are you done being cheesy yet?” Rainbow interrupted, her voice unusually harsh. “Because there’s somepony you’re missing right now.” She pointed to a tail sticking out of a bush. It was purple and pink and looked very familiar. Rarity gasped.
“Sweetie Belle!” The mare galloped past the group, and pulled her little sister out of the bush with her magic. “What are you doing out here? You could’ve been caught!” The unicorn let her sister fall into her arms. She pulled Sweetie Belle into a hug, refusing to let go.
“I was looking for Scootaloo and Applebloom!” The young unicorn replied in her squeaky voice. She struggled to save herself from the hug Rarity was giving her.
“When did you last see them?” Apple Jack inquired as she watched Pinkie Pie look under every rock she could find. The mare rolled her eyes at the pink pony.
“Yesterday,” Sweetie began, “it was really late when they went to use the bathroom. I heard somepony yelling and then it got really quiet. I ran out as soon as I could to look for them, but…” She trailed off, wanting to cry.
“But what, darling?” Asked Rarity. She felt tears creep up on her as well. She knew her sister just loved to be with her friends. The filly suddenly began to cry. Rarity and Apple Jack were taken aback a bit by the sudden emotions. Rarity simply pet her sister’s back comfortingly. Sweetie rested her head on her older sister’s shoulder, and sobbed.
“I'm so sorry, sugarcube, I wish could do something to make this awful pain of yours disappear,” Apple Jack said, sadness filling her eyes as she watched the poor filly weep. Luna made her appearance and walked up to Twilight.
“We should send her to be with Cadence and Fluttershy,” the princess firmly suggested, “I'm willing to fly her there if necessary,” she looked up to Rainbow Dash. “Unless you want to take her there, since you’re much faster than me.”
“No, no. I gotta stay here and protect my friends if any evil creature shows its face!” She got into a boxing stance and punched the air with her hooves to demonstrate her skill.
“I guess that means I'll have to fly her,” Princess Luna gave Sweetie Belle a reassuring happy expression as she walked in front of the filly. “Sweetie Belle, I know you’re sad. I'm going to take you to Canterlot to be with Fluttershy and Princess Cadence,” the mare said. She wasn't sure how to deal with woebegone ponies, let alone fillies. She only got reformed a few years ago, and she still had yet to deal with something like this. But alas, here the situation was. Her heart felt an unbearable sadness as if it were shedding tears of its own like the pitiful filly in front of her.
“Just,” Rarity had started to cry with the filly. “Just give me a few moments. I can't stand to see her cry,” she let a few tears slide down her face before finally handing Sweetie Belle to Luna. “Please, keep her safe.”
“I will. Don't worry, Rarity,” Luna set the pony on her back. She looked at her before unfolding her wings and jumping into flight. Luna felt glum as the filly let out silent cries for her friends. She sighed and looked up at Canterlot. The beautiful lights lit up the sky above it, and she could already see how busy it was by just looking at it. She wondered what Cadence could be up to, and what Fluttershy was doing. The princess of the night hastened her pace.
Cadence and Fluttershy were reading in the library when something suddenly came up. Fluttershy timidly walked up to her with an ancient looking scroll.
“What's this, Fluttershy?” Cadence questioned, taking the scroll with her magic. The age of the script showed as she unrolled the scroll.
I am sad to announce that the inhabitants of the undiscovered west refuse to become allies with us, and want to run their own kingdom. Queen Emerald said herself that she would be able to rule the throne on her own. Due to the violence of this alicorn, we've decided to hide something from her and everyone else on the planet. An artifact located far out in the mountains of the golden kingdoms.
This artifact has a magical spell hidden in its writing that tells you the spell of oblivion. This spell was made specifically for any ponies within the golden kingdoms that intends to cause harm to Equestrians. Mainly for Emerald herself, this spell will change the mind of anypony you wish. Please, Celestia, keep this item out of the hooves of any wrong-doers.
Your beloved assistant,
Polar Wind.
“Y-you don't think that the emerald that they found in Celestia’s room was… Her’s, do you?” Fluttershy asked nervously. The name of this pony, as well as the description, didn't make her feel comfortable in the slightest.
“Well, there's only one way to find out,” Cadence sighed. “We need Twilight Sparkle and her friends to go find this artifact if we want to help save the remaining ponies, and possibly the ones who've gone missing.”
“W-what if they get hurt?” the yellow Pegasus questioned the Princess.
“The captain of the royal Guard is with them. I doubt they'll get in too much trouble,” Cadence chuckled. “Now, we must send Twilight a letter about this,” the princess pulled out a scroll and a quill and began to write, when an echoing thud announcing Luna’s presence interrupted her writing, bringing the attention of both her and Fluttershy towards Luna.
“Cadence, we found her in a bush. Can you keep her safe?” Luna asked, taking Sweetie Belle in her magic and putting her on Cadence’s back.
“Princess Luna?” The pink alicorn looked at the princess of the moon in confusion. “What are you doing here? I thought you were with Twilight.”
“I'm here because of that filly,” Luna gestured to Sweetie Belle, who had fallen asleep.
“Luna, you know as well as I that I have my own foal to care for,” Cadence responded assertively as she pointed to her baby.
“So are you suggesting that I am supposed to take care of her?”
“Yes! I have more than enough to worry about right now,” Cadence replied. It was unlike herself to act so… unusually bitter. Luna felt concern creep up on her, and it wasn't good.
“I'll leave her here and I'll head back to my friends,” Luna said as she backed out of Cadence’s castle. She was sure something was happening to her. Luna was pondering on that thought until Cadence approached her.
“You wouldn't mind taking this to Twilight Sparkle, would you?” The mare questioned, pushing forth a letter that was engulfed in her magic.
“Not at all,” Luna replied, and looked at Fluttershy. “Wait,” she quickly picked up Sweetie Belle and gave her to Fluttershy, who was a bit surprised when she received the foal. “Will you take care of her?”
“Of course, your majesty,” Fluttershy opened her arms and hugged the sleeping filly. She wasn't sure how to put it, but something did feel off about the way she was sleeping.
Luna nervously placed the scroll within her saddle bag. She had no idea if she felt fright or joy for the pony that lost the chance to explore beyond Equestria. Luna noticed her odd behavior. She remembered the last time Cadence acted funny, and it was not pleasant in the slightest. That was when the changelings carried out their queen’s malicious intent..
Princess Luna wanted to mention Cadence’s strange behavior, but discarded the thought thinking that she was just paranoid.
"Thank you, m'lady," Luna smiled at Princess Cadence and turned to leave. She flew off, the sound of her wings beating barely audible within the hustle-bustle of Canterlot. “I'll send you a letter once we get to Los Pegasus,” Luna said as she exited the castle.
Cadence glared at Princess Luna, not daring to reply to her kind, valuable words. She had power now. She didn't need any former princess to watch over her now that she finally was able to control the inhabitants of Equestria’s many towns and cities. Power did nothing to her back in the Empire, but now… Now her influence was multiplied tenfold. It was driving her mad.
Rainbow Dash had been badgering Apple Jack about having a friendly race, when Pinkie Pie pointed out a stallion limping about; a shake taking over his limbs like branches in the wind.
“Sir, are you well?” Luna ran up to the injured guard once she landed with her friends. It was Polar Wind, the captain of the earth pony Royal Guard. She gasped. “What happened to you, my Lord?”
“M-m’Lady, we were ambushed…”
“By whom?” Luna’s concerned glare narrowed as he spoke. She certainly would not let this harmful deed go unnoticed. The last time she seeked vengeance was before her banishment. The guard said that a pony reported her child being raped.
“Blood was leaking from her cunt, my lady!” She begged. Luna regretted being so resentful.
“I shall believe it when I see it,” The princess replied harshly, her words baring no emotion.
“Y-you can't be serious?” The mare would ask, disgust upon her face. Luna recalled the look in her eyes too. It still frightened her, even though she’d done it before that one time, except she was much more reasonable then. The thought made her flinch. She suddenly was brought back to reality by Twilight Sparkle.
“Princess Luna, are you alright?” Luna heard the purple mare’s concern. She realized that she was suddenly weeping like a small foal.
“My… I'm sorry, Princess Twilight. I was just…” She racked her mind for any words, but she couldn't find anything. “I'm just… I'm worried about my sister, is all,” she smiled nervously, destroying all thought of her court duties a thousand years ago.
“It's alright, Luna. We will be sure to find her. We just need to make our way to Los Pegasus first,” Shining Armor reassured the princess of the moon with a reassuring smile.
Twilight racked her brain for a decent healing spell for the gruesome wounds he had obtained from battle. In that time Rarity managed to pull out one of the outfits she’d packed before they left on their miraculous journey. Sacrificing her precious designs with a loud rip, she tore off a thick part of the fabric as a bandage.
“That damn wound of yours is pretty dire without a bandage, my lord. Will this be alright?” She asked wrapping his hoof with the makeshift wrap.
“Yes, I'll be fine,” the guard began, wincing in pain as his leg was surrounded by cloth. “I was just heading to the castle,” he coughed, “to alarm Princess Luna about the ambush.”
“Well, I'm-” Princess Luna was interrupted as she remembered her duty. “Oh! I have a message from Princess Cadence,” she said, pulling out a stamped scroll. It had the imprint of her cutie mark in it. She opened it and began to read.
Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle, I am to alarm you of a mare - a queen - that might be the suspect for our loss of ponies. Queen Emerald, a mare of many names, but evil may suit her best in this case. She may have been the one who stole our princess for her own wrong deeds. After some hard reading, I've discovered that she has some beef with the griffons. She's always had a plan to get revenge for her grandparents. They apparently were killed by griffons in battle over coin. Pity. Anyway, her plan is to rule Equestria and use its citizens as slaves or soldiers to fight the griffons. But, there's word of an artifact that could change the Queen’s mind about using Equestrians as her army.
If you go and find this ancient item, you will be able to change the stubborn mind of Queen Emerald Evergreen. --Princess Cadence
“Well, that's interesting,” Rainbow Dash commented on the letter. “So we just continue what we’re doing but for a different reason?”
“I know it may sound crazy, but I think we are able to do it,” Shining Armor gave them his encouraging words. “You all have done so much to get this far, I'm sure you girls can do this with ease.”
Twilight was skimming over the letter thoroughly, her eyes moving swiftly across the page when she heard Polar Wind speak up.
Twilight gave the pony a confused look. “Would you mind if I join in on your exploits, my princess?” Solar looked at Twilight Sparkle, who looked over to him. Twilight gave the stallion a very confused stare.
“Aren't you injured?”
“Yes, my lady, but I can endure,” Solar said, bowing weekly. “I can guard you and your friends. I know what lurks in the Undiscovered West. I've seen things you shouldn't have to, princess. Please, let me join you.” Twilight took an authoritative stance.
“Alright, but if you get injured any further I will send you to Canterlot,” Princess Twilight ruled. “Rarity, could you send a letter to Cadence?”
“Of course, darling,” Rarity nodded and took out a scroll and quill. She began to write.
“We shall continue on. We can't afford to delay any longer,” Luna said, walking onwards towards their destination. Rarity scribbled the last few words before neatly placing a period at the end. She folded it up and poured a wax seal on it, and stamped it gently. As she pulled away the stamp, the wax stuck to it slightly, but then drew back as if it gave up. Rarity sent the letter to Princess Cadence, the sound of the letter disappearing sent a shiver of sound through the vast fields. With that, they galloped onward.
Author's Note
Big shoutout to Caelus Streak for editing this chapter for me!
I also want to thank all of those who commented on my story! You help a lot in so many ways! I really love to hear everyone's opinions.
Another shoutout to my awesome friend for making the cover photo of Queen Emerald Evergreen sitting in her glorious throne!
Check out his DeviantArt here!
