A Prelude to War

Chapters

An Island Lost in Time
A Demon Stirs
Visions Of a Forgotten Past
The Fleet Sails

An Island Lost in Time

Princess Celestia was always happy to see her faithful student Twilight Sparkle. And in light of recent events, that feeling had shot through the roof.

The Summer Sun Celebration had ended for another year a few days earlier. Normally it was a rather dull affair. But this year had marked her sister Luna's return, thanks to Twilight and her new friends.

Twilight herself had returned to Canterlot for a few days, while Spike stayed in Ponyville, to pack her belongings and break the news to her parents herself.

So it was with some surprise that Celestia saw the lavender unicorn trot into the Day Court with an old book floating along beside her in her magic.

"To what do I owe the pleasure Twilight? I am always happy to see you, but I thought you were leaving for Ponyville today?" Celestia asked.

Twilight nodded sheepishly. "I am Princess Celestia. But I found something and I just had to ask about it before I left."

With that, Twilight flipped the book open to a specific page. One Celestia knew rather well actually. She had been expecting this in truth for some time now.

"I am surprised it took you this long to ask about it Twilight. Few today know about this legend and myth," she said with a sigh.

Twilight was surprised that her mentor knew what she was going to ask about, but her natural curiosity won out in the end. "So what is this, Vapor Island?"

"It is an island that supposedly exists far to the west of Equestria. It is also supposedly surrounded by a perpetual storm," Celestia replied as she stood and walked over to a nearby window, one looking west in fact. "Every sea fairing race has stories about it. For centuries ships have vanished there with few survivors."

Twilight scratched her chin. "How come I've never heard of it?"

Celestia smiled. "The last one happened long before you were born Twilight. It is no surprise you have never heard of it before now."

"We're there any survivors?" Twilight asked.

Celestia nodded sadly. "Only one. The ship's owners confirmed his identity. Out of a crew of thirty ponies, only he survived to return to Equestria."

Twilight was shocked. "What happened to the rest of the crew then?"

Celestia shook her head. "Nopony knows for sure what happened to them or the ship. His story didn't make much sense when he told me."

***

The stallion had a haunted look in his eyes, one that even the Royal Guard was surprised at. Princess Celestia herself kept up her usual calm and benevolent exterior.

But this whole thing concerned her deeply. Vanhoover's ships were known to be among the best on Equus. What could cause this?

The stallion shook his head at some memory. "That island is death princess. It has only one king. Lucky for us we didn't antagonize him."

"Does this king have a name?" Celestia asked, wondering if she had somehow missed a ruler in all her dealings with other nations.

He shrugged. "The natives have a name for him, but we were never able to translate it. Strange, hairless apes they are, they were friendly at least."

That raised even more eyebrows. What did he mean by that?

The stallion hardened his gaze. "Mark my words Princess Celestia. No good will ever come from that island. Just death. A lost world. One that should remain lost."

"""

"That was all he told me. The shipping line gave him a comfortable retirement after that I have heard. As far as I know, he never spoke of what happened to him after that," Celestia continued.

Twilight was really intrigued now. She loved f learning and finding new things. "How come pony has ever looked for the island? If there is one, mariners should know how to avoid it shouldn't they?"

Celestia smiled ruefully. "None of the survivors could ever say exactly where this island is. Even our best Court Mages have been unable to find it."

"What about the shipping line? They must have something, right?" Twilight asked.

Celestia shook her head. "Unfortunately the line went bankrupt a century ago, and their remaining records were lost in a fire not long after that I'm afraid. No one who worked for the line is still living."

She turned to look at Twilight. "Maybe it is for the best that this island remains lost. If it even exists at all. Too many good ponies were lost to it. I will not risk more. Hence why it is on no map."

Despite her curiosity saying otherwise, Twilight couldn't bring herself to argue that. If the island was that dangerous, then nopony should risk their lives to find or explore it. "Do you think it exists Princess Celestia?" She asked.

Princess Celestia smiled. "There are many things about our world that are strange and mysterious Twilight. Things we have not found or understand. I do believe that something did this to them. And if it wants to be found, then one day we will find it."

Twilight bowed her head. It was a lesson, even if her mentor hadn't meant it to be. And she should know. Her whole recently had changed because of something like this.

That reminded her though of another reason she was here as she flipped the pages to the relevant entry. "There's something else princess. The island got me thinking of another I saw in here."

Princess Celestia was curious as to what Twilight meant until she saw the entry Twilight had in mind. "You speak of the Black Iceberg myth?"

Twilight nodded. "I know it can't be a sea serpent. I even asked the one I and the girls met in the Everfree Forest. The myths say it's over two hundred feet tall and is always moving. Steven said his kind don't grow that big, or as fast as this is supposed too."

Celestia sighed. "Twilight. The Black Iceberg is nothing but a myth. Fishermen have reported seeing it for centuries, yet nothing has ever been proven. It isn't real."

Twilight bit her lip, wondering if she was overstepping her boundaries, but she had to know. "Didn't you once spend a few years looking for it a few hundred years ago?"

Celestia bit back a scowl. Taking her frustration out on Twilight was wrong. Her student was only curious and meant no disrespect. "Yes, Twilight. For a time the Royal Council ruled in my stead while I galavanted across Equus looking for it. I never saw a spec of it."

She sighed. "After that, I swore off the myth. I don't regret my time away for it did me much good in the long run and the Royal Council ruled well."

She smiled as she placed a hoof on Twilight's shoulders. "But heed my advice, my faithful student. It is nothing but a myth. There is no such thing as the Black Iceberg."

Author's Note

Oh, how Princess Celestia will eat those words in a few years. If it isn't already obvious, the island they're talking about is Skull Island and the native human population.

Its place and how it exists at all in My Little Pony will all make sense when the sequel is released. For now, it will remain a mystery.

This is just the first entry in a larger project of mine. One that is, in fact, a complete rebooting of the very first fanfic I ever wrote. Now much better I hope than the original version.

A Demon Stirs

Normally, Princess Celestia kept a calm and benevolent composure when she met with ponies who had come to see her. Today was proving to be an exception.

Discord's recent Day of Chaos, as it was now being called in Canterlot and across Equestria, on top of Twilight's meltdown the day before, already being called Lesson Zero by those who knew of it, her anxiety had pushed to its limits.

What she was hearing now was not helping in the slightest. More so in the fact that it didn't make any sense, and not even by Discord's standards either.

"You are sure of this?" She asked, the earth pony mare before her trying to keep a calm exterior, but it was a losing battle.

Hard Knock nodded. "Yes, princess. I wouldn't come here otherwise. Something is happening to Mount Platinum."

Celestia frowned. She knew the mountain, named in honor of Princess Platinum at the time of her death, was in fact a volcano. But there was a serious problem with that.

"The volcano has been extinct for as long as any race can remember. Not even I or Luna can remember a time when it was active," she replied.

Hard Knock shrugged. "Never the less, something is happening to it. Tremors have begun to shake the surrounding areas. Ponies swear they can hear something coming from the crater."

Celestia didn't like this. Not at all. "Are these tremors causing any danger?"

Hard shook her head. "None so far. But we can't know if they ever will or not. Some of the locals though have a theory."

Celestia's brows rose. "What kind of theory?"

"That the Fire Demon who lives in the mountain is awakening. They fear what will happen when he fully awakes from his slumber," Hard replied.

Celestia sighed. She knew this legend. For as long as ponies had lived around the mountain, they had believed in a legend surrounding it. That the mountain was the resting place of a mighty fire demon, whose wings would bring untold destruction when it awoke.

Neither Celestia or Luna put much stock in the legend. Nothing had ever convinced them that there was any merit to it.

And even if there were, any, all of the demons had been locked in Tartarus of over a thousand years now, and none had ever escaped. How could this be any different? She and Luna had been very diligent in hunting them all down.

More than likely, Mount Platinum wasn't as extinct as all of Equestria had first thought.

Celestia smiled as she came back to the present. "I thank you for bringing this to my attention. While I do not believe there is any fire demon we must worry about, I am concerned about the mountain."

Hard Knock let out a relieved sigh. She didn't believe the legend either. What she was worried about though was what would happen if the mountain awoke. Many lived in its shadow. "What do we do then Princess Celestia?" She asked.

Celestia stepped down from her throne. "If the tremors get worse, tell me. I will have the area evacuated if need be. For now, continue to monitor the mountain. We do not need any more surprises. Not after what happened with Discord."

Hard Knock nodded. She couldn't argue with that. She still hadn't fully recovered from that day. Not many she knew had either.

Her therapists were truly earning every bit she paid them. Why she had three she didn't know, but she was glad for what they helped with. For the moment, she was just happy to have been able to see Princess Celestia about what was going on at home.

She didn't like it. Not at all. There was more going on here that she or anypony else knew about. For now, she let it lay. No need to worry if the princess didn't say so.

As for Princess Celestia herself? Some might call how she viewed this as a flat-earth atheist. But she had lived too long to run after every little thing.

Yes, every legend had a grain of truth behind it. Luna and Nightmare Moon was a perfect example of this and there were many more as well.

If this, Fire Demon turned out to be real and was indeed waking up. Celestia would be the first to admit she had been wrong about. She was mare enough to admit when she was wrong.

The trouble with trying to prevent one awakening, or even just having ponies in place to warn of an impending release, was that they tended to be corrupted by the demon's power and influence.

Lavan had been released precisely because of that exact circumstance. To this day, small cults still existed in his name in the dark corners of Equestria, even though Lavan himself was chained in the deepest levels of Tartarus.

Until proven otherwise, Celestia would not take this as something that had been missed and would continue to take it as she saw it. Hard Knock herself did not bear any signs of corruption.

Though it was still early, Celestia had long ago learned to spot the signs of demonic influence on ponies and other creatures.

Author's Note

Unplanned as this chapter was, I felt it needed to be done to help set up certain things to come in the main story. And this will have an impact on it. A big one.

You don't get anything if you figure out who the Fire Demon really is. Celestia would be a lot more worried if she knew the truth. Way more worried.

Lavan is an old G1 villain. Just thought to have that as a bit of background history for Equestria.

One last thing. There is a hidden easter egg in Hard Knock's bit. I won't say what though.

Visions Of a Forgotten Past

As the Plundervines began to unwrap around the two lumps in front of the Tree of Harmony, Twilight and her friends were delighted to see both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna emerge.

Both looked as confused as to what had gone on recently as the girls, but both looked to be fine otherwise as they stepped forward as the vines all across Equestria began to vanish.

Twilight couldn't help herself and ran over and pulled both of her fellow princesses into a hug, one they were both more than happy to return.

"We know how hard it must have been for you to give up the Elements. It took great courage to relinquish them," Celestia said.

The girls smiled at that, as did Twilight, though no one saw it. After a moment, something caused her to again look at the Tree of Harmony. As she watched, it glowed for a moment as a root extended out to her.

Feeling slightly silly, but not knowing what else to do, Twilight broke off the hug and walked over to it. The moment she touched, a flower began to bloom and unfurl. From inside it came a box. No one knew what to make of it.

"What's inside it? How do I open it?" Twilight asked.

Luna gave it a look as well. "Six locks, six keys," she said in a thoughtful tone. Everyone turned to look at Princess Celestia, who only shook her head.

"I do not know where they are. But I do know that it is a mystery you will not be solving alone."

Twilight and her friends shared a smile. It sounded like an adventure. Maybe it would even be fun as well.

As Celestia and Luna began to leave, Twilight turned back to the box. Something was telling her there was something else she needed to see, something important.

Without thinking, Twilight once again reached out to touch the mystery box.

And everything went white.

***

When she could see again, Twilight found herself no longer in the cave the held the Tree of Harmony. Neither her friends or the princesses were anywhere to be seen.

But it was what was all around her that held her attention.

All around her, a city lay in ruins. Fires burned out of control in several spots Dust hung heavy in the air, so much so that Twilight couldn't even tell what time of day it was.

Her heart skipped a beat as she heard thunder, one that kept repeating itself every few seconds. After a moment she realized it wasn't thunder at all.

It was footsteps. Of something of a size that Twilight couldn't even begin to imagine.

In the distance, something moved, something massive. A moment later another joined it as the two locked in mortal combat. Twilight couldn't make out shapes, but the size of the two combatants was huge in a way she had never seen before.

Before she could try and make sense of it all, her visions filled with white once more.

***

When the light faded again, Twilight found herself in an entirely new place. Gone was the burning city she had first seen. Now all around her was snow and ice and the cold to match. Twilight could feel the cold in her bones.

It reminded her of that very first trip to the Crystal Empire what felt like a lifetime ago now.

In the distance, she watched in shock as explosions rocked the frozen tundra. For a moment more nothing happened, and then the ice gave way. Twilight didn't know what was going on, but she could feel it now.

Something was very, very, wrong here.

And then, something began to rise from the crater in the ice. First one head, then another, then another, and then a massive pair of wings. Twilight thought it was a dragon. But no dragon she had ever heard of had three heads. And the feeling it gave off...

It wasn't just wrong. It was utterly alien to everything that was normal, and the malice it oozed as it pulled itself from its icy tomb? Only King Sombra had given off something like this. But this? This was on a whole different level than the former king.

Again, Twilight's vision blurred into white.

***

And again, when she could see again, Twilight found herself in a different place. Gone was the cold at least. What drew her attention though was the smoking mountain in the distance. Mountains didn't smoke. Unless...

Before she could even react, the top of the mountain exploded, confirming her worst fears as she looked around the town she was in. This time she could see the inhabitants. They were human to her shock, but not like her friends at Canterlot High.

Shaking her head, Twilight turned her attention back to the volcano. To her horror, something began to climb its way out of the smoking crater. It looked like a bird, but on such a scale that it was impossible by any definition she knew. Its was wingspread was enormous as soon as it took to the sky.

As it flew over the town, Twilight couldn't hold on as a supersonic wave of destruction hit her and sent her flying even as the town around her was reduced to ruins.

***

When she could see again, Twilight was lying on her back in the Tree of Harmony's cave. All of her friends were giving her a concerned look.

"Are you alright Twilight?" Fluttershy asked.

Twilight blinked as she reoriented herself. "What happened? Did you girls see what I saw?"

Everyone shared a look. "Twilight. Nothing happened to us. We saw nothing. Your eyes were overtaken by magic and then you fell over," Princess Celestia replied, her tone laced with concern.

"So what did you see?" Spike asked.

Twilight thought about it. "I had visions. Visions of," she paused as she tried to make sense of it all.

"Of what?" Princess Luna asked.

Twilight's ears fell. "I. I don't know."

But there was something Twilight did know as she finally stood back up and a few minuted later, everyone left the cave behind.

Something was coming, she knew it for absolute certain now. Something was coming that would change Equestria forever.

***

That night, astronomers all across Equestria and Equus spotted something new in the night sky. A distant speck of light that had not been there before.

It almost seemed to have a golden tint to it. But few believed it. It was so far away at the moment that it might have been a trick of the light. But for all they didn't know about it yet, one thing was for absolute sure.

The object was on a direct course for Equus itself.

Author's Note

This is it. Equestria has seen its last Summer Sun Celebration of the Fourth Era. History will record that this day marked the beginning of the end of the current era.

Only time will tell if Equestria will even be there for the next Summer Sun Celebration though. I already know how this ends.

And I've left enough clues to know what's coming and what Twilight saw.

The Fleet Sails

Ivory Sparkle, First Sea Lord of the Equestrian Royal Navy, rubbed her ears to make sure there was nothing in them. There was no way Princess Celestia had just asked her what she thought she had. Was there?

"You want me to what?" Ivory asked, just to be sure.

Princess Celestia just smiled that famous enigmatic smile of hers. "I want the fleet out of harbor as soon as possible."

That what Ivory was afraid she had said. "The whole fleet? With all due respect Celestia, I can't just pull this out of my hat."

Celestia's smile slipped somewhat. " Is it impossible to do so? I fear we will need it in the days to come."

Ivory shook her head, her mood swinging up somewhat. "We can do it, but these things take time. Lucky for me, most of the fleet is in their homeports."

Celestia frowned slightly. "Is there anything you need besides time Ivory? You know you can be frank with me."

And it was true. Ivory was always known for being as blunt as possible with either Celestia or Luna when she needed to deal with them. It was one of the things they liked about her.

She was never afraid to tell them what needed to be said and not what the flank kissers at court what them to hear. Very few were ever like that around the sister.

Ivory shook her head. "Time is all I really need. All the ships and crews have to be notified, ordnance needs to be loaded, and the boilers have to cold-started, and that would take a week to do it right. Unless you want to risk pony's lives."

Celestia nodded. While she knew little of naval technology, she enough of how long it took a fleet to be ready to sail.

Honestly, Luna was better at this sort of thing than her. Not that she would ever tell her sister that of course. Oh no. Celestia would never hear the end of it.

Ivory sighed. "Where do you want us to sail to?"

Celestia smiled. "As far from Equestria's shores as you can, but not too far that cannot be recalled as soon as possible."

Ivory finally couldn't help herself and asked the question that had been bugging her since the meeting had started. "Why are we sailing at all? Is this about Tirek?"

Celestia shook her head. "No. Twilight and her friends have done a remarkable job as always in ending his rampage." She smiled ruefully. "Call it a precaution."

Ivory couldn't argue that. While it had been a long time since they had last seen each other, she was as proud of her little cousin as any could be. She sighed as she snapped to attention. "We will not let you down, Princess Celestia."

Celestia nodded in return. "I know you will not Ivory. Now go on. Don't let this old mare slow you down. You have a lot to do."

Ivory nodded before turning and leaving at a brisk pace. If she wanted this done in a timely fashion, the sooner she got started the better.

Celestia watched the earth pony go with pride. For all their differences, she and Twilight were alike in so many ways. As the door closed behind her, she sighed sadly as she floated out a letter she knew she would be sending soon, for she knew for certain now.

This had been the last time she would ever see Ivory Sparkle again. No matter what or all their disagreements over the years, Celestia would miss her greatly.

With another deep sigh, she stood down from her throne and turned toward a door that leads into the private areas of the castle. At the threshold, she looked out a nearby window at the darkening sky.

The celestial object was growing bigger and bigger every day. It was now known for sure that it had a golden tint to it. Nopony knew what that could mean, but few liked it.

If the calculations of the Royal Astronomy Guild were correct, it would enter Equus's orbit in the next several weeks. None could say for sure if it would hit the planet or miss entirely. There was also the chance it could hit the moon. Luna was not at all happy about the idea.

Celestia hoped with all her heart that nothing would ever come of it and it was just a passing oddity that the whole world would see once before it vanished again into deep space.

But for some reason, something was telling her that it would not be that easy.

***

One week later, every newspaper in Equestria had the same headline, and even those who didn't read the paper soon knew the news. Gossip soon spread like wildfire across every town and city from Appleloosa to the Crystal Empire.

'Entire Equestrian Royal Navy sails from homeports. First Sea Lord Ivory Sparkle refuses to comment on why as she joins the fleet in sailing.'

As it turned out, Twilight was swamped by questions of why she had never told anypony that her cousin was the First Sea Lord of Equestria. As far from the coast as Ponyville was, even Applejack had family in the Royal Navy. They all did as it turned out.

Twilight could only smile sheepishly and say that it had never seemed that important to bring it up. She herself hadn't seen Ivory in years. With more and more of her time taken up as Princess Celestia's personal student, they had lost touch.

Looking back at it now, Twilight regreted the two of them had drifted apart. She made a note to change that when Ivory returned with the fleet. As it was, her time now was taken up with the object growing larger and larger in the skies of Equus.

And the feeling that something was very, very, wrong. Nothing seemed outwardly to be wrong in Equestria at the moment. But the feeling would not leave her alone.

Author's Note

And now, the last piece is in place. Ivory and the navy have a role to play in what is to come. Celestia ordering the whole fleet out of port will help Equestria more than she will ever know.

As for the fleet itself? It is based on England's Royal Navy during the Edwardian Era. Just after the Dreadnought Revolution in fact. Most of Equestria's battleships are still Pre-Dreadnoughts.

But that is slowly changing. So it's more of a mix of Edwardian Era and Victorian Era battleships. Aside from being pony oriented, they have not changed from the battlewagons we knew at the time.

Edit: Expanded the chapter a bit to fit in more with what is coming.