The last artifact of the first Alicorns
A strange metallic device can be seen in the middle of Ponyville square on an early morning. Ponies from all over town came to see the weird and uncharacteristic object as it sits in the middle of the town’s main dirt road. The Cutie Mark Crusaders accidentally found it underneath the ground when they were helping a few ponies find their cutie marks by digging just 2 feet into the ground. The local construction crew dug it the rest of the way up and left it in the middle of the road in case of danger. Which is why Twilight and her friends all came to see the object in person after the CMC came to them in the early morning about the discovery.
“So do y’all know what it is?” Applejack asked the other mares present as they stood beside a crowd of curious ponies that looped around the object.
“Whatever it is, it sure isn’t fashionable” Rarity said as she placed a hoof on her chest in disgust.
“Think it could be an over-sized hugging machine?!” Pinkie Pie excitedly said as she looked at the object in excitement.
“I think that is a bit far fetched Pinkie” Rainbow said as she stretched her wings a bit.
“Well what do you think it is Twilight?” Fluttershy asked the Alicorn of the group.
“I don’t know but let’s just keep our guard in case something weird happens.” Twilight said as she walked towards the object. The ground was still intact and stable compared to the rest of the dug up area in the main road. The item itself was the only protruding thing in the middle of the very contemporary town. Many races, outsiders, and creatures would make a better fit in Ponyville than the object. Ponies all slowly walked forward in curiosity as the Princess of friendship approached the odd structure. The unison sound of shifting hooves on dirt is heard as the circle of ponies all closed in. Confidence surfaced in their minds as the Alicorn moved first.
Twilight is now adjacent to the object and carefully kicks it with her hoof. The quick tap created a resounding metallic echo effect from within the structure: it is hollow. Twilight’s interest piqued as she crept closer to the thing and gave it a better look and examination. The shape of the object has an equine mold that makes it look like a metal pony, but it is thicker and taller than most ponies present. The hoofs had weird grooves and holes in them that looked like slight openings into the mass, the sides have grooves that resemble the outline of Pegasus wings and other cryptic bodily definitions. Remaining parts of the shape were the head and tall, those areas have larger holes for the respective parts to fit a horn and tail through and no eye sockets on the head which meant that no pony can see inside. Twilight has a few theories as to what this thing could be. It could be some form of original pony armor, it can be a sarcophagus, or maybe a statue. However these questions only led to more and more as Twilight continues her investigation of the object.
“Well what is it Twi?” Applejack asked as she approached the busy Alicorn.
“Well… I don’t know Applejack. This thing is strange.” Twilight said as she stepped to the object's right side , opposite to where the rest of the mane six were standing. “This structure has holes and grooves which suggest that there is an interior. Plus the echo from when I tapped it earlier. However there is no seam to it or some kind of opening for the thing to open” Twilight concluded as she looked at the right side for any clue.
“You mean a latch or button that can open the statue?” Pinkie Pie asked energetically as she poked her head underneath the pony structure’s underbelly to look at Twilight.
“Well..yeah” Twilight goes back to searching on the right side.
“So something like this” Pinkie said as a click can be heard and a brief breeze of air can be felt near the object.
Twilight couldn’t reply as she saw the right side open before her. Slowly opening in half vertically as it the opened side reaches the ground. Twilight felt a sense of unease and dread as the wary looking metal side opened fully before her. The air immediately felt heavy and tense as the object revealed it’s inside contents before her.
Inside the structure was nothing but a space that can fit a fully grown pony. It has no visible objects inside that can be considered unique. The insides are iron-ish gray and have weird holes that look like it should be filled with something, but the inside of the holes are dark. These aren’t the same holes as the ones on the outside that were on the hooves and extended parts, no. These holes are just there with something missing and they gave Twilight a bad feeling as she looked at them in question.
‘What kind of armor or sarcophagus is this? What am I cold all of a sudden?’ Twilight shudders as she looks at the inside with worried eyes.
“Well I guess that did the trick! Uh… You ok Twilight?” Pinkie Pie asked as she and the others went to Twilight’s side and comfort the shaking Alicorn.
“I’m alright. Just a bit surprised by the opening” Twilight lied as shrugged off her friend.
“Sorry. I just pressed the small button on the belly.” Pinkie apologies
“Well would you look at that. It looks like it can fit a pony inside” Applejack stepped forward and put her hoof inside the small equine shaped object. Kicking the inside and feeling the rough insides of the object in an effort to get a grasp on what it could be.
“So is this thing like an old suit or something?” Rainbow Dash asked as she went to look inside as well with Applejack.
“No, I don’t think so. It's too bulky and has no openings on the joints for a pony to move in” Rarity said as she looked at the joints. “It’s the opposite design for armor: This thing is built to remain stationary” Rarity concluded.
“So if it is built to be still then what’s the point of it being built?” Rainbow asked her friend as she moved back from the opened object.
“Only one way to find out I suppose.” Applejack said as she began to step inside the object.
Twilight immediately grew alarmed and squeamish as she saw Applejack fit herself into the mold of the structure. “APPLEJACK! What are you doing? Get out of it!” Twilight said as she began to approach the structure in hopes of grabbing her friend out of it.
“Why what’s wro-” A sudden gust of wind came as the right side snapped up into the other half of the metal object effectively closing it on the apple pony. A loud metallic slam can be heard as the metal clicks into place and encasing Applejack inside. Twilight and all the ponies around watched in surprise and accentuation to the spectacle in front of them. The air grew eerie as no sound from within the apparatus was given. Ponies began to mutter among themselves as the silence from the object reached a crescendo of seconds to a full minute. The birds chirping became the only audible sound as no action was taken due to the stunned observation of bystanders.
Twilight, having enough of the silence backs up and readied her horn with magic. A brilliant hue of purple glowed at her horn and she began to mold her magic around the metal to attempt a force open spell. The magic never grabbed hold of the object and instead dispelled in front of her. She tried again desperately but the same result happened over and over again. After the tenth try, Twilight was out of breath and strained. Sweat was rolling off of her brow and the casing remained indifferent from her magical advances.
‘This thing nullifies magic? Oh no Applejack...’ Twilight hunches over and her eyes begin to water.
“Well I can say that it's mighty dark in here.” A voice from within the object is heard.
“Applejack?” Twilight looked up to see the right side slowly open and revealed the orange colored pony.
“Yeah??” Applejack replied as she stepped out of the casing unscathed in any way; her hat is a bit squished from the top.
“What. Were. You. Thinking!! You can’t just randomly go inside of these unknown things! What if it has a virus or some kind of evil magic that could have hurt you!” Twilight shouted at the earth pony for giving her a scare. Applejack scratched her head in apologies as she looked at her worried friend.
“I am mighty sorry to scare you Twilight, but I can tell you one thing about that thing: It sure is harmless and it is cozy” Applejack said coolly as she walked over to the Alicorn and lent her a hoof.
“OOoo! Me next!” Pinkie Pie galloped into the statue and the right side closed on her as well. After a shorter amount of time, the right side opened and Pinkie walked up unharmed as well.
“YUP! No danger there. I had enough room to move to breath as well as stand comfortably and it definitely is cozy. Come on every pony! Give it a try” Pinkie Pie gave a wave of her hoof to the other members of the mane six as she accredited the weird apparatus' safety.
“Well.. Fortune favors the bold” Rarity says as she entered the object with trust in her friend’s personal approval. Stepping inside herself and receiving the same result.
“It definitely isn’t my taste but it feels like a prop from a play. The space is cozy and it doesn’t fit snug on me” Rarity said fascinated by the object. “Fluttershy darling give it a try.”
One by one Twilight watched as her friends all entered the unknown thing without restriction or hesitation. Each time they did it was the same result: No pony firmly matched the metallic interior. They all came out scot free without any kind of harm, but why does this feel off? Like the inside is just a waiting trap that the unexpected pony would fall under as this continues. More and more the crowd around the group becomes relaxed and interested in testing this machine out for themselves.
“So it's safe?” Derpy asked the general area
“My sweet butter-y Luna it's safe! I wanna try it out!” Says a country style pony.
“This is so weird but a good kind” Says a mare in a red blouse.
The crowd surrounded the object at once and one by one began to try it out for themselves. Twilight was getting nothing but cold tinglings in her spine as she watched mares, stallions; colts, fillies; old mares and old stallions all try out the discovery. Each entry made Twilight more tense and awkward as she witnessed the repeated snapping of the right side over and over again. The non-symmetrical grooves on the hoof parts of the object scraping the ground and leaving similar prints in the dirt. The scene slowly grew too much for Twilight as so began to turn away with a breathless gasp.
“Ok! I think everything is fine here! I gotta go home and do some stuff! Later everypony” Twilight lied behind her facade of smiles and confident words as she teleport in a flash. The rest of the Mane six looked at each other in worry as they witnessed their friend’s strange behavior, but shrugged it off as they all went home not sensing danger from the object.
Later in the evening of the same day, Twilight was in her library digging through all the notes and books she has in her massive collection that can point to the history of this unusual mass. Searching for all tombs of all kinds in all historical accounts to get even a grasp of information on the metallic mass that is harbored in the middle of Ponyville square.
“Come on! There has to be something..” Twilight flipped a quick book titled: history of weird items vol. 2 and not finding any kind of entry on the casing. Then she strolled to discoveries of metalwork mare for any kind of metallic apparatus entries, nothing. The silhouettes in our garden, nothing. Unseen civilization artifacts, nothing. Hell, even the strange objects seen in our world for dummies has no information on the newly found object.
Twilight threw the book in frustration as she got angry at the lack of knowledge on the mysterious thing. She is angry that her most trusted ally had no info at all on the thing that scares her most.
‘Thing that scares me the most…’ Twilight shakes her head at the silly thought of a stationary object shaking her foundation to that level. The thing doesn’t scare her, it's just… ‘creepy’ for some reason to the young Alicorn. An object that has no history yet is buried in the heart of the town just makes no sense. How could something be so well hidden that a town with a 200 year digging history didn’t find an object of its size yet three little girls did? Why is it magically retardant? And why does the inside...intrigues her enough to enter it?
‘Now I am thinking silly things. I know that the inside is hollow and it has no signs of anything inherently abnormal to its design. Maybe I just need some sleep.’ Twilight thought to herself as she walks to the rest area of her castle. She goes to her room for the awaiting night. As Twilight began to settle in her bed and turn off her light, something strange began to happen. It was subtle at first with just a small humming, but over time the humming grew into a grotesque metallic groan. A groan of echoing wind that reverberated off of some form of metallic surface. As the sound grew in volume, so does Twilight’s resurfaced anxiety. The ghostly groans was a sick melody to her ears yet it is so mesmerizing to her mind that she needs to investigate the source of the sound.
Twilight gets up out of bed tired. She groggily strolled into the dirt paths of Ponyville searching for the sound. She didn’t have to look far as the sound led her to the now familiar object in the middle of Ponyville. The right side hung ajar and the gentle breeze of the cool autumn wind blew through the metal’s insides. The wind is most likely passing through the grooves and holes at the bottom which would explain the sound. The notes changed with the intensity of the gusts of wind as it passed by.
Twilight however was not affected by the wind, but instead was strangely mesmerized by the interior of the object. It was almost like the metal was begging for her to enter. Her body slowly walked over to the groaning piece of structured metal as the groans chilled her bones also acted as a siren’s call to the tired Alicorn. Step by step she inches closer subconsciously as the object came closer. Her hoof now touched the inside of the grounded right side like a form of landing and she began to lift her other fore hoof further into the space.
Then a sudden gust of wind blew a stick into the back of Twilight’s head.
“What? Where am I…” Twilight looked only into the darkened emptiness of the metal’s innards and a sense of grave danger went through her body as she immediately jumped back outside of the metallic mass. Just as quickly as she jumped away from the open metal, the right side door snapped itself into place with the other half; closing itself. Twilight gasped shallow, labored breaths as she witnessed how close to being inside of the object she was.
‘What happened and why am I out here?’ Twilight weirded out by the mass and its strange hypnotic sound proceeds to walk away from it. As she reached just a short distance away, the same groan from the metal came back but this time it had a louder, more aggressive sound. It was loud enough to scare Twilight to the final corner of her mental state as she panic teleport away from the device and went home. The night continued with the same groan sung by the mass in the middle of Ponyville.
After that night 5 days ago, Twilight has been paranoid every time she so much as looked at the object. She effectively closed off her castle to regular citizens and has lived the life of a brief hermit: Looking through every tomb in her library for some answer or a form of solace to calm her mind, but all she can think about is the thing that has captured the town by storm. Tourists from all over Equestria paid high bits to go to the object. Since it is either too small or big for most ponies in Equestria, ponies came to see if they are some luckily destined being of the object’s shape yet no one was able to fit the mold perfectly. The mold was either too small, too big, too loose, and too tight for all those who dared enter the space.
Everypony in Ponyville has profited off of the existence of the item. Businesses gained massive amounts of money from their services and concessions due to the flood of visiting ponies from off cities and towns. Mayor mare even considered the discovery a “financial landmark of Ponyville” as a joke. However Twilight has not been amused in the slightest of the presence of the object.
All it has done was give her quick grief as the sounds it produced every night gave her dreams of itself. The curiosity of knowing the full discovery of the inside was slowly over talking Twilight’s mind like a sick crush. Knowing the details of the mass and what it truly is flooded her senses and mental state with an ungodly fearful curiosity. It steadily grew to obsession.
Over time, Twilight reached out to an old colleague back in Celestia’s school for gifted unicorns who goes by the name Dr. Connerie. He is a researcher who deals with ancient civilizations and unique artifacts. His papers on the first Alicorn race had earned him national acclaim. So if anyone could provide answers, it is him.
“Dr. Connerie. Thanks for talking with me about the item in Ponyville square” Twilight said as her disheveled hair shakes as she bobbed her head a bit to sip her drink from the straw.
“Any time Twilight. I must say that the object itself is interesting with how you described it in our letter chain. And I have some results from when my colleague sent an old sample of its crushed metal to me” Dr. Connerie said as he dug in his messenger bag and presented a stack of papers.
“Really! Can I please see?” Twilight said the ending of the sentence calmly as the doctor shook his head and handed her the papers.
“To explain the paper and its contents a bit further, the object appears to be a bit ancient equestrian but it has a design that is somehow advanced compared to our everyday devices.” Dr. Connerie started as he sipped her tea.
“So the object is.. A device?” Twilight asked as she glazed her eyes over the paper and quickly read it.
“In layman’s terms, yes. It has and operates like a machine but we cannot decipher the true intent of the device’s purpose.” Dr. Connerie cleans his glasses. “However there is more to this device I want to discuss. For example… the age and the grooves we looked at on the side of the object”
Twilight looks up from the papers in mild interest as Dr. Connerie continued his speech.
“The device appears to be over 300,000 years old Twilight.” Dr. Connerie said and Twilight reeled back in shock.
“300,000 years? That is older than-”
“The celestial sisters, I know Twilight.” Connerie said with a serious look on his face.
“But that is naturally impossible! How could a thing made of metal survive for 300,000 years without decomposing! It makes no sense Connerie.” Twilight placed a hoof on her aching head as the news sinked in her mind. She had no reasonable explanation for the object’s age. The fact it is older than her mentor and the land of Equestria itself is mutiny to all historical accounts. It has no historical logic to itself.
“The information suggests that this is a device from the very first Alicorn civilization called the “Paradigmians.” Connerie said before continuing. “They basically are the race that gave birth to the celestials which is where the royal sisters come from. My only piece of knowledge on them is that they were adapted to prophecies and future predictions. The device could be the only and last piece of physical history left of them.” Connerie concluded as Twilight poured more tea in her glass.
“So then how come there isn’t a single book on the Paradigmians Dr. Connerie?” Twilight asks
“Oh that’s simple: I just recently came across some text by their civilization detailing a small aspect of their history. It is fairly recent I must say.” Connerie said as he sipped his tea.
Twilight allowed the information to digest in her mind.
‘What are the odds of this happening all at once?’ This thought was pushed in the back of her head as she asked the main question involving the artifact.
“So is it harmless?” Twilight asked the researcher. Dr. Connerie rubbed his chin a few seconds and gave a slow nod. “So far it shows no harm. However the grooves could be a line message from the tribe. I am currently running an analysis on what the sentence could be. Their text is weird and this could be a final message.” Connerie said as he went to grab his things.
“There is a message on the device? How long would it be before you know what it says?” Twilight replied while she opened the door for her old colleague. The last words only gave rise to more tension in Twilight’s mind.
“I don’t know Twilight, but I promise it won’t take long.”
Since that day it has been a full week since that visit. Twilight has grown more and more restless as the days turned into weeks. Not leaving the castle has impacted her physical health as her hair has become messy with sweat and grease, her feathers are now sticking to each other, and she stinks of funk from lack of showers and deodorant. Her friends all tried to visit her but Twilight always turned them away with a weak excuse such as an ‘I am studying’ or ‘I need to research this random anomaly in his random part of the castle.’ The desire for silence and loneliness grew so much that she had asked her oldest companion Spike to stay in the dragon lands until further notice. Twilight sits and waits all day for any news of this supposed hidden language from the last device of the first alicornian race.
As for the device itself, the town has grown accustomed to the presence of the artifact. Tourists regularly visit and the town now has a booming economy. Ponies all trying out the mold to see if they fit the device. Twilight can still hear the alluring sound of the metal’s makeshift sound box and the sickening sounds that only makes Twilight feel scared but now a strange sense of innocent curiosity grows on her. What if the device isn’t that dangerous at all and maybe the fear she has is just misplaced curiosity? What if her body could fit the mold perfectly? She is bigger than the average pony now that she is an alicorn and maybe it won’t be all that bad?
These are the thoughts that led Twilight out of bed on the 17th night since the discovery of the object. She walked over to the open and darkened entrance of the device as her mind raced with familiar, anxious questions of fear and interest.
Maybe this is not so bad after all Twilight thought to herself. Maybe the thing scared me because… I didn’t know what it was or what it could be. Twilight steps into the mold that was shaped like a left hoof. Slowly she filled the respective parts of the equine mold with her own body and as the groaning of the metal reached a strong forte and her body filled its innards completely, the right side snapped shut.
Inside of the device was a strange quiet and a sense of tranquility washed over Twilight. The device fit snug around her entire body. Her hooves felt comfortable and in place, her wings weren’t tight against her sides and what flexible still, her horn and tail are a perfect match for the holes they are assigned too.
The device perfectly fit her.
Twilight could not see a thing since there are no eye sockets in the device and slowly she grew to relax inside of the thing.
“This isn’t half bad” Twilight said as she sighed a breath of relief. “I don’t know what I was so afraid of all of this time. It's not scary at all” Twilight concluded and gave a hearty laugh as she waits patiently for the door to open.
Except it didn’t.
“That’s strange… I thought it would open by no-” A sharp sound of scraping metal can be heard from within the device as small pricks start to touch all over Twilight’s body.
“What? OUCH! What’s going on?!?!” Instantly the fear resurfaced on her features and the pricks slowly started to sink themselves into Twilight’s body slowly. The pain was immediate and quick as the sharp objects started to inch deeper inside of Twilight’s body.
“HELLLLPPPPP! HELLPPP!!” Twilight screamed as she tried to teleport out of the device but her magic was nullified from the interior. Needle-like surfaces stab Twilight all over her body in macabre fashion. Her eyes are being pierced, her hoof bone has been punctured with strong sharp objects, and her body felt crushed like a lemon as her own blood started to pool out from her parts. A sickening crunch can be as the sharp objects has followed through to the middle of the now dead Alicorn
The area around the device remained deathly silent as the blood from the pierced Alicorn pooled out of the holes around the legs and nose. Twilight never left the device that night as her blood was the only reminder of her existence as it coated the dug up dirt road that the device sat on.
“A month after Twilight’s demise and Ponyville has never been the same” Connerie said as he sits at his desk with tears in his eyes as he reads the newspaper for the 13th time that month. He is surrounded by all forms of papers and letters of worry as he was neck deep in discovering the message left on the device. His language decipher machine is working at full capacity and like a man obsessed he waited patiently for the machine's results.
After 20 minutes of waiting, the machine makes a sound that resembles its complete decipher and Connerie immediately begins to read on in dread of what the available text says:
"We have foreseen a great future with endless possibility.
The truth of our tribe and the nature of this device must be lead bare to thee who reads our last will
We have seen the elements grow and gain strength beyond any kind of imaginable thought
However the evil was not the wrongs the element has right or the sins our tribe have brought
No. Something far worse than any eldritch driven made mare’s dreams
A young Alicorn with the power to move the heavens and warp the realms we are afraid to redeem.
We have sinned for creating the Alicorn spell
And now we must send our awful creation to hell
It will not target any ordinary being who doesn’t fit the mold tightly
Be it large, small, handsome or ugly
For if this device can only fit the magic bearer Alicorn, it is the only way.
Or there will be only destruction and decay
This device we have named the “Iron Maredan” has only but one mission:
Stop the purple Alicorn before she goes into true mental remission
Please forgive us for our form of promised future prosperity
Because she will destroy all who lives, if she grows her sickest and deepest curiosities.
This is the last will and epitaph of us Paradigmians to preserve the true future of the new land."
Author's Note
I hope you all enjoyed this work as It has gone through 7 different rewrites until it landed on my objectives. As always be sure to comment any questions, criticisms of the narrative and grammar, and be continue being awesome every pony.
