The Prince They Named "Monster"by Asimov_LawChaptersA Fateful MeetingOf Summers That Have Been, and Autumns That There WereEnter: PonyvilleForwardA Fateful Meeting30th of March, 977 Princess Celestia's personal chambers "Bong, bong, bong!" Were it not for the twitching of Princess Celestia's ears at the sound of her antique clock one might have thought her asleep, but the princess was awake and lost in thought. She was brought out her mind by the disruption and began to listen for the time. "Bong, bong, bong, bong, bong, bong, bong, bong, bong!" "Midnight already? I could have sworn that it was only nine," Celestia spared a glance towards the archaic timepiece, a gift from a griffon ambassador two or three centuries back, "The spell should be finished any day now, I must be there to greet him when he awakes," Grabbing her teacup she took a long sip, "Bitter, but it keeps me awake." Setting down her tea and rising from her chair, Celestia strode across her chambers towards her vast collection of books. She scanned the shelves she finally spotted her prize: a small book with a dark blue cover. Grabbing it, she ran her hand across the cover, feeling the embedded piece of bluish silver mithril shaped like a moon. Celestia took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and began pouring magic into the book. She sensed the charm inside activate and then felt the always strange sensation of a teleport. She smiled a small hopeful smile before she disappeared in a flash of light. She felt no midnight breeze, heard nothing of the hustle and bustle of the city far above, and Celestia's smile widened into a grin. Once more, she was in her sanctum, hidden deep in the crystal caverns beneath Canterlot. She opened her eyes and was greeted by the familiar sight of shelves upon shelves of books: her personal diaries made over the course of a millennia. Though valuable beyond imagination, these were of little importance tonight. No, only one item here mattered in the slightest to Celestia now. Finally reaching the end of the forest of bookcases, she reached her prize: a small crib that oozed so much magic that she could almost see it, and inside of this immensely powerful artifact was a single small thestral colt, a few months old at most. The child had a grey, almost silvery coat, and an off-black mane. The young foal slept soundly, as he had since that fateful night so many years ago. As Celestia watched, the magic surrounding the crib began to disperse, having completed its purpose, eventually unravelling entirely, and vanishing into the aether. Celestia watched, filled with hope and no small amount of anxiousness in her heart. Slowly the colt stirred and opened his eyes, Celestia sighed in relief and smiled in joy as she watched the little pony take in his surroundings. His eyes landed on hers and she knew that, no matter what she would protect him. "Welcome back to the world, my nephew." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Far above, in the maternity ward of Canterlot General, a stallion sat next to a mare as she held their newborn daughter. They were both tired but happy as they watched their child sleep. "What will we name her?" the stallion asked the mare. "I'm thinking something about the sky." she responded. "How about Dawn Glow?" He offered. "No, no that won't do," she murmured, "I've got it!" "Go ahead." "How about Twilight Sparkle?" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 14th June, 984 Canterlot Castle Silver Shadow was not a happy pony. Quite the opposite in fact; he was a thestral living in upper Canterlot, it was a wretched hive of scum and villainy with few redeeming qualities. The only good parts were a few nobles, the guards, his cousins, and his aunt. Today was worse than usual though, his cousins were attending to important matters, his aunt was overseeing the entry exams to her school, and he knew better than to bother the guards while they were on duty. He wished he had somepony his age to spend time with, but many nobles saw him as a beast, a monster in a pony's body, never mind that he was the nephew of Princess Celestia herself. So, they forbid their children from playing with him, all he could do was wander the halls and think. He paused in front of the castle library, they always had comfortable cushions and, more importantly, it was quiet, he would not be disturbed here. "A nap sounds nice." he thought. Entering the great hall of knowledge, he sought out an isolated corner in which to rest his eyes. Finding his prize, he curled up on a pillow and slept. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ He awoke to the feeling of being prodded, turning his back on the offender he tried to return to the land of dreams, but they just resumed poking him. Finally growing tired of this he jumped up, whipping around to bare his fangs at the one who would intrude upon his slumber. "WHAT!" he practically screamed, he was sure he would be on the receiving end of a lecture later from the librarian but found that he didn't care. "What are you?" This question gave Silver pause, nobody had ever asked him that question like that, it had always been with disdain or fear, but never genuine curiosity. "Huh?" was the intelligent response he gave as he finally took in the pony before him. She was a unicorn filly, about his age, with lavender fur and a blue mane with a single off-center pink stripe. "What are you? You look kind of like a bat." she told him "I'm a thestral, and we're closer to dragons." he replied with mounting confusion. "That's super interesting! Is your magic like pegasi's or different? Do your eyes allow you to see in the dark? Can you cloud walk? How good is your hearing?" she excitedly began to interrogate him. "Whoa whoa whoa! Slow down! Who are you?" "Oh, sorry," she said nervously "I'm Twilight Sparkle. Who are you?" "I'm Silver Shadow. How did you get in here? I thought most of the castle was closed to the public." "Oh, I'm Princess Celestia's new personal student!" "..." he simply stared at her "When did that happen?" "Oh, um, earlier today, I kind of hatched a dragon egg," She failed to meet his eyes. "Well, uh, nice to meet you. I get the feeling you'll be around the castle a lot." "Yep! Going to be taking personal lessons with her! Have you met her?" she was practically bouncing up and down. "Seen her around," he responded with a deadpan, "here or there." "Oh no, I'm late getting my stuff! Bye, it was fun talking to you." she called out as she ran off. "Weird," he thought, and then went back to sleep. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For nearly a thousand years she had watched the sun rise over her home. She had seen every sunrise, every sunset, every single day, and she loathed them all. They were symbols of her defeat, of her failure; at what should have been her greatest moment of triumph she had fallen. Victory had been snatched from her jaws and replaced with the bitter taste of defeat. She hated Equestria, she hated her little ponies, and most of all she hated her sister. For centuries she had given blood, sweat, and tears to defend them, and they repaid her with neglect and insults. They had believed her a monster, and so she had given them what they wanted. Author's Note "You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy." Obi-Wan Kenobi Of Summers That Have Been, and Autumns That There Were7th of November 986 It was a battle for the ages, the two princes of Equestria fought, pitting powerful forces against one another in valiant attempts to outmaneuver and defeat each other. Songs would be sung of this battle for ages to come. “Is that legal?” Or at least that was what they thought. “Of course it is.” Really Silver Shadow and Blueblood were just bored. “I thought only the knight could jump other pieces?” “Are you calling me a cheater?!” Their game of chess would be going much smoother if either of them actually understood the rules though. “Silver’s right, only the knight can jump over other pieces, that move was against the rules.” At least they had Twilight to settle any arguments. “Fine, I’ll just take your bishop.” Twilight raised her eyebrow, the move left Blueblood’s queen exposed. Blueblood hadn’t noticed, but judging by the poorly concealed smile on Silver’s face the opportunity was not lost on him. “Ha! I got your queen!” “What! Ah, how did I not see that?!” Twilight rolled her eyes, Blueblood was good with nitty-gritty details, but always failed to see the big picture. Silver was the opposite, always able to see the forest, they complimented each other well and formed a surprisingly good friendship all things considered. “Darn, I’ll get you next time!” “The game’s not over yet Blue!” Twilight tried to focus on her book once more, an advanced magic text that anypony that didn’t know her would probably think was a few decades beyond her. “Checkmate!” “OH COME ON!” The peace wasn’t to last though, Twilight slammed her book closed and was about to let the two have a piece of her mind, but another pony beat her to it. “Blueblood, please don’t yell, it’s rude. Silver, give him a chance.” Cadence, as usual, was the voice of reason and the arbiter of peace. Whether that was settling a trade dispute or preventing her cousins from beating the absolute snot out of each other, it didn’t matter. “But Cadence, Aunt Celestia said that if we don’t challenge others they’ll never grow!” “Silver, I don’t think she meant that you should absolutely destroy your opponent in a game.” “No, I’m pretty sure that’s what she meant.” “Oh, and why is that?” “Where do you think I learned to play chess so well?” Cadence could only facehoove. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 12th of January 989 Silver Shadow was a very happy pony. Not for himself, no, but rather his cousin and best friend. His mood, however, soured when he saw Blueblood quietly moping on one of the many balconies of Canterlot Castle. Quickly landing, Silver sat beside his friend for a while before speaking. “Hey Blue, how was the party?” Blueblood looked over at him and smiled sadly. “It was good, but would have been better if you had shown up.” “Yeah, but you know how your mom is about ‘lesser races’. What can you do?” “Yeah…” “You know what would cheer you up? A game of chess!” Blueblood stared at Silver for a moment before he burst out laughing. “You know what, why not?” “Maybe you might even win for once!” Silver shouted as he flew off down the darkened corridor. Blueblood just rolled his eyes and ran after him. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 21st of December 995 “You want to join the guard?” “No.” “Good, I wouldn’t have let you anyway.” “I want to join the Defense Corps.” “Silver Shadow, absolutely not!” “Aunt Celestia, I am an adult now! I can make my own decisions!” Celestia rose from her seat in her study; this was not how she expected her nephew’s 18th birthday to go. She had already lost his mother, she would not lose him, especially so close to Luna’s return. “I forbid it!” Couldn’t he see she just wanted what was best for him? She had raised him from when he was just a tiny foal, what could possibly drive him to want this? “Silver, I just don’t understand what could possess you to join the military.” “I want to help protect Equestria. I want to do my part, not just sit in the castle all day and look pretty!” “What if you get hurt, hmmm? What if you get killed?!” “That’s a risk I’m willing to take.” “Silver, my nephew, I don’t want to lose you.” “This is my decision to make, It’s what I want to do with my life.” Silver smiled at her and laughed “For pony’s sake, I earned my cutie mark fighting off bullies!” Celestia sighed, she knew this was an argument she could not win. Silver was right, in the end it was his decision and his alone. However, that didn’t mean she had to like it. “Fine, you have my blessing, just, please stay safe.” Before she could react, she was pulled into a tight hug. “Thank you! I won’t let you down.” Silver zipped out of her study, likely to go tell his friends and his cousins. Celestia could only hope she hadn’t made the wrong decision. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 16th of June 998 “Hey.” “Yeah?” “You ever wonder why we’re here?” “It’s one of life’s great mysteries isn’t it? Why are we here? I mean, are we the product of some cosmic coincidence, or is there really a creator watching everything? You know, with a plan for us and stuff. I don’t know, man, but it keeps me up at night.” Silver stared at his squadmate, they had met in basic and become fast friends. Sturdy Shield was a model soldier, but could say the weirdest things at times. “...What?! I mean why are we out here, in this tundra?” “Oh. Uh… yeah.” “What was all that stuff about a creator?” “Uh… hmm? Nothing.” “You wanna talk about it?” “No.” “You sure?” “Yeah” “Seriously though, why are we out here? As far as I can tell, it’s just a frozen tundra in the middle of nowhere. Hard to get in or out.” “Mm hmm.” “The only reason that we set up a base here, is because the griffons have a base over there. And the only reason the griffons have a base over there, is because we have a base here.” “Yeah . That’s because they’re threatening us” “No, no. But I mean, even if we were to pull out today, and if they would come take our base, they would have two bases in the middle of a frozen tundra. Whoopdee-fucking-doo.” “What’s up with that anyway? I mean, I signed on to fight some dragons. Next thing I know, your aunt’s hammered out a peace deal to prevent war and I’m stuck in the middle of nowhere, watching a bunch of griffons.” “Yeah it sucks out here.” “It was like the Princess sped up the treaty process, gave a bit more than she should have.” “That might’ve been cause of me joining up” “Fuck you.” “Thanks.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 29th of April 1000 Silver Shadow sat on his bunk, he was sweating his ass off, being stationed on the Zebrican border was tough. It had been worse when he first transferred here, especially after being stationed in the tundra for so long. His attention wasn’t on any of that, though, but rather the new transfer orders he held in his hand. “Canterlot.” “Looks like auntie is missing her little nephew.” “Fuck you Shield, you’re coming as well anyway.” “Hey, man, it’s gotta be better than here in the asscrack of Equestria.” “It is, but I don’t like that she’s trying to bring me back.” “Hey, it’ll work out, trust me. Maybe you could introduce me to that marefriend of yours!” “Twilight isn’t my marefriend!” “Keep telling yourself that.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 18th of June 1000 “Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together and created harmony for all the land. To do this, the eldest used her unicorn powers to raise the sun at dawn. The younger brought out the moon to begin the night. Thus, the two sisters maintained balance for their kingdom and their subjects—all the different types of ponies. But as time went on, the younger sister became resentful. The ponies relished and played in the day her elder sister brought forth, but shunned and slept through her beautiful night. One fateful day, the younger unicorn refused to lower the moon to make way for the dawn. The elder sister tried to reason with her, but the bitterness in the young one’s heart had transformed her into a wicked mare of darkness: Nightmare Moon! She vowed that she would shroud the land in eternal night. Reluctantly, the elder sister harnessed the most powerful magic known to ponydom: The Elements of Harmony! Using the magic of the Elements of Harmony, she defeated her younger sister and banished her permanently in the moon. The elder sister took on responsibility for both sun and moon, and harmony has been maintained in Equestria for generations since.” Twilight Sparkle closed her book. “Hmmm…Elements of Harmony…I know I’ve heard of those before. But where? “There you are, Twilight!” Twilight looked up and saw a few of her fellow students approaching “Hello Twinkleshine.” “Moondancer is having a little get-together in the west castle courtyard. You want to come?” “Oh, sorry, girls.” Twilight said, eyeing her saddlebags, “I got a lot of studying to catch up on.” Twinkleshine sighed as Twilight ran off. “Does that pony do anything except study? I think she’s more interested in books than friends.” Twinkleshine sighed. “I know I’ve heard of the Elements of Harmony.” mumbled Twilight. Just about shattering the door, Twilight entered her tower home in the castle. “Spike! SPIIIIKE! Spike?” She spotted him, dazed on the floor, “There you are. Quick! Find me that old copy of Predictions and Prophecies. What’s that for?” “Well, it was a gift for Moondancer, but there’s not much left of it” “Oh Spike, you know we don’t have time for that sort of thing.” “But we’re on a break!” “No…no…no…no, no, no! SPIKE!!” “It’s over here!” “Ah, here it is! Elements, Elements, E, E, E…aha! ‘Elements of Harmony. See ‘Mare in the Moon’’?” “Mare in the Moon? But that’s just an old ponies’ tale.” “Mare, Mare…aha! The Mare in the Moon. Myth from olden pony times. A powerful pony who wanted to rule Equestria. Defeated by the Elements of Harmony and imprisoned in the moon. Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about nighttime eternal. Spike, do you know what this means?” “No.” “Take a note, please. To the Princess.” “Okey-dokey.” “My dearest teacher: My continuing studies of pony magic have led me to discover that we are on the precipice of disaster.” “Hold on. Preci…preci…” “Threshold.” “Thre…” “Uh…brink?" Spike stared at her with a blank expression, "That something really bad is about to happen! For you see, the mythical Mare in the Moon is in fact Nightmare Moon, and she is about to return to Equestria and bring with her eternal night! Something must be done to make sure this terrible prophecy does not come true. I await your quick response. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.” “Twi-light…Spar-kle. Got it!” “Great! Send it.” “Now?” “Of course!” “Uh…I don’t know, Twilight. Princess Celestia’s a little busy getting ready for the Summer Sun Celebration, and it’s, like, the day after tomorrow.” “That’s just it, Spike. The day after tomorrow is the thousandth year of the Summer Sun Celebration. It’s imperative that the Princess is told right away!” “Impera…impera…” “Important!” “Okay, okay!” “There! It’s on its way. But I wouldn’t hold your breath.” Twilight wasn't much surprised when, after only a few moments, a cloud of smoke came zooming through her window and coalesced into a scroll in Spike's claw. “Oh, I’m not worried, Spike. The Princess trusts me completely. In all the years she’s been my mentor, she’s never once doubted me. I knew she would want to take immediate action.” “My dearest, most faithful student Twilight…You know that I value your diligence, and that I trust you completely.” “Mmm-hmm.” “But you simply must stop reading those dusty old books!” “What!” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The stars were nearly in their places; soon she would be free, and all of ponykind would know her wrath. Nothing would stop her, nothing Could stop her. Celestia’s blood would pour down the steps of her palace, and all would suffer as she had. This she swore. Author's Note "I will make it legal." Darth Sidious "You ever wonder why we're here?" Simmons Enter: PonyvilleAuthor's Note Here it is, I finally just sat down and wrote. In related news: I am still looking for an editor. Demons run when a good man goes to war Night will fall and drown the sun When a good man goes to war Friendship dies and true love lies Night will fall and the dark will rise When a good man goes to war Demons run, but count the cost The battle’s won, but the child is lost Poem by Steven Moffat, excuse the excessive foreshadowing. Enter: Ponyville “Make some friends she says, I have all the friends I need!” “Twilight, when was the last time you talked to somepony other than me or the princess, more than you absolutely had to?” “Spike, that’s irrelevant.” “Shining Armor stopped to talk to you the other day and you told him that you were too busy studying. Which is, conveniently, the same excuse you apparently gave Twinkleshine and the others.” “What? How could you possibly know that?” “In the hour and a half you spent deciding which twenty textbooks to bring on a two day trip, I went and apologized on your behalf for missing the party. You know, Moondancer’s birthday!” “Oh.” “At least you already know our escort, or so the Princess says.” Twilight and Spike were on their way to the castle’s landing zone, a massive platform jutting off the mountain. The platform led into a cavernous space carved into the rock which itself had smaller hangers carved into its walls, with the only entrances leading into the castle or into the air. “What do we know about them?” “Just about nothing.” “Spike.” “Fine. They aren’t actually guards, they’re part of the defense corps. Huh, that’s weird, they just got transferred here a few months ago.” “That is odd. I wonder why?” “Can’t have been anything bad, or they wouldn’t be coming with us.” “Yeah…” They continued on their way towards their destination, pad 16. They were going to board a chariot headed towards the village of Ponyville, two soldiers would be accompanying them, why they needed an escort was unknown to Twilight. “Pad 16, pad 16… Ah! There it is. Come on Spike!” “Don’t need to tell me twice.” Twilight saw two ponies standing next to the chariot, talking, one had his back to her while the other appeared to be in the middle of telling a story. “...and then she says to me ‘Oatmeal! Are you Crazy!” The second pony let out an exasperated sigh and seemed somewhat antsy, like he wanted to leave. “Damnit, where’s this VIP we’re supposed to be escorting?” Twilight decided this would be the right time to introduce herself and get underway. “Sorry, sirs, to keep you waiting. We ran into a few difficulties packing.” She could practically hear Spike rolling his eyes. The second stallion jumped at the sound of her voice and spun around, he had a smile from ear to ear. “Twilight!” “Silver?” Twilight was surprised, she had thought that Silver was mid-deployment, yet looking back, Spike had said their escort had been transferred to Canterlot. “Oh man, Twilight, it's good to see you.” Silver said as he gave her a hug “What has it been, a year?” “Yes, about a year, how was your deployment?” “If I’m ever ordered to go back to that Divines forsaken tundra somepony is going to get hurt.” “Really? Was it that bad?” “Worse. Twilight I’d like to introduce you to my friend, Sturdy Shield.” Sturdy Shield waved his hoof, “Hi, nice to meet you ma’am.” Spike waved back enthusiastically but Twilight merely gave him a nod. Silver cleared his throat, “What are you heading to a place like Ponyville for? I don’t think they have nearly as many rare books as Canterlot.” Twilight rolled her eyes “The princess has put me in charge of the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration.” she smirked, “Not like you would know anything about being in charge.” “Well you should be careful, ponies might think you’re a vampire with how much you avoid the sun.” “Oh, shut up.” Spike and Silver Shadow burst out laughing while Sturdy Shield looked on in confusion. Recovering, Silver spoke “We should probably get going, we need to be in Ponyville in only a few hours, hop in.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Twilight was off checking on the various different preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration, leaving Silver and Shield with a bit of free time. The duo had decided to use it to explore the town, and had seen some unusual buildings, but the one before them was perhaps the most absurd of them all. The pair had been all over the world, from the icy tundras of the north, to the burning savannahs of Zebricca, but they had never seen anything quite like what now lay before them. It boggled the mind and defied comprehension. “I’m gonna bite it.” Silver slowly turned to face his friend, a deadpan stare graced his features, he had grown far too accustomed to Shield’s unpredictable nature. “You’re an idiot.” Shield did not turn away from the bewildering sight. “It looks delicious!” “It's a building.” The structure in question was a bakery that, upon first glance, appeared to be made of gingerbread. closer inspection, however, revealed that some of the roof tiles were missing, some of the support beams appeared chipped, and one of the windows was missing a shutter, whoever the proprietors were they clearly were in need of more income. Despite this Silver was more preoccupied with his comrade’s apparent failure to comprehend that the building was not actually made of food. ‘He’s done some stupid shit, but this takes the cake. Seriously, what does he hope to accomplish?’ “Oh is the prince too high and mighty to take a risk?” Silver sighed, he was growing steadily more annoyed with Shield’s apparent lack of intelligence. “No, unlike you, I have an IQ higher than room temperature.” Shield turned to face him with a surprised expression. “Well that’s just rude.” “Celsius.” Surprise turned to slight anger, and Shield struck back with the most scathing retort he could muster. “Suck my dick.” A devilish grin slowly grew on Silver’s face, only accented by his sharp fangs. “Well if I knew that’s what you wanted I would have introduced you to my cousin, he loves a stallion in uniform.” Shield gagged loudly and whipped around to face Silver. “Sweet Celestia, fuck no! I’m not into stallions, and especially not some prissy noble!” Trying his hardest not to laugh his ass off, Silver smacked Shield on the shoulder and said, “He’s not nearly as bad as you think, but definitely not your type. Now come on, let’s grab some food, we’re going to be here for a few days.” Entering the bakery the two soldiers were greeted by the sound of a busy restaurant, the quiet conversation, the low tunes of a nearby jukebox, and the sounds of various baking implements. The chatter quieted upon the sight of the armored individuals, particularly the thestral, a race not exactly common and the subject of many rumors. Suddenly Silver’s vision was filled with pink, jerking back, he realized that there was a bright pink earth pony standing before him, practically vibrating. The noise in the bakery had suddenly ceased, all eyes focused on the thestral and the pink mare. “Hi I’m Pinkie Pie! What’s your name? Wait don’t tell me, let me guess! Dark Armor! Grey Knight! Blood Raven! Black Templar! No wait, this is Equestria, not THAT.” Silver simply stared in bewilderment as she began to mumble something about chaos. “Hello.. Pinkie Pie? My name is Silver Shadow, I’m here beca…” She was suddenly in his face again. “Ooooooooooh! Are you with that new mare in town? The Purple Unicorn?” Silver couldn’t have helped but to think that Twilight would greatly despise this mare. He eyed the mare suspiciously, “Yes actually, we’re her security detail for the Summer Sun Celebration. Why do you ask?” She began to excitedly bounce in place, “I throw a party for every new pony in ponyville!” “A party?” Silver glanced back at Shield, who was struggling not to laugh. Facing Pinkie again he smiled, imagining Twilight's expression upon such an event, “I’m sure she’ll love it, she loves meeting new ponies.” By this point the bakery had returned to normal, ignoring the new arrivals. Pinkie’s smile grew even wider, it unnerved Silver, “Perfect! Now, what can I get you fine stallions to eat?” Silver looked up at the menu, pondering his choices, “I’m not sure. What do you recommend?” ForwardThestrals are unusual to say the least; they live isolated from the rest of the world up in their mountains and rarely welcome outsiders for much more than tense trade arrangements. However, they are quite the interesting race: visually they are a cross between a pony and a bat with large leathery wings and thick fur. But if one were to look a thestral in the eye then they would notice that the thestrals actually bear more resemblance to dragons than bats, in fact, many thestrals are skilled pyromancers. Their mountainous habitat lends itself well to their cave-dwelling nature and thestrals compliment this with great skill in digging. These talents combined make thestrals skilled blacksmiths and metalworkers whose creations are highly prized across the world. No thestral, however, was a greater smith than the legendary Solid Steel, second only to the great forge-master Luna of Equestria. Solid Steel's creations would never break or dull, even after centuries of use, and he was more skilled in enchanting than any pony or deer, despite having neither horn nor antler with which to cast spells. Solid Steel commanded profound respect amongst all the creatures of the world and was forever known as Master of the Mountain. This is not his story. Some thestrals also carry the signature characteristics of wyrms, most prominently the sharp claws on the front of their wings. So sharp in fact that the aptly named Sharp Blade once tore an opponent limb from limb with nothing but his wings, losing an eye in the process, but becoming legend. This is still not his story. No, our story begins, as many great tales of Equestria do, with Princess Celestia and a cup of tea.
A Fateful Meeting30th of March, 977 Princess Celestia's personal chambers "Bong, bong, bong!" Were it not for the twitching of Princess Celestia's ears at the sound of her antique clock one might have thought her asleep, but the princess was awake and lost in thought. She was brought out her mind by the disruption and began to listen for the time. "Bong, bong, bong, bong, bong, bong, bong, bong, bong!" "Midnight already? I could have sworn that it was only nine," Celestia spared a glance towards the archaic timepiece, a gift from a griffon ambassador two or three centuries back, "The spell should be finished any day now, I must be there to greet him when he awakes," Grabbing her teacup she took a long sip, "Bitter, but it keeps me awake." Setting down her tea and rising from her chair, Celestia strode across her chambers towards her vast collection of books. She scanned the shelves she finally spotted her prize: a small book with a dark blue cover. Grabbing it, she ran her hand across the cover, feeling the embedded piece of bluish silver mithril shaped like a moon. Celestia took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and began pouring magic into the book. She sensed the charm inside activate and then felt the always strange sensation of a teleport. She smiled a small hopeful smile before she disappeared in a flash of light. She felt no midnight breeze, heard nothing of the hustle and bustle of the city far above, and Celestia's smile widened into a grin. Once more, she was in her sanctum, hidden deep in the crystal caverns beneath Canterlot. She opened her eyes and was greeted by the familiar sight of shelves upon shelves of books: her personal diaries made over the course of a millennia. Though valuable beyond imagination, these were of little importance tonight. No, only one item here mattered in the slightest to Celestia now. Finally reaching the end of the forest of bookcases, she reached her prize: a small crib that oozed so much magic that she could almost see it, and inside of this immensely powerful artifact was a single small thestral colt, a few months old at most. The child had a grey, almost silvery coat, and an off-black mane. The young foal slept soundly, as he had since that fateful night so many years ago. As Celestia watched, the magic surrounding the crib began to disperse, having completed its purpose, eventually unravelling entirely, and vanishing into the aether. Celestia watched, filled with hope and no small amount of anxiousness in her heart. Slowly the colt stirred and opened his eyes, Celestia sighed in relief and smiled in joy as she watched the little pony take in his surroundings. His eyes landed on hers and she knew that, no matter what she would protect him. "Welcome back to the world, my nephew." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Far above, in the maternity ward of Canterlot General, a stallion sat next to a mare as she held their newborn daughter. They were both tired but happy as they watched their child sleep. "What will we name her?" the stallion asked the mare. "I'm thinking something about the sky." she responded. "How about Dawn Glow?" He offered. "No, no that won't do," she murmured, "I've got it!" "Go ahead." "How about Twilight Sparkle?" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 14th June, 984 Canterlot Castle Silver Shadow was not a happy pony. Quite the opposite in fact; he was a thestral living in upper Canterlot, it was a wretched hive of scum and villainy with few redeeming qualities. The only good parts were a few nobles, the guards, his cousins, and his aunt. Today was worse than usual though, his cousins were attending to important matters, his aunt was overseeing the entry exams to her school, and he knew better than to bother the guards while they were on duty. He wished he had somepony his age to spend time with, but many nobles saw him as a beast, a monster in a pony's body, never mind that he was the nephew of Princess Celestia herself. So, they forbid their children from playing with him, all he could do was wander the halls and think. He paused in front of the castle library, they always had comfortable cushions and, more importantly, it was quiet, he would not be disturbed here. "A nap sounds nice." he thought. Entering the great hall of knowledge, he sought out an isolated corner in which to rest his eyes. Finding his prize, he curled up on a pillow and slept. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ He awoke to the feeling of being prodded, turning his back on the offender he tried to return to the land of dreams, but they just resumed poking him. Finally growing tired of this he jumped up, whipping around to bare his fangs at the one who would intrude upon his slumber. "WHAT!" he practically screamed, he was sure he would be on the receiving end of a lecture later from the librarian but found that he didn't care. "What are you?" This question gave Silver pause, nobody had ever asked him that question like that, it had always been with disdain or fear, but never genuine curiosity. "Huh?" was the intelligent response he gave as he finally took in the pony before him. She was a unicorn filly, about his age, with lavender fur and a blue mane with a single off-center pink stripe. "What are you? You look kind of like a bat." she told him "I'm a thestral, and we're closer to dragons." he replied with mounting confusion. "That's super interesting! Is your magic like pegasi's or different? Do your eyes allow you to see in the dark? Can you cloud walk? How good is your hearing?" she excitedly began to interrogate him. "Whoa whoa whoa! Slow down! Who are you?" "Oh, sorry," she said nervously "I'm Twilight Sparkle. Who are you?" "I'm Silver Shadow. How did you get in here? I thought most of the castle was closed to the public." "Oh, I'm Princess Celestia's new personal student!" "..." he simply stared at her "When did that happen?" "Oh, um, earlier today, I kind of hatched a dragon egg," She failed to meet his eyes. "Well, uh, nice to meet you. I get the feeling you'll be around the castle a lot." "Yep! Going to be taking personal lessons with her! Have you met her?" she was practically bouncing up and down. "Seen her around," he responded with a deadpan, "here or there." "Oh no, I'm late getting my stuff! Bye, it was fun talking to you." she called out as she ran off. "Weird," he thought, and then went back to sleep. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For nearly a thousand years she had watched the sun rise over her home. She had seen every sunrise, every sunset, every single day, and she loathed them all. They were symbols of her defeat, of her failure; at what should have been her greatest moment of triumph she had fallen. Victory had been snatched from her jaws and replaced with the bitter taste of defeat. She hated Equestria, she hated her little ponies, and most of all she hated her sister. For centuries she had given blood, sweat, and tears to defend them, and they repaid her with neglect and insults. They had believed her a monster, and so she had given them what they wanted. Author's Note "You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy." Obi-Wan Kenobi
Of Summers That Have Been, and Autumns That There Were7th of November 986 It was a battle for the ages, the two princes of Equestria fought, pitting powerful forces against one another in valiant attempts to outmaneuver and defeat each other. Songs would be sung of this battle for ages to come. “Is that legal?” Or at least that was what they thought. “Of course it is.” Really Silver Shadow and Blueblood were just bored. “I thought only the knight could jump other pieces?” “Are you calling me a cheater?!” Their game of chess would be going much smoother if either of them actually understood the rules though. “Silver’s right, only the knight can jump over other pieces, that move was against the rules.” At least they had Twilight to settle any arguments. “Fine, I’ll just take your bishop.” Twilight raised her eyebrow, the move left Blueblood’s queen exposed. Blueblood hadn’t noticed, but judging by the poorly concealed smile on Silver’s face the opportunity was not lost on him. “Ha! I got your queen!” “What! Ah, how did I not see that?!” Twilight rolled her eyes, Blueblood was good with nitty-gritty details, but always failed to see the big picture. Silver was the opposite, always able to see the forest, they complimented each other well and formed a surprisingly good friendship all things considered. “Darn, I’ll get you next time!” “The game’s not over yet Blue!” Twilight tried to focus on her book once more, an advanced magic text that anypony that didn’t know her would probably think was a few decades beyond her. “Checkmate!” “OH COME ON!” The peace wasn’t to last though, Twilight slammed her book closed and was about to let the two have a piece of her mind, but another pony beat her to it. “Blueblood, please don’t yell, it’s rude. Silver, give him a chance.” Cadence, as usual, was the voice of reason and the arbiter of peace. Whether that was settling a trade dispute or preventing her cousins from beating the absolute snot out of each other, it didn’t matter. “But Cadence, Aunt Celestia said that if we don’t challenge others they’ll never grow!” “Silver, I don’t think she meant that you should absolutely destroy your opponent in a game.” “No, I’m pretty sure that’s what she meant.” “Oh, and why is that?” “Where do you think I learned to play chess so well?” Cadence could only facehoove. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 12th of January 989 Silver Shadow was a very happy pony. Not for himself, no, but rather his cousin and best friend. His mood, however, soured when he saw Blueblood quietly moping on one of the many balconies of Canterlot Castle. Quickly landing, Silver sat beside his friend for a while before speaking. “Hey Blue, how was the party?” Blueblood looked over at him and smiled sadly. “It was good, but would have been better if you had shown up.” “Yeah, but you know how your mom is about ‘lesser races’. What can you do?” “Yeah…” “You know what would cheer you up? A game of chess!” Blueblood stared at Silver for a moment before he burst out laughing. “You know what, why not?” “Maybe you might even win for once!” Silver shouted as he flew off down the darkened corridor. Blueblood just rolled his eyes and ran after him. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 21st of December 995 “You want to join the guard?” “No.” “Good, I wouldn’t have let you anyway.” “I want to join the Defense Corps.” “Silver Shadow, absolutely not!” “Aunt Celestia, I am an adult now! I can make my own decisions!” Celestia rose from her seat in her study; this was not how she expected her nephew’s 18th birthday to go. She had already lost his mother, she would not lose him, especially so close to Luna’s return. “I forbid it!” Couldn’t he see she just wanted what was best for him? She had raised him from when he was just a tiny foal, what could possibly drive him to want this? “Silver, I just don’t understand what could possess you to join the military.” “I want to help protect Equestria. I want to do my part, not just sit in the castle all day and look pretty!” “What if you get hurt, hmmm? What if you get killed?!” “That’s a risk I’m willing to take.” “Silver, my nephew, I don’t want to lose you.” “This is my decision to make, It’s what I want to do with my life.” Silver smiled at her and laughed “For pony’s sake, I earned my cutie mark fighting off bullies!” Celestia sighed, she knew this was an argument she could not win. Silver was right, in the end it was his decision and his alone. However, that didn’t mean she had to like it. “Fine, you have my blessing, just, please stay safe.” Before she could react, she was pulled into a tight hug. “Thank you! I won’t let you down.” Silver zipped out of her study, likely to go tell his friends and his cousins. Celestia could only hope she hadn’t made the wrong decision. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 16th of June 998 “Hey.” “Yeah?” “You ever wonder why we’re here?” “It’s one of life’s great mysteries isn’t it? Why are we here? I mean, are we the product of some cosmic coincidence, or is there really a creator watching everything? You know, with a plan for us and stuff. I don’t know, man, but it keeps me up at night.” Silver stared at his squadmate, they had met in basic and become fast friends. Sturdy Shield was a model soldier, but could say the weirdest things at times. “...What?! I mean why are we out here, in this tundra?” “Oh. Uh… yeah.” “What was all that stuff about a creator?” “Uh… hmm? Nothing.” “You wanna talk about it?” “No.” “You sure?” “Yeah” “Seriously though, why are we out here? As far as I can tell, it’s just a frozen tundra in the middle of nowhere. Hard to get in or out.” “Mm hmm.” “The only reason that we set up a base here, is because the griffons have a base over there. And the only reason the griffons have a base over there, is because we have a base here.” “Yeah . That’s because they’re threatening us” “No, no. But I mean, even if we were to pull out today, and if they would come take our base, they would have two bases in the middle of a frozen tundra. Whoopdee-fucking-doo.” “What’s up with that anyway? I mean, I signed on to fight some dragons. Next thing I know, your aunt’s hammered out a peace deal to prevent war and I’m stuck in the middle of nowhere, watching a bunch of griffons.” “Yeah it sucks out here.” “It was like the Princess sped up the treaty process, gave a bit more than she should have.” “That might’ve been cause of me joining up” “Fuck you.” “Thanks.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 29th of April 1000 Silver Shadow sat on his bunk, he was sweating his ass off, being stationed on the Zebrican border was tough. It had been worse when he first transferred here, especially after being stationed in the tundra for so long. His attention wasn’t on any of that, though, but rather the new transfer orders he held in his hand. “Canterlot.” “Looks like auntie is missing her little nephew.” “Fuck you Shield, you’re coming as well anyway.” “Hey, man, it’s gotta be better than here in the asscrack of Equestria.” “It is, but I don’t like that she’s trying to bring me back.” “Hey, it’ll work out, trust me. Maybe you could introduce me to that marefriend of yours!” “Twilight isn’t my marefriend!” “Keep telling yourself that.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 18th of June 1000 “Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together and created harmony for all the land. To do this, the eldest used her unicorn powers to raise the sun at dawn. The younger brought out the moon to begin the night. Thus, the two sisters maintained balance for their kingdom and their subjects—all the different types of ponies. But as time went on, the younger sister became resentful. The ponies relished and played in the day her elder sister brought forth, but shunned and slept through her beautiful night. One fateful day, the younger unicorn refused to lower the moon to make way for the dawn. The elder sister tried to reason with her, but the bitterness in the young one’s heart had transformed her into a wicked mare of darkness: Nightmare Moon! She vowed that she would shroud the land in eternal night. Reluctantly, the elder sister harnessed the most powerful magic known to ponydom: The Elements of Harmony! Using the magic of the Elements of Harmony, she defeated her younger sister and banished her permanently in the moon. The elder sister took on responsibility for both sun and moon, and harmony has been maintained in Equestria for generations since.” Twilight Sparkle closed her book. “Hmmm…Elements of Harmony…I know I’ve heard of those before. But where? “There you are, Twilight!” Twilight looked up and saw a few of her fellow students approaching “Hello Twinkleshine.” “Moondancer is having a little get-together in the west castle courtyard. You want to come?” “Oh, sorry, girls.” Twilight said, eyeing her saddlebags, “I got a lot of studying to catch up on.” Twinkleshine sighed as Twilight ran off. “Does that pony do anything except study? I think she’s more interested in books than friends.” Twinkleshine sighed. “I know I’ve heard of the Elements of Harmony.” mumbled Twilight. Just about shattering the door, Twilight entered her tower home in the castle. “Spike! SPIIIIKE! Spike?” She spotted him, dazed on the floor, “There you are. Quick! Find me that old copy of Predictions and Prophecies. What’s that for?” “Well, it was a gift for Moondancer, but there’s not much left of it” “Oh Spike, you know we don’t have time for that sort of thing.” “But we’re on a break!” “No…no…no…no, no, no! SPIKE!!” “It’s over here!” “Ah, here it is! Elements, Elements, E, E, E…aha! ‘Elements of Harmony. See ‘Mare in the Moon’’?” “Mare in the Moon? But that’s just an old ponies’ tale.” “Mare, Mare…aha! The Mare in the Moon. Myth from olden pony times. A powerful pony who wanted to rule Equestria. Defeated by the Elements of Harmony and imprisoned in the moon. Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about nighttime eternal. Spike, do you know what this means?” “No.” “Take a note, please. To the Princess.” “Okey-dokey.” “My dearest teacher: My continuing studies of pony magic have led me to discover that we are on the precipice of disaster.” “Hold on. Preci…preci…” “Threshold.” “Thre…” “Uh…brink?" Spike stared at her with a blank expression, "That something really bad is about to happen! For you see, the mythical Mare in the Moon is in fact Nightmare Moon, and she is about to return to Equestria and bring with her eternal night! Something must be done to make sure this terrible prophecy does not come true. I await your quick response. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.” “Twi-light…Spar-kle. Got it!” “Great! Send it.” “Now?” “Of course!” “Uh…I don’t know, Twilight. Princess Celestia’s a little busy getting ready for the Summer Sun Celebration, and it’s, like, the day after tomorrow.” “That’s just it, Spike. The day after tomorrow is the thousandth year of the Summer Sun Celebration. It’s imperative that the Princess is told right away!” “Impera…impera…” “Important!” “Okay, okay!” “There! It’s on its way. But I wouldn’t hold your breath.” Twilight wasn't much surprised when, after only a few moments, a cloud of smoke came zooming through her window and coalesced into a scroll in Spike's claw. “Oh, I’m not worried, Spike. The Princess trusts me completely. In all the years she’s been my mentor, she’s never once doubted me. I knew she would want to take immediate action.” “My dearest, most faithful student Twilight…You know that I value your diligence, and that I trust you completely.” “Mmm-hmm.” “But you simply must stop reading those dusty old books!” “What!” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The stars were nearly in their places; soon she would be free, and all of ponykind would know her wrath. Nothing would stop her, nothing Could stop her. Celestia’s blood would pour down the steps of her palace, and all would suffer as she had. This she swore. Author's Note "I will make it legal." Darth Sidious "You ever wonder why we're here?" Simmons
Enter: PonyvilleAuthor's Note Here it is, I finally just sat down and wrote. In related news: I am still looking for an editor. Demons run when a good man goes to war Night will fall and drown the sun When a good man goes to war Friendship dies and true love lies Night will fall and the dark will rise When a good man goes to war Demons run, but count the cost The battle’s won, but the child is lost Poem by Steven Moffat, excuse the excessive foreshadowing. Enter: Ponyville “Make some friends she says, I have all the friends I need!” “Twilight, when was the last time you talked to somepony other than me or the princess, more than you absolutely had to?” “Spike, that’s irrelevant.” “Shining Armor stopped to talk to you the other day and you told him that you were too busy studying. Which is, conveniently, the same excuse you apparently gave Twinkleshine and the others.” “What? How could you possibly know that?” “In the hour and a half you spent deciding which twenty textbooks to bring on a two day trip, I went and apologized on your behalf for missing the party. You know, Moondancer’s birthday!” “Oh.” “At least you already know our escort, or so the Princess says.” Twilight and Spike were on their way to the castle’s landing zone, a massive platform jutting off the mountain. The platform led into a cavernous space carved into the rock which itself had smaller hangers carved into its walls, with the only entrances leading into the castle or into the air. “What do we know about them?” “Just about nothing.” “Spike.” “Fine. They aren’t actually guards, they’re part of the defense corps. Huh, that’s weird, they just got transferred here a few months ago.” “That is odd. I wonder why?” “Can’t have been anything bad, or they wouldn’t be coming with us.” “Yeah…” They continued on their way towards their destination, pad 16. They were going to board a chariot headed towards the village of Ponyville, two soldiers would be accompanying them, why they needed an escort was unknown to Twilight. “Pad 16, pad 16… Ah! There it is. Come on Spike!” “Don’t need to tell me twice.” Twilight saw two ponies standing next to the chariot, talking, one had his back to her while the other appeared to be in the middle of telling a story. “...and then she says to me ‘Oatmeal! Are you Crazy!” The second pony let out an exasperated sigh and seemed somewhat antsy, like he wanted to leave. “Damnit, where’s this VIP we’re supposed to be escorting?” Twilight decided this would be the right time to introduce herself and get underway. “Sorry, sirs, to keep you waiting. We ran into a few difficulties packing.” She could practically hear Spike rolling his eyes. The second stallion jumped at the sound of her voice and spun around, he had a smile from ear to ear. “Twilight!” “Silver?” Twilight was surprised, she had thought that Silver was mid-deployment, yet looking back, Spike had said their escort had been transferred to Canterlot. “Oh man, Twilight, it's good to see you.” Silver said as he gave her a hug “What has it been, a year?” “Yes, about a year, how was your deployment?” “If I’m ever ordered to go back to that Divines forsaken tundra somepony is going to get hurt.” “Really? Was it that bad?” “Worse. Twilight I’d like to introduce you to my friend, Sturdy Shield.” Sturdy Shield waved his hoof, “Hi, nice to meet you ma’am.” Spike waved back enthusiastically but Twilight merely gave him a nod. Silver cleared his throat, “What are you heading to a place like Ponyville for? I don’t think they have nearly as many rare books as Canterlot.” Twilight rolled her eyes “The princess has put me in charge of the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration.” she smirked, “Not like you would know anything about being in charge.” “Well you should be careful, ponies might think you’re a vampire with how much you avoid the sun.” “Oh, shut up.” Spike and Silver Shadow burst out laughing while Sturdy Shield looked on in confusion. Recovering, Silver spoke “We should probably get going, we need to be in Ponyville in only a few hours, hop in.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Twilight was off checking on the various different preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration, leaving Silver and Shield with a bit of free time. The duo had decided to use it to explore the town, and had seen some unusual buildings, but the one before them was perhaps the most absurd of them all. The pair had been all over the world, from the icy tundras of the north, to the burning savannahs of Zebricca, but they had never seen anything quite like what now lay before them. It boggled the mind and defied comprehension. “I’m gonna bite it.” Silver slowly turned to face his friend, a deadpan stare graced his features, he had grown far too accustomed to Shield’s unpredictable nature. “You’re an idiot.” Shield did not turn away from the bewildering sight. “It looks delicious!” “It's a building.” The structure in question was a bakery that, upon first glance, appeared to be made of gingerbread. closer inspection, however, revealed that some of the roof tiles were missing, some of the support beams appeared chipped, and one of the windows was missing a shutter, whoever the proprietors were they clearly were in need of more income. Despite this Silver was more preoccupied with his comrade’s apparent failure to comprehend that the building was not actually made of food. ‘He’s done some stupid shit, but this takes the cake. Seriously, what does he hope to accomplish?’ “Oh is the prince too high and mighty to take a risk?” Silver sighed, he was growing steadily more annoyed with Shield’s apparent lack of intelligence. “No, unlike you, I have an IQ higher than room temperature.” Shield turned to face him with a surprised expression. “Well that’s just rude.” “Celsius.” Surprise turned to slight anger, and Shield struck back with the most scathing retort he could muster. “Suck my dick.” A devilish grin slowly grew on Silver’s face, only accented by his sharp fangs. “Well if I knew that’s what you wanted I would have introduced you to my cousin, he loves a stallion in uniform.” Shield gagged loudly and whipped around to face Silver. “Sweet Celestia, fuck no! I’m not into stallions, and especially not some prissy noble!” Trying his hardest not to laugh his ass off, Silver smacked Shield on the shoulder and said, “He’s not nearly as bad as you think, but definitely not your type. Now come on, let’s grab some food, we’re going to be here for a few days.” Entering the bakery the two soldiers were greeted by the sound of a busy restaurant, the quiet conversation, the low tunes of a nearby jukebox, and the sounds of various baking implements. The chatter quieted upon the sight of the armored individuals, particularly the thestral, a race not exactly common and the subject of many rumors. Suddenly Silver’s vision was filled with pink, jerking back, he realized that there was a bright pink earth pony standing before him, practically vibrating. The noise in the bakery had suddenly ceased, all eyes focused on the thestral and the pink mare. “Hi I’m Pinkie Pie! What’s your name? Wait don’t tell me, let me guess! Dark Armor! Grey Knight! Blood Raven! Black Templar! No wait, this is Equestria, not THAT.” Silver simply stared in bewilderment as she began to mumble something about chaos. “Hello.. Pinkie Pie? My name is Silver Shadow, I’m here beca…” She was suddenly in his face again. “Ooooooooooh! Are you with that new mare in town? The Purple Unicorn?” Silver couldn’t have helped but to think that Twilight would greatly despise this mare. He eyed the mare suspiciously, “Yes actually, we’re her security detail for the Summer Sun Celebration. Why do you ask?” She began to excitedly bounce in place, “I throw a party for every new pony in ponyville!” “A party?” Silver glanced back at Shield, who was struggling not to laugh. Facing Pinkie again he smiled, imagining Twilight's expression upon such an event, “I’m sure she’ll love it, she loves meeting new ponies.” By this point the bakery had returned to normal, ignoring the new arrivals. Pinkie’s smile grew even wider, it unnerved Silver, “Perfect! Now, what can I get you fine stallions to eat?” Silver looked up at the menu, pondering his choices, “I’m not sure. What do you recommend?”
ForwardThestrals are unusual to say the least; they live isolated from the rest of the world up in their mountains and rarely welcome outsiders for much more than tense trade arrangements. However, they are quite the interesting race: visually they are a cross between a pony and a bat with large leathery wings and thick fur. But if one were to look a thestral in the eye then they would notice that the thestrals actually bear more resemblance to dragons than bats, in fact, many thestrals are skilled pyromancers. Their mountainous habitat lends itself well to their cave-dwelling nature and thestrals compliment this with great skill in digging. These talents combined make thestrals skilled blacksmiths and metalworkers whose creations are highly prized across the world. No thestral, however, was a greater smith than the legendary Solid Steel, second only to the great forge-master Luna of Equestria. Solid Steel's creations would never break or dull, even after centuries of use, and he was more skilled in enchanting than any pony or deer, despite having neither horn nor antler with which to cast spells. Solid Steel commanded profound respect amongst all the creatures of the world and was forever known as Master of the Mountain. This is not his story. Some thestrals also carry the signature characteristics of wyrms, most prominently the sharp claws on the front of their wings. So sharp in fact that the aptly named Sharp Blade once tore an opponent limb from limb with nothing but his wings, losing an eye in the process, but becoming legend. This is still not his story. No, our story begins, as many great tales of Equestria do, with Princess Celestia and a cup of tea.
