Archangel

Chapter 3: Anomaly

Location: Unknown

Date May 14, 1001 C.E.

Time: 10:47pm

“Private log two thirty-seven. May fourteenth, ten o’one C.E. ten forty-seven pm. Ever since Night Runner Two’s last encounter with Whiskey Delta, reports from cities surrounding Everfree concerning the ‘strange, black beasts’ have increased. Specifically Appleloosa, Dodge City, and Ponyville. Some reports even go as far as Baltimare and Las Pegasus. Speculations have been made saying that the ‘black beasts’ are very large diamond dogs or other races pertaining to the canine and/or feline families.

I called another Summit meeting and confirmed that the diamond dogs had nothing to do with it and that they too have been receiving reports with the same description, some being bigger than others. Upon further investigation, we have concluded that The Dark Scrolls, in fact, have returned. If they have spread into the other nations, then it is only a matter of time before they strike, but it is still too early to tell if they plan on infecting.

We have enacted safety protocols thirty-one and forty-seven. With them in place, we can prevent the viruses from spreading, but the ones first infected will not be so fortunate, which brings me to my next topic. We have completed the two hundred seventy-first set of vaccines. The virus is constantly going under metamorphosis, but through this new set, we have now found a pattern, nearly undetectable without closer examinations, that we can use to potentially predict the next form of the virus. Further tests are being conducted to confirm the patterns.

In other news, our forces have at least doubled since the last century. With this, we can now send more soldiers to the borders. We are losing too many of them due to misallocation of resources, but that can now be rearranged. The Nations must not be–”

The alicorn was interrupted by a hurried knock. He sighs and puts his logbook into the draw to his right. He straightens his posture and clears his throat.

“Come in.” He said. An earth pony, clad in black and gray armor, scurries into the office, “Peace, my friend, what seems to be the problem?”

“Sir, you are needed in the central command. Something big has come up.”

“Very well.” He got up from his desk. “Lead the way.” The two left the office and went down the hallways. As soon as the alicorn stepped out of the room, he was hit with a tingling sensation in his horn.

‘What is going on?’ He thought to himself. ‘This feeling... have I felt this sometime before?’ He quickly removed the thought from his mind and trotted to the command center. The massive double doors swung open and revealed a whole network of ponies running left and right.

“Commander on deck!” An earth pony to his right shouted out. All activity in the room abruptly stopped and everypony snapped to attention.

“At ease.” He commanded. They all resumed their previous tasks.

“Commander!” A unicorn hurried up to them and gave a quick salute. “The unicorns in tower B are sensing massive energy and magical fluxuations all around the Nations, majority of them are concentrated overhead. We haven’t had this amount of electromagnetic and magical disturbances at once ever since...” The pony stops and gulps. “Ever since her–” He was cut off short by another pony in the room with binoculars pointed out the window.

“Sir, the fluctuations have merged together! Something, or rather, some things have emerged from the anomaly and are falling at a considerable rate.” Then his mouth dropped, “Shit! Brace for impact!”

Location: Canterlot

Date: May 14, 1001 C.E.

Time: 8:31pm

Quiet hoofsteps echoed throughout the great halls of Canterlot palace as Princess Celestia, giver of day and guardian of harmony, walked towards her beloved sister's living quarters. As she cantered through the halls, she slowed slightly to admire the statues and stained-glass windows decorating the elegant walls of the palace. To her right there were beautifully crafted images of herself, each one regal and poise, donated by artists over the long course of her rule. To her left there were far newer pieces, not of herself, yet they numbered almost as many as the others. Each one stood just as grand and shined just as brightly, and every single one was dedicated to her little sister. This simple fact brought a smile to Celestia's face. Her little ponies had accepted young Luna so quickly and enthusiastically after a chance to get to know her that Celestia's concerns about re-ingratiating Luna into society had been quickly proved excessive and unnecessary. Ponies across Equestria now loved the night and it's princess just as much as they did the day.

But her smile quickly faded away. Yes, her sister has gotten all of the love and support from Equestria just how she always wanted, but she didn’t seem to be enjoying it at all. In fact, she has been separating herself from them.She spent most of her time outside of sessions of night court locked in her room. A good number of court scribes and guards had reported that they noticed her attention drifting and sometimes she would just look lost.

Could it be simply that she had been assigned to many duties and that they were stressing her out? Or could it be something more? Celestia knew that she could handle it. Though, it had been getting more difficult to resolve disputes between the nations as of late. The tensions that were building between them were piling on fast then she could manage. She feared that things would become worse before they became better. Gryphos wanted more land, Draconia was doing nothing to stop their young ones from crossing the borders, Changeling forces are growing, and the Diamond Dogs have gone into the pony-trafficking market, kidnapping ponies left and right. Relations with Zebrica are wearing thin and pony colonies are facing raids around the clock. She trotted up a flight of stairs.

When she reached the top, she sighed. Then there are the lands beyond the Nations. The Nations have agreed to guard the outer border of this inner sanctum, but what point is it to protect something that is corrupting itself? Ponies began to commit crimes such as stealing, treason, and worst of all, murdering other ponies. What has the world she strived to build become? She shook her head as she turned into another corridor.

She needed to focus at the task at hoof. Her sister hasn’t come out of her room for a couple of days now. Could be locking herself in her room because of her night terrors. They have been getting worse by the day. She would scream in the middle of the day and won’t stop until the dream is over. She tried her best to to cheer her little sister up, but it would only last for a couple hours. She would often fall into depression and cry herself to sleep.

‘I hope I’m making the right choice. Would she like it? What if she doesn’t? What would she do then?’ She stopped in front her sister’s chambers. The guards saw their princess approach and straightened up. The bags under their eyes and the faltering posture expressed nothing but exhaustion. When she was in close proximity of the doors, they bowed and stepped aside to let their princess through. She walked towards the black stained mahogany doors but stopped right in front of the guards.

"Guards.”

“Yes, your Majesty?” The younger guard flinch and tense up, but the other, much older guard retained his stoic expression.

“You are excused. Take some time off to relax.” The younger one was about to turn down the offer, “And that is an order, young one. You both may go.” They both turned and made their final bows before making their way back to the barracks. When they were out of sight, Celestia took in a deep breath and knocked on the door.

“Luna? Luna, it’s me, Tia. Can I come in?” She didn’t get a response. She knocks a second time. “Luna, I’m coming in.” With her magic she slowly turned the handle of the dark mahogany doors. “Luna?” She said as she peered into her sister’s room.

The room is dark and cold. She blinked a couple times to readjust to the sudden change in lighting. The curtains are opened, letting the soft, luminescent light of the moon shine on the floor. The only other light source is the fireplace. It’s soft flames produced a warm light, illuminating only a small fraction of the waiting room. Seeing that her sister was nowhere in sight, she ventured up the stairs and into her bedroom.

“Luna, I just want to talk.” The room remained silent. Only the small crackles of the burning wood were audible. She made her way to her sister’s bedroom door and stopped. The faint sounds of music came from her room. She sighed and opened the doors.

The room is just like the waiting room; dark and cold. Majority of the furniture had been removed to be repaired which left the unkempt bed of her younger sister, who seemed to not be in bed. looking around, she saw an old record player. When she listened more carefully, she immediately recognized the tune. It is the tender melodies of Beethooven’s Moonlight Sonata. She smile, she knew Luna would like that particular piece.

When she shifted her view, she saw a trail of water. She followed it with her eyes until she saw the dripping dark alicorn sitting next to her open windows, the curtains flowing in the soft breeze of the night. She sat there gazing into the endless ocean of stars. The light of the moon shined on her sister’s coat, creating a soft blue glow around her.

Celestia sighed and went to fetch a towel. With towel in her magical grip, she levitated it over sister. Luna jumped a little but didn’t move much due to her sister drying her coat.

“Bah! Sister, leave me be!” She cried out. Celestia only sighed.

“You really shouldn’t be walking around while you are soaking wet. You could catch a cold.” She replied weakly.

“Sister, I appreciate your kindness, but we both know that alicorns can’t get sick.” After Celestia had dried her sister’s hair, Luna shook her head and turned to her sister.

“Yes I know.” She sighed. “I just want you to be safe.”

“Ugh, Tia!” She yelped as her sister frantically rubbed the towel on her head again. “I’m not a foal any more! I am old enough to take care of myself!” She grumbled from under the towel as she tried to remove the abomination.

“I know, Luna.” After she finished, Celestia went to her sister’s dresser and took out her brush. “But to me, you will always be my baby sister.” She said while brushing she sister’s ethereal mane.

“What do you want Tia?” Luna asks in an annoyed tone. “You rarely ever come to see me in my room, and I doubt it is for mere chit-chat.”

“Well... I have noticed that you seemed to be... preoccupied with a lot of things lately, with all of your new, royal duties and all.”

“Yes. What about it?” Luna asks.

“Well, I was wondering if you would like to take the night off and spend some time together.. I think that it would be good for you to take a break.” She replies.

“I guess I could. What do you have in mind?” She asks with a little more excitement.

“To start, we could go for a walk in the Palace. It would just be the two of us so we can talk about anything you wish to talk about.” Luna thinks for a moment. “Then we could go to the gardens. It has been a while since you have seen the gardens hasn’t it?”

“Yes, it has. Do we still have the Night Gardens? I would like to see the nocte flores again.” Celestia smiles.

“Of course! We could walk to the gardens and figure out what to do from there.” With a smile, Luna answered.

“That would be wonderful Tia. When should we go?” After stroking the brush through her sisters mane one last time, she set it down.

“We could go right now. The nocte flores would bloom soon and we wouldn’t want to miss that.” With her new found energy, Luna shot up to her hooves.

“Then what are we waiting for Tia? Let’s go!” She skipped happily towards her door but stopped abruptly and turned to her dresser. “Oh wait! Let me get changed first!” She put on her royal regalia and her shoes. She looked in the mirror trying to make herself more presentable if anypony were to be around. It’s not right for a Princess to go around without her royal regalia.

“Ready!” She said with a beaming smile. Celestia giggled from her sister’s excitement. Luna happily trotted out of her room with a skip in her step. She hummed a familiar happy tune to herself. Celestia followed suit.

They walked through the grand halls of the palace, their voices echoing throughout. The excited and jovial Luna bounced from artwork to artwork asking her sister what each one was and what it meant. After all, she did miss a thousand years worth of history.

“Oh, oh, what’s this one Tia?” She asks standing next to a battered suit of armor.

“Well, that particular piece was found by archeologists in 785 C.E. It once belonged to a fierce warrior called Thundercald the Great. During the 500’s, he and his army went around the world freeing ponies from griffins and dragons.” Celestia told her sister with a smile. Her sister moved on to the next piece, only to find another hallway, but this one had a set of double door leading to the gardens outside.

With a smile, she galloped away towards the doors and opened them. She galloped out into the garden, stopping in the middle of a clearing. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The scent of flours and the night breeze tingled her senses. She opened her eyes to see the wonders of the garden. All the flowers that blossomed and flourished in the sun have turned into buds, but that didn’t stop her from smiling. The nocte flores are about to blossom.

One by one, the nocte flores started to bloom. In the soft, gentle light of the full moon, the flowers gave off their luminescent glows ranging from all the colors of the night. Dark and light hues of blue and purple littered the gardens with few bright yellows and whites, lighting some of it in the more concentrated areas. With the aid of the full moon, the dull and lifeless garden lit up in a beautiful display like the night sky itself.

Luna sighed at the sight. She trotted up to one of the flower beds and sat down next to it. With her hoof, she gently lifted up a small, blue flower. She stared at it intently, then she sighed. Celestia picked up a hint of sadness from it.

“Why don’t the griffins and dragons have to be so cruel to us? Even now, they are killing our kind and trespassing into our territory.” She said. “And it’s not just them either. It’s the same with the other countries too, Tia. Everything seems to be falling apart after Mom and Dad...” She started to tear up. “ I just... Tia I...”

“Oh Luna.” Celestia wrapped her wing around her sister, pulling her into a warm, sisterly embrace. “I wish they were here too.”

“Why did they leave us like this? They said they would always be here for us, but look at us now.” She nuzzled her head into her sister’s chest. “We are barely holding the Nations together. The world they tried so hard to build is slipping right through our hooves. At this rate, harmony would no longer exist.”

“There is still hope Luna. We just need more time. That’s all.” But Celestia knew that there was no time. The time they had ran out long ago.

“But what happens when time runs out? What will happen to everything, everything that Mom, Dad, and everypony else had worked so hard for?”

“I don’t know, but I know one thing.” She took her hoof and raised her sister’s head to meet her’s. Luna’s eyes met hers. “We should cherish every moment we have now and keep those moments in our hearts... Which reminds me.” Celestia get up onto her hooves and helps her sister up. “I have something for you inside, something that you might like.” Luna’s eyes brightened tenfold. He shoulders no longer sagged and a small smile made its way across her muzzle.

“Really? What is it?” She asks.

“You’ll see.” She said as she trotted back towards the palace.

“Aw, Tia. What is it?” Luna whined, yearning to know what her sister had in store for her.

They went back through the double doors they came out of, but instead of going back the way they came, Celestia made a turn towards a bigger part of the palace. Luna cocked her head to the side, ‘Where is Tia going?’ She thought to herself. She followed her sister nonetheless, too excited to linger on the thought.

Luna trotted right beside her older sister, taking in this moment as they navigated their way through the grand halls. Whenever Luna was with her sister, she felt secure and at peace. She is the best, loving, and caring sister she could ever ask for. The warmth of her embrace felt like the way their mother used to hold them. Their mother. She remembers very little of her mother, but Celestia says that she loved her very much, more than the others. That kind of made them jealous of her.

Luna remembered the older times with the whole family. They would all sit together, laugh together, and even play together. She remembered her older brothers and sisters were so nice to her. She looked to Celestia and remembered how jealous she would be because Luna would get all the attention, after all, she is the youngest of the seven. She remembered more of her foalhood days, but they are cut short when Luna bumps into Celestia.

Shaking her head, focusing on the real world, they stopped at one of the large, outdoor ballrooms that had its own garden. This part of the palace had the option of becoming an outdoor room or an indoor room. All the lights are off leaving Luna in the dark with nothing but the light of the moon to help her see. Even with the moonlight, she couldn’t see anything. All the walls are dark and there isn’t a pony in sight...

‘Wait, where did she go?’ She thought, frantically looking left and right, up and down for her beloved sister.

“Tia! Tiiiiiiaaaaa, where are you!” She called out. “This is not funny, Tia! Where did you go?” She was about to call for the third time, but just then, all the lights burst to life.

“SURPRISE!”

“GAH!” I shielded my eyes with my wing and winced at the sudden change in the lighting and volume of noise. There was nothing but painful buzzing in my ears. But when I thought that the noise level couldn’t get any worse, another voice, much higher in pitch, drowned out the buzzing... somehow.

“SURPRISE! Are you surprised Princess? Huh? Huh? Are you, cause we spent the whole day just to–” Then the voice suddenly stopped. Thank Faust!

“Pinkie, I told you we should have just used the candle lights!” Is that Twilight? “She’s probably blind and will never see again! Don’t you know that her eyes are not accustomed to the bright lights as we are?” Well at least somepony thinks about those kind of things. I could hear other ponies bickering and fighting about if this or that happened. Simple worst-case-scenarios my sister’s protege is well known for. Good to know that my hearing came back.

“Luna are you alright?” Tia asked.

“Yeah, I’m ok Tia, Just give me some time to readjust.” She gave me a small nod and walked off towards her student and her friends.

I slowly lowered my wing so that my eyes could adjust, slowly. Very slowly. I blinked a few times to see if it would help. It did, but after adjusting to the brightness, my poor eyes were assaulted by the bright colors of the rainbow. Everywhere, bright shades, almost neon, of reds, oranges, yellows, greens, blues and purples. Everything was just so, bright. What is with these ponies and bright things?

I look around the ballroom. Now that I look at it, there are no walls with windows. They are all just columns that hold up the roof. It has skylights that let the moon’s light flow into the ballroom. I always liked that, and the columns. Ponies could easily go into the large, open gardens or step out onto the flat that extended out into it. But the more I think about it, the decorations and the amount of effort put into this room is to be used for a party.

“Well duh. I wouldn’t spend all that time and confetti just for any pony. Princess Luna deserves the bestest of parties and normal, boring old candle lighting is just boring!” A party meant for me...

“You did all of this for me?” I asked, getting the attention from all of the ponies in the ballroom, or party room as for the occasion.

“Well, duh! Who else do you think this party is for, silly?” The pink earth pony said with a beaming smile.

“Pinkie!” A white unicorn yells from across the room. “You can’t go around and call Princess Luna silly!” Then she rambled on and on about proper etiquette and mannerisms.

“Is this true?” I asked Tia.

“Yes, it is. This is all for you my little sister.” This can not be real. There is no way that these ponies would throw a party just for me, but can they?

“But why? What did I do to deserve this, all of this?” I asked, motioning towards the party.

“Well, you have been working really hard to help me run all of Equestria.” She nudges my shoulder. “I just thought that you could use a break and have some fun... You do know what it means to have fun, right?” She asked me, jokingly. I give a little snort.

“Well, of course I do!” I brought my hoof to my chest, trying to look offended. “Who do you think I am? You are talking to the Queen of–aaagh!” All of a sudden, there was a sharp pain in my head. It died down for a bit, but it didn’t completely go away.

“Luna! Are you alright?” My sister asked, giving me a concerned look.

“Yes, I’m alright. Just a slight headache, is all. Must have been from all the bright ligh–AAAGH!” The pain came back but with even more power than before, but this pain, it is different from what normal pain would feel like. It felt like... panic? I concentrated on my magic and created a telekinetic link to the one celestial body in my charge. The moon.

‘Luna, what is troubling you?’ She responded by lessening the pain, but the impending panic is still there. She told me that something is coming, and something big.

‘Something big is coming? I don’t get it Luna.’ She groaned and told me to go outside.

I broke the link and opened my eyes. I find myself being cradled by Tia.

“What is happening Luna? What did she say?” Tia asked. I try to get up, but I struggled to stand straight. As soon as I take a step, my legs give out on me. I shut my eyes and braced myself for impact, but I never thought that the ground is soft. I open my eyes to see Tia at my side helping me keep myself up.

“Thank you Tia. Can you help me get outside?” She gives me a nod and we trot out into the gardens with Tia helping me every step of the way.

We go out onto the flat that extends out into the gardens. I look around to see what she was talking about. I look through the sky and all around us. I couldn’t find anything that is out of the ordinary. I sigh angrily and glare at her. There is nothing out here that would signify anything “big” coming to Equestria, but that quickly changed.

I felt an odd sensation throughout my horn. This feeling, this is some very powerful magic. I look to my left and right to see anything change physically, but I find that all the unicorns look terrified, like as if they have seen a ghost. Pegasi quivered in fear and even the earth ponies are feeling a little angsty. Whatever this is, it has some very powerful unicorn magic, or am I mistaken?

As the intensity of the magical fluctuation increased, it started to feel more and more like... Alicorn magic. But that can’t be right. There is not a single alicorn in the world that could attain this amount of power.

Over the Everfree Forest, a giant mass of clouds swirled and grew, lightning arced across the sky. Wild energy radiated from its epicenter, creating massive amounts of electrical charge. In the eye of the storm, a small ball of energy grew and grew. Growing larger, it started sucking in magical energies from its surroundings. Wild birds took flight and land animals scurried out of the forest as the very ground beneath them disappeared into magical energy. She was right. Something is coming, something big.

“Luna.” Tia called as she stared at the sight. “What exactly did she say?”

“She said that something very big is coming, but I don’t know what.” Just then, the mass of magical and electrical burst, expanding into a large circle. I felt a tearing sensation in my chest, like as if my heart ripped open. It hurt, but it wasn’t painful. The sensation felt incredibly uncomfortable.

When I thought that this couldn’t get any worse, I sensed several spikes of energy coming from the anomaly. Falling from it at remarkable speeds are several large objects heading straight for the Everfree Forest. I couldn’t focus on the objects. They were falling way too fast.

In several concussive booms, they crashed into the forest, sending dirt and tree roots into the air. The anomaly in the sky dissipated leaving heavy storm clouds and electrical discharges rippling across the sky

“Princesses!” Twilight calls out as she and her friends gallop towards us. “What in Equestria was that?”

“Could it be some brutish cult of over zealous unicorns?” The white unicorn asked.

“Or could it be somethin’ from the Everfree Forest?” The orange earth pony asked.

“Or is could be another alicorn!” Pinkie said excitedly. Every pony in the courtyard stared at her. “What? You might never know when you might the the chance to throw a party to welcome an alicorn to Equestria.” The girls disreguarded the Pinkie’s comment and went on arguing about what could have caused the strange anomaly. With a cough and a nod, Tia pulled me aside.

“What do you think of this, sister?”

“I don’t know, but I think that Pinkie has a better idea as of what caused it. No cult of unicorns and certainly not something in the Everfree Forest can pull something like that off. Even if they could, they would only have enough magical power to sustain the storm. I felt magical and electrical energies coming from that storm. I don’t think that anything, other than a really powerful alicorn, can create that much electrical energy and sustain it for that long. Not even an army of pegasi could have done that.”

“But Luna, how could an alicorn do all that? You know that alicorn magic along can only sustain a third of that storm.”

“Then what do you think Tia? What could you possibly think of that could even come close to creating a storm like that?”

“Something along the lines of a cult who are in the forest with an alicorn.”

“What?”

“Do you remember when our friends were still here? They made an organization that would help protect the Nations at the borders..”

“Where are you going with this Tia?”

“The organization is made up of all the nations best scientists and soldiers. They have dragons, gryphons, changelings, diamond dogs, and ponies. They all answer to one pony and one pony alone.” Then it clicked.

“Wait you don’t think that he did all of this... do you?”

“Yes, I do.” She looks out towards the forest. “I think that it’s time we payed our older brother a visit.”

Special thanks to

Kriegor

Between Lines

TheHumanMKII

SilentRunning