Prologue: Dark Force Rising
How had it come to this? Twilight Sparkle tugged at her bonds. She was inside a dungeon with the other elements. Pinkie Pie was desperately trying to lift everybody's spirits with jokes. Rarity was perched on a small rise, afraid of touching the damp and moldy floor of the dungeon. Fluttershy was quiet while Rainbow Dash glared at the sobbing Applejack.
"What did one door say to another door?" Pinkie tried.
She got a death glare, three dark looks, and a sob. Pinkie sighed, her curly pink hair drooping.
"We wouldn't be in this mess if somebody had not with held her element!" Rainbow Dash snapped, glaring harder at Applejack.
"Rainbow, please. Leave her alone!" Rarity begged, "How can you ask her to hurt her own brother?"
"Puh-lease! It's just Nightmare Moon, only 20% uglier!" Rainbow was furious, "Applejack doomed Equestria! We wouldn't be hurting Big Mac! We would only be stripping Nightmare Moon from him! Luna survived, so would Big Mac! Thanks to her, we're stuck in here with no hope of rescue!"
"It's not hopeless!" Rarity cried out, "I am sure there are ponies out there, fighting Demonicus! Luna is out there! She’ll save us for sure!"
"Luna isn't strong enough! She said so herself!" Rainbow screamed, "This is Applejack's fault!"
"Rainbow!" Twilight gasped, "How could you?"
"She's right!" a broken southern voice sobbed, "We are in this mess because of me! Ah'm sorry, girls! Ah just couldn't do it! Ah couldn't hurt mah brother!"
"Applejack, you stop that!" Rarity ordered.
"But it’s true! Ah'm the reason we're stuck here!" Applejack wailed.
"STOP IT! STOP IT ALL OF YOU!" Fluttershy snapped, starling everyone.
The yellow pegasus had been huddled in a corner since Demonicus's guards had thrown them into the dungeon. Now, Fluttershy had left her corner and was staring down each of her friends. Her gaze was harsh yet not unkind.
"I don't blame Applejack." Fluttershy shrank back into her corner nervously, "I wish it wasn't Big Mac ether."
"We should have seen the signs. We could have stopped this before what happened had happened." Twilight broke the silence, "Why didn't we see it?"
"I didn't want to believe that someone so kind and gentle could become so corrupted." Pinkie Pie looked away, her hair flat, "Mac always came in to the Corner around 2 every day. I should have realized something was wrong when he stopped coming."
"Why are we sitting here, moping?" Rainbow Dash yanked at her bonds, "We should be working on getting out of here!" She tried to flex her wings, but the bonds tying them down were too strong.
The dungeon was one good sized room with high windows which were barred to prevent escape. The only door was made of metal, and a small window with bars looked out into a stone hallway. It was cold, but not uncomfortably so. the floor was covered with a greenish smelly sludge in which Rarity had put up quite the struggle against the guards to avoid. She was perched on a small rise in the ground. bits of dried sludge coated her white body where she'd landed when the guards had thrown her into the room. Thick leather straps tied down Fluttershy's and Rainbow Dashes wings, and tied their right hind leg to a metal ring in the floor. Pinkie Pie and Applejack were tied by their right hind legs to another ring while the two unicorns shared a third ring. The unicorns also wore cones that prevented them from using their magic. Rarity had screamed for hours over the indignity of the cone. Muzzles covered the mouths of the pegasi and the earthlings. The cones prevented the unicorns from chewing the straps.
Rainbow had already tried to chew her way out of the strap but the muzzle stopped her. She was frustrated with herself for not being able to escape. Applejack had been a sobbing mess since they fell against Demonicus, so no help was coming from her. Twilight, Rarity, and Fluttershy were too weak, which left Pinkie Pie, who was currently munching on a lollipop, her hair back into its normal curly mess. Where she had gotten the lollipop, Rainbow decided she didn't want to know. Rainbow had also long since discovered the floor was smooth with a small rise which Rarity had claimed so she couldn't cut herself free. The muzzles were not coming off. Hooves failed at what nimble fingers could do. All hooves had been cut and filed to rounded edges so that idea was out too. Rainbow refused to give up.
"Twilight, can magic bounce?" Pinkie asked suddenly.
Rainbow brightened, only to deflate as Twilight explained that magic couldn't bounce. Dang, another idea out the window. There had to be a way to escape! Her head shot up, both ears cocked, listening. There, a soft hoofstep. Someone was coming! Who was it? Was it too much to ask that it be a good guy? She watched the door. It opened, revealing Demonicus and twelve guards. The six bearers of the elements shrank back from the Dark Lord. The guards each paired up and went to stand by an element.
Demonicus looked like Big Mac, whose body he had taken as his own. The orange blond mane and tail were longer, and the once red body was darker. The eyes, once sage green were now black with a sage green slit. A long horn and large wings completed the look. The cutie mark, once an apple cut in half was now a rotting apple cut in half and covered with worms. Demonicus smelled of decay, and seeing him was enough to make you shiver. He smiled, malice dripping from his face.
"Hello, my little ponies. We are going to play a game. The girl who wins will be executed, their element destroyed. Ah cannot have you out and about, planning mah demise now can I?" Demonicus's voice was harsh and cold, not the warm southern lit that was Big Mac.
"Go back to where ya came from! Leave mah brother alone!” Applejack screamed, rising and charging at Demonicus. The strap around her leg stopped her from reaching him, “Fight back, Macintosh!”
“I told you, he cannot hear you. He is dead, remember?” Demonicus walked among the element bearers, “Tails together.”
They complied quickly to avoid punishment from the guards. Demonicus reached into the mess of tails and selected a strand of hair. Each girl stepped back.
“Ow!” Fluttershy cried out, the strand from her tail in Demonicus’s teeth.
“We have a winner!” Demonicus chuckled darkly, “Guards, bring the girl to the court yard! You lot, bring the other girls. They will want to see this.”
Fluttershy swallowed, the stare having already frozen her two guards in place. She growled deep in her throat as she turned her gaze on Demonicus. A vicious kick to the head knocked her out. She was dragged away with the other girls forced to follow. They were led through the dungeon and out into the courtyard. In the center of the courtyard, a dirty white Alicorn with limp pastel hair was tied down so she couldn’t move.
“Celestia!” Twilight screamed as guards hoof silenced her with a hard blow to the jaw.
Celestia’s eyes opened as she raised her head, “Twilight! Gah!” A guard with a whip struck the solar princess into silence.
“Nobody told you to talk!” Demonicus kicked Celestia in the rib cage, hard. He was satisfied to hear the resounding crack as a rib broke. She was not long in this world. Around the courtyard, there were large stands which were full of ponies. Perfect. Celestia will die first along with kindness. He turned to face the crowd.
“Who is ready for the execution to begin?” he shouted.
The stands stayed silent. Demonicus didn’t care about that. He turned to Celestia and ordered her untied. Celestia rose to her hooves, horn lowered. Demonicus only grinned. He flicked his horn, knocking Celestia down with a wave of red energy. Celestia gasped and spat out a wad of blood. She was half way up when Demonicus struck again. Twilight screamed. Celestia stayed down. She pointed her horn and two tendrils of golden light snaked from her to tangle up Demonicus’s hooves. Demonicus stumbled, letting the white mare think her trick was working. Once she was up, he stomped the ground, ending her attack. Celestia was panting, her head low. Blood dripped from the corner of her mouth. Demonicus decided he was done playing around. He decided it was time to display his full power. He squared himself off, his feet planted firmly on the ground. He lowered his head as Celestia reared, her horn pointed at the sun. Yes, the time was now. The sky turned black has Demonicus lit his horn. Thick iron tendrils shot from the ground around Celestia. They curved and dove; one tendril shattered her horn while two others impaled her wings, bringing her to the ground. Her mouth opened of its own accord as a tendril curved out of her to burrow into the ground. Celestia’s eyes were wild with panic. Demonicus nodded, and Celestia let out a silent gasp. The iron strung through her body had missed all of her organs and her spine. Now, it grew spikes which cut through everything. The sun winked out of the sky. Twilight screamed in horror and grief. Rainbow turned and began yelling at Applejack who broke down in tears. Rarity was in shock and Pinkie’s hair went flat, her eyes haunted by what she had just witnessed. Fluttershy yelped, being dragged toward Demonicus.
“Please! Don’t hurt her!” Rarity found her voice.
“I don’t plan to hurt her dear. I plan to enjoy her.” Demonicus grinned. Fluttershy gasped, realizing she was going to be raped. Demonicus entered her and Fluttershy gasped. Unknown to her, a fresh iron tendril sprouted through her body to exit her mouth. The tip split and curved around the edges of her mouth. Demonicus came with a howl of animalistic pleasure and stepped back. He gripped the iron and pulled it apart. Fluttershy felt something tearing inside. She choked, unable to scream. With a final pull, Demonicus tore her in half and tossed her aside.
Rainbow Dash retched violently, the lump of stale bread and two ounces of water that was her dinner expelled from her body. Rarity was crying and screaming in rage. Pinkie Pie’s mind snapped violently. Applejack sobbed. Twilight burned with rage.
*****
“She’s dead!” Luna gasped, slowing from her mad dash toward Ponyville.
“Who is dead? Will you move it, Luna? Demonicus cannot capture Solaria! Move it!” Blueblood tried to force his aunt along. Eight year old Solaria stopped.
“Cousin, mom is gone.” The young princess stood stock still.
“I didn’t risk hide or hair to get you two out for this!” Blueblood cried, “We have to go now! You both can grieve later! Let’s go!”
The three royals were on the far edge of Everfree heading toward Ponyville. They would catch the train and escape to Appaloosa. From there it was an overland trip to a place called Blue Manor. Luna had not said much about the place except it was safe from Demonicus. They would be able to hide out there.
Luna had known her sister was doomed along with the elements. She had taken Solaria with Bluebloods help and escaped when Demonicus had attacked. The attack had been brutal. Luna prayed that Solaria had not seen the death around the castle. It had been bad. Guards lay everywhere, their bodies torn up. Luna squared her shoulders and pressed on. She would do as Blueblood had asked. She would grieve once they were in the safe confines of Blue Manor. It was very important that they keep Solaria safe.
chapter 1: Escape from Blue Manor PT 1: Arrival
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chapter 1: Escape from Blue Manor PT 1: Arrival
Someone was nudging her toward the land of the living. She didn't want to wake up yet. She was too sleepy.
"Fluttershy, wake up." The voice was insistent.
Fluttershy opened her eyes and lifted her head to see a white unicorn mare with blue and white hair smiling at her. A cluster of blue flowers made up the unicorn mares cutie mark. Fluttershy looked around the stone room. She was laying on a comfortable bed. The room wasn't large, nor was it small. The walls were pink and pictures of ponies hung on the walls. A door led to a balcony while a second door led to a hallway. The unicorn mare smiled.
"Fluttershy, it is me, Princess Celestia." Celestia smiled.
"But you aren't a unicorn." Fluttershy stood, and went to stretch her wings. They felt odd. She couldn't tell if she were moving them. Turning her head, she gasped. Her sides were flat. No feathery appendages lay against her back. She turned her frightened gaze back to Celestia, who smiled.
"It's okay, Fluttershy. The spell still has some glitches that need to be ironed out. At the very moment my mind left my body, I desperately cast a transportation spell. It transported me here. I then cast an alteration spell which changed me to this. I did the same to you, but I haven't worked out all the glitches. You could say your wings got lost in the transport." Celestia gave a wiry laugh, "As you can tell, merging spells and I don't mix very well."
"Could I get my wings back if I wanted to?" Fluttershy asked.
"Of course, after I figure out what went wrong. I think it will be better if we stay like this for now." Celestia blushed slightly, "I bet you wonder where we are. This is Dream Castle. We are in Dream Valley, Equinova. We are deep in the old lands."
"What about the others?" Fluttershy asked.
"I'll bring them over here after Demonicus 'kills' them." Celestia replied, "Pinkie is next."
"You signed Fluttershy's death warrant, Applejack! you killed her! If you had not withheld Honesty, Fluttershy would be alive! You've killed us all!" Rainbow Dash screamed at Applejack, foam flecking her mussle.
"Rainbow Dash! Stop it! You know that is not true!" Rarity tackled the cyan mare to the ground, "It is not Applejack's fault!"
"She's right." Applejack looked away, "Ah caused this. Ah was too afraid of losing mah brother."
Pinkie started to laugh. It wasn't her normal laugh. This was the laugh of one who had lost her mind.
"Lost!" Pinkie laughed, "We were never meant to win!"
"Au contraire, my little ponies."
"Discord?" Twilight screamed, "You know I hate it when you do the invisible voice routine!"
Discord had been trapped in stone until Celestia found herself spilling her guts to him about Black Chaos, her worry that Luna might get infected again, and how she felt like she had failed her home. Her tears broke the statue apart and Discord found himself holding the sobbing Alicorn. He told Celestia he would gladly return to his stone prison after the threat was taken care of. In the end, after some matching making from Luna, the two imortals found themselves in love. Then Celestia was attacked and left in a coma. Discord hunted down the ones responsible, the other spirits of disharmony, and in a fit of pure rage, sealed them away. He remained by Celestia's side where he finally admitted his feelings for her. She woke up a day later calling out his name. After months of recovery, Discord and Celestia were married. a year later, they adnounced their pregnancy, and five months later, Solaria was born.
The Dragonequs poped into exsistence above them, "You will win. Celestia, Luna, Blueblood, and I planned for this. Celestia still lives." Discord flaoted to the ground, "We knew Nightmare Moon would try again. We did not expect it to join up with the evil it came from. Big Mac is gone, Applejack. He went into the Everfree fully expecting to die. Big Mac, our fifth member, has sacrificed his body for the true nightmare to possess. Even if Applejack had not withheld Honesty, you would have still lost. The true nightmare, Black Chaos, cannot be defeated by the normal attack of harmony. You need to achieve Perfect Harmony. Fluttershy lives. Celestia made sure you would survive your deaths. Demonicus thinks he is killing you. We need him to believe that. As soon as she can, my daughter, Solaria, will come for you and help you defeat Black Chaos." Discord turned to Pinkie, "Such a young mind shattered." He placed his hand over her eyes, "I will fix your mind soon. I have to go." he vanished.
The dungeon door opened as a plate of cupcakes was slid into the room. Pinkie, in a moment of clarity, pounced on the plate and inhaled the cupcakes.
"Pinkie!" Rainbow complained, "Couldn't you share?"
"No, Dashie." Pinkie laid down and curled up, "Those were meant to kill me. It is my turn to die. The poisons in the cupcakes are leathal. Already, I'm bleeding out inside."
"Pimkie, you can't die! I can't lose another friend!" Twilight cried out, "We are already down one element!"
"Twi, you know what is going to happen." Rarity looked confused. Twilight only pointed at one of the high windows with her horn. "Oh I see."
On the window still was a small black box with a blinking red light. Pinkie coughed, spitting out a wad of blood and mucus. She knew she would go quickly. Her body began to shake. Her eyes rolled in their sockets. Blood poured from her nose, eyes, mouth, any opening it could find. Her breathing went from rapid to labored and wet. Pinkie’s mane, tail, and coat fell out in clumps. She looked like she had aged rapidly before them. Her body began to shrivel up. Finally, her head sank against her forelegs. The only indication that she was alive was her laboriously rising and falling chest and sides.
They had finally reached Blue Manor. The place was ancient and run down. Blueblood looked amazed as he looked around the once impressive mansion. There was a vast orchard on the left of the mansion. It was a grove of dead trees now. Cracked blue paint and broken windows helped to convoy the once great buildings age. Broken pale blue marble columns and statues lay scattered about like some giant had knocked them over. The walls sported cracks and had caved in several places. The magic here was still strong.
“Is this Blue Manor?” Solaria asked.
“It is.” Luna looked up at the sky where a small white sun brought little heat, “I grew up here. It looked better then. That orchard was our main source of food and income. We had apples, lemons, kumquats, oranges, cherries, plums, bananas, pineapples, and grapefruit. There was a huge garden in the back that provided vegetables. Meat was rare. It was fed to us foals to ensure we grew strong. We thrived on a mainly vegetarian diet. I hated meat.” She walked up to the vast doors and tapped them with her horn. Ancient machinery coughed and wheezed. Slowly, the great doors slid open to reveal a grand hall. The inside had aged better than the outside had. The Solaria looked around excitedly.
Blue marble stairs dominated the room. A large silver and diamond chandelier dominated the blue celling. White rugs covered blue marble floors. Dark wood and iron doors led further into the manor. The walls had dark wooden paneling and white paint. The upper balcony had a set of doors in the center and two small doors on either side of the room. A second large door led further into the mansion below the balcony. A lone statue made of white marble depicting a rearing Pegasus with flowing hair sat by the lower set of doors. A second statue, this one made of green jade lay shattered on the floor. On the doors was a carved picture of a pony’s head.
“They are Princess Tiffany and Princess Pristina, leaders, sisters, and mothers serving Blue Manor.” Luna touched the carving of Tiffany’s head reverently, “I knew them, thousands of years ago. This way.” Luna went up the stairs and opened the door on the left side of the room. She walked into a dimly lit hallway. Opening a second door on the left, Luna gasped and entered the room. Solaria and Blueblood followed.
The room was tastefully furnished in pale white furniture. The walls were black. Chalk stars covered the wall. The overhead light was done as a moon. Dark blue carpet covered the floor. Moons and stars decorated the tattered bedspread. Stars hung from the black celling. The single window overlooked the orchard. A telescope sat before the window. On the table next to it lay star charts, a white pencil, a ruler, a compass, and stacks of blank charts. On a white dresser sat five dolls. All five dolls were winged unicorns. One was yellow with red yarn hair and the wings of a dragon. Two were black with black yarn hair. One had grey eyes while the other had magenta eyes. One was white with pastel rainbow yarn hair. The last one was dark blue with sparkly blue yarn hair. The yellow one had sun shaped buttons sewed to its hips. Two rose shaped buttons looking like they were made of gears decorated one of the black dolls. A set of suns decorated the hips of the white doll while a pair of moons decorated the blue dolls hips. The second black doll had a red button and two small brown buttons on its hips.
“Was this your room?” Solaria asked.
“Yes, this was my room. I was always watching the sky and charting the stars I saw.” Luna went to the dresser, “My dolls! Tiffany made them for me. We raided Pristina’s button box for the buttons, with Pristina’s help of course. The two big ones were Mom and Dad, Sunstar and Bryon. Dad had to raise me, Celestia, and Aries on his own. Tiffany was like a second mom to me. She taught me about the heavens, and her dreams to one day see the night sky full of stars.” Luna walked over to her old bed and sat down on it, relishing the sound of the familiar creak.
“You told me how Mage created the Sun and Moon.” Blueblood said, “Was that here?”
“Yes, it was. Mage moved the Sun and the Moon on his own until Celestia and I were old enough to take over. Andromeda died during our first winter here. Mage did his duty and two years after passing the Sun and Moon to me and Celestia, he had a massive heart attack and died that night. Aries was with him at the end. Aries was fine with me and Celestia moving the sun and the moon. He said he would never have the patience for that. His love was the ocean and exploration. It was Aries that fought Discord while Celestia and I found Deathstar’s lab in the old world where the Elements awaited us. I took Magic and Honesty. Aries took Laughter and Loyalty while Celestia took Kindness and Generosity. We were able to trap Discord, and somehow, my sister fell for him.” Luna explained.
As if he heard his name, Discord appeared, chewing on a hunk of meat.
“Oh good, you guys made it.” Discord said, “Celestia is safely hidden in the safe place. She is bringing each element to her as they die. Everything is going according to plan.”
Solaria flapped her small wings and landed upon her dads shoulders with a giggle. Discord craned his head around to give her a lick. His eyes shone with love for his daughter. He would do anything to protect his wife and daughter. Discord settled on the floor and offered a piece of meat to Solaria who began to chew on it. Even though Solaria looked like a normal pony, she was part Dragonequs and needed meat to thrive. Solaria’s wings were a dead giveaway to her Dragonequs nature. They combined Celestia’s wings with Discord’s dragon wing. They looked normal until you realized the back part of the wing was leather. The other giveaway was her mouth. She had sharp teeth ideal for ripping apart and chewing meat.
“That’s good.” Luna said, “We just might pull this off.”
“I only wish Mac didn’t have to offer himself to Black Chaos.” Blueblood said.
“That is Mac for you. He chose to do it. He is the logical choice. Any one of us and Black Chaos would be more powerful then we could deal with.” Discord stripped off another piece of meat for Solaria, “We still have hope.” He nuzzled his daughter, “We will save Equestria. Black Chaos will not do to Equestria what he did to the Old World.”
"Never again. He broke our family apart. For that I will never forgive him." Luna said, "At the same time, if he had not distroyed the Old World, I would never have gotten a wonderful niece and an awesome brother in law."
"And Celestia would never have tamed my chaotic heart. I would not have a beautiful daughter nor a pretty sister in law." Discord smiled, "We will prevail."
