Prime

A small sliver of light bounced off of a reflective, intricately designed, polished silver spoon as it was lifted into the air.  A glowing golden aura surrounded it as it left the table, hovering midair for a moment before it was tapped against a goblet experiencing similar events.  The spoon shook slightly, the long handle wobbling as it reverberated from the impact.  The gemstones embedded in its rolling surface settled into their places once more as the ringing of the collision subsided.  It tapped against the goblet a second time and a third, unable to control the motion, before it and the cup were finally set back onto the smooth wooden table for future use.  The golden aura disappeared, and the spoon was once again able to rest in peace with its fellow utensils.

Above, standing elegantly as she had always done, a gleaming, white alicorn princess awaited the attention of the room's occupants.  To the right sat her younger, cobalt-colored sister, staring up at Celestia's tall composure with a familiarity that graced her presence in a sort of charm.  To her left sat her other sister -- the youngest of the three -- who beamed up at her.  The smile often reminded her of a perfect summer's day.

The bright, warm light of the sunset shone through the huge paneled glass window past the long table of seated regalty and royalty.  The noise that had echoed off of the walls with cacophonous volume before ceased in an instant as the crowd's focus was drawn spontaneously to the gleaming white alicorn at the head of the great hall, bellowing momentarily before coming to a halt.  Clearing her voice, the princess spoke.

"Good day, my beloved subjects.  I would like to begin by saying how wonderful it is having all of you present at once, and that my sisters and I are very much blessed with your willingness to be here on such short notice."  Luna and Cadence bowed their heads in gratitude.  "I suppose that you are all wondering why we have summoned you here."  Her voice boomed throughout the hall, audible and clear, and yet it remained soft and graceful, almost melodic in a sense.  "And no, the reason was not to stuff you all with food and alcoholic cider, sadly."

The crowd let out a small laugh, which lasted about as quickly as it had come.  Celestia smiled, and then became very stern.  "No, it is not to announce the opening of yet another grand festival, feast, social gathering, or any other form of pleasant thoroughfare either."

The crowd grew deathly silent.  "Something very grim has come to our attention, and I feel that you, our most trusted advisers, consultants, and admirals, must know of it immediately."

In a sort of hushed tone, she beckoned Luna and Cadence forward.  The two alicorns stood, approached one another, and connected their horns at the tip.  What resulted was a glistening and flashing miasma of energy and light, which gradually receded into a concentrated flowing plane of memories.  They flinched for a moment as they accessed the correct one, and all attention was directed on the magical field of neural transmissions as a series of events played out in front of them.

"What you are about to see are the memories of a past far precedent of today.  They are some of the oldest recorded incidents of all ponykind, and hold some of the darkest secrets ever to come upon our world.  We felt that it would be best to reveal what happened all of those years ago, seeing as the most logical course of action is also the most immediate one.  Now, do not be too frightened by what you will see.  Like I have said, these are just memories.  It is what they represent that I daresay you should fear."

The memories began to coordinate with one another, becoming a sequence of events that played out in rapid intervals, however still unrecognizable as individual frames.  They reset, the first image forming slowly.  It was nearly a clear, legible picture, beginning to resemble something bright yellow and red.

It was then that a single, blood-curdling scream was emitted from a seat on the far end of the hall, nearest the window.

*****

It all happened so fast.

A symphony of wails and shrieks erupted from the crowd for a split second before a colossal figure came crashing through the giant glass window with tremendous force, shattering the huge panels with a sound loud enough to blast several eardrums within the room.  It smashed through concrete pillars like butter and leveled columns and archways that lined the lower walls, crushing everything in its wake and sending the dining hall in a fit of panic and chaos.  The enormous purple object flung the table into thousands of splintered wood chunks that shattered on impact as they dispersed throughout the hall.

The princesses stood in confusion as the massive ball rolled, flipped, twisted, and finally grinded to a halt a few meters in front of the grand podium.  They continued to gaze upon it with a train-wreck fascination.  When the dust cleared, all three of their hearts stopped as the identity of the face in front of them became visible.

"Is that --" Luna started.

"I... I believe so," said Celestia after a moment of disbelief, her mouth still hanging slightly ajar.  Not once did they blink as the realization settled in, unable to avert their eyes from the purple, winged hunk of scale and meat before them.

Celestia was the first to act.  She jumped down from the podium, hurrying over to Spike.  She leaned in to listen for breath and was caught off guard, not in that he spoke... but rather what he said.

"B-Black... Shadow..." Spike muttered, before all was quiet from him.  Celestia's eyes grew wide, a wave of fear rushing throughout her entire body, starting from the ear he had whispered it into.  It was not something a Princess was supposed to feel, and yet the alicorn felt a sort of quake inside as her strength and wisdom were rattled by the simple instinct to run.  She'd hoped never to have to hear that name again.

"Well, shouldn't we do something?!" proposed a dismayed Cadence.

"What did he say to you?" Luna asked.

"Yes, I suggest we do," Celestia answered, ignoring Luna's question.  It had been some time since its last use, but it was at this moment that the Princess of the Sun called upon her royal canterlot voice.  She almost seemed to address more the room than her subjects.  "IS EVERYPONY ALRIGHT?" she called.  Groans and yeah's filled the hall in a unanimous response as ponies emerged from some of the piles of rubble.  "GOOD.  TAKE ANY WOUNDED TO THE MEDICAL WARD, AND EXPECT A SUMMONS TONIGHT IF YOU ARE NOT CRITICALLY INJURED!  MY SISTERS AND I WILL BE WITH YOU IN A MOMENT!"  Just then, a small platoon of guards burst through a nearby set of doors, spears pointed, swords and shields ready for battle.  A few of them nearly dropped their weapons as they stopped, mouths agape.

The leader of the platoon, obviously the most comprehensive of the group, pushed past the others, running instantly to Celestia's side.  "Princesses!" he spoke, "Are you all right?"

"Yes, quite," Celestia replied, "But for now, we need your help in gathering any wounded.  Those who have suffered any serious injuries are to be taken to the Emergency Ward immediately."

His reply was swift.  "Yes, Princess."  And with that, he motioned for the other guards, who -- gathering their wits -- split up into recovery teams.

Turning back to the two other alicorns, Celestia spoke.  "I'm afraid that the presentation will have to wait, my sisters; it appears we have a visitor."  She looked down onto Spike.  "My visions have been confirmed true, which means that something very disastrous is in store for all of us.  We must dispense with any formalities regarding our original warnings, and make preparations to tell them all, and soon.  Quickly, my sisters!  Bring our guest to the West Wing of the medical facility... or at least some form of medical attention where he can fit inside of the building."

"What about the hall?" Cadence asked as she and Luna flew down to the unconscious dragon.

"I will deal with this until you can return to aid us.  I can handle it.  Now go!" Celestia ordered, giving them a reassuring nod.  The two younger sisters' horns erupted in magic, which soon enveloped the dragon along with themselves, and with that they were gone.

Celestia turned back to the hall once more.

"It must be a Monday."

*****

Spike's mind entered a realm of chaos as his thoughts twisted around him.  Flecks of single snapshot memories whizzed around him, trailing a bright pink essence that dissipated after they'd moved on.  Some memories were older, while others were more recent and long-lived.  Some lasted for short bursts, only appearing momentarily before being whisked back into his subconscious; others seemed to linger and hover forever, more so as the memories grew in relativity to the present.

He heard small traces of voices or other noises as sounds reverberated through the spacious ether from each manifesting memory.  This did not last long, however, as every one of them suddenly vanished and left smoky traces of pink wisps.

"Hello Spike."

He whipped around to see nopony, hardly noticing his surroundings until the magenta smoke cleared.

A tree stood nearby, only it seemed much larger than he was.  He looked down to see a pair of young, delicate purple claws.  He was standing on a hilltop, the sun bathing him in radiant warmth.  The grass under his feet was soft and dream-like.  In the distance was a peaceful-looking Ponyville.  Spike suddenly heard the voice again, turning around at a breakneck speed.

Twilight stood maybe six hooves away, practically within arm's reach.

Spike couldn't move.  His appendages contracted like iron, leaving him frozen in a position of astonishment.  She smiled.

"It's almost time, Spike."  The sun dropped to the horizon in a matter of seconds behind Twilight, making her impossible to see other than a basic silhouette.

"Twilight, no!" he hollered.

"It's almost time, Spike."  A rumbling noise began to emanate from all directions.  The ground shook as huge slabs of rock crumbled into an abyss filled with lava that flowed several miles down.  Cracks formed all along the terrain as the entire landscape shifted and churned, giving way to an endless chasm.

Twilight was getting farther and farther away from him as she repeated the words.  "It's almost time."

"NOOOO!!" he cried.

Just as she disappeared in the blazing sunlight, she said something... something he could hardly hear.  She had said it before, the previous night, in the last vision.

"May the Prime guide you."

A gap opened up beneath him as the earth gave way.  Jumping to the side, he made for the tree, which still stood tall at the top of the hill.  It was simply amazing how its vibrant shades of green remained despite the destruction and chaos of the world around it.  While fires broke out and tore apart everything else, the tree was still there.

Spike latched onto its trunk, feeling tears welling up in his eyes.  He looked up, through the canopy and the branches, and into the darkening sky.

"DO YOU ENJOY THIS?!" he screamed at the top of his lungs.  "DO YOU PRIDE YOURSELF AT MY TORTURE!?  DO YOU REVEL IN MY EXPENSE?!"

Nopony answered.

Nopony ever did.

He hugged the tree tighter still, feeling its rough bark against his cheek.

"I'm sorry," he said.  The words were barely audible through the raging inferno surrounding the world.  "I'm sorry I couldn't be there... I'm sorry I couldn't save you... I'm sorry it was you instead of me.  And I would've taken your place if I could... I... I just want to see you again," he lamented.  "I want to be with you.  I want to have one last great adventure.  I just want it all to be over."

For a moment, there was silence.

Everything suddenly exploded into reverberating, deafening sound.  The whole world shook with the immense noise.

"He's waking up," a voice said.

Then everything went dark.

*****

Celestia walked quickly down the multitude of twisting and turning corridors.  Each hallway had about a hundred or so doors.  The many long years in the castle had taught her to decipher each one from the other.  This deep into the winding bowels of the castle, it was crucial to know which room housed a laboratory or a council meeting.

One time, she had even caught herself heading for a reunion with one of the Commanders' parents, when she had barged uninvited into the honeymoon suite of a young unicorn couple.

She rounded another corner, heading down yet another series of doors and passages.  Finally, she knocked on one of the doors, hearing the loud clang of metal.  Opening it rather abruptly, she walked through a small chamber before being met with the smell of... well, she couldn't quite put her hoof on it.  She quickened her pace, somewhat worried about the scent.

Celestia continued down the route to the medical ward.  The smell was getting stronger.  Just then, she realized that it wasn't natural at all.  Rather, as the air became thickly saturated with magical energy, she knew that it was a powerful spell that was emitting the scent.  It was almost like a coppery something or another, mixed with kerosene and strong perfume.

Several ponies walked past her, some wheeling other ill ponies in wheelchairs, or ones with near-fatal wounds on stretchers.

The princess approached the head desk, asking for the TPP (Top Priority Patient).  The mare at the front motioned for one of the others behind the counter.

"Show her Majesty to Room 341, stat," she told the middle-aged stallion who appeared.  He nodded in response, also bowing in the Princess' presence.

"Please follow me, your Highness."

He lead her down a multitude of pathways and door-filled corridors.  Just another wonderful area of the castle to familiarize herself with.

They soon arrived at a door with the numbers 341 in the center.  From the small opening under it, she saw bright flashes of light.  The stallion looked around, making sure nopony saw them, before opening the door.  He gestured her inside, and closed the door behind her once she had entered.

Celestia was blinded by the flashes of electric magical energy that surged around a ball surrounding the bed in the center of the room.  Several unicorns stood in a circle around it, their horns aglow as the magic amplified into even brighter electrical currents.  Nearest the center were the two other princesses.

Celestia approached cautiously, afraid to disrupt the spell.  Luna's eyes opened, noticing her sister as the powerful bolts of multicolored lightning swerved into the orb's epicenter.  A ray of plasma suddenly escaped from the sphere.  As if a reflex, Celestia caught the stray beam in front of her, stopping it momentarily before one of the unicorns took ahold of it and set it back into place.

The ball seemed to be growing unstable.

"Hey, Spirit!" yelled one of the unicorns near Cadence, "The spell is dividing!  Keep it up on your end!"  His voice seemed to fade before reaching the bright-blue unicorn on the opposite end of the circle.  His ears perked up, a look of understanding reaching him as he clenched his eyes shut in focus.  His horn began to glow more intensely.

A ring of energy split the floor open as one of the unicorns near Luna lost control.

"Dear sister, a little help here!" yelled Cadence, looking towards the eldest alicorn.

"No!" screamed Luna, "We have this under control!  Celestia, don't you move one hoof!"

The ball then turned a deep scarlet, like a pool of blood.  From the middle, a light began to glow, beams of it perforating the magical shell as the crimson began to turn into a hot-pink -- the telltale signs of an explosion.

"Shut it down!" ordered Celestia.

"No!!" Luna retorted loudly.

"Luna!  Now is not the time to be stubborn!  Release it!"

The cobalt alicorn struggled for a second longer as the orb grew more and more unstable, cascading light beginning to swirl around it.

"Urgh!  FINE!  Everypony, on the count of three!"  The other unicorns looked up, astonished at Luna's sudden willingness to comply.  "ONE..." the orb grew brighter.  "TWO..." a gust of magic knocked over several objects in the room as the sphere reached its peak.  "THREE!!" all of the horns in the room went out, their owners diving onto the ground.

Celestia ducked as pieces of magical shrapnel were sent flying everywhere.

When she looked up, it appeared as if the room's air had caught fire.  There were scorch marks covering the walls.  Several electrical wires hung limp from the ceiling, sparks flickering from their severed ends.

The ponies on the ground rose, expecting to see the object in the bed utterly incinerated.  While the mattress was completely shredded and fried, the figure on it remained intact.

The baby dragon let out a small sigh.

"Celestia!" Cadence greeted her.  "Something happened when we transported him!  I don't know why he's this... like this now, but something happened.  After we transported him, he was..."

Luna suddenly interrupted, picking herself off of the floor.  "After we transported him, he started getting... much smaller.  Dear sister, why is this happening to him?  Shouldn't his body be more prepared for travel than this?"

Celestia contemplated.  "I trust both of you synchronized the chronic frame when you transported him, so the only reason this could be happening would be a result of another acting component, most likely the Prime's presence beginning to dawn.  Remember sisters, this is no longer a mere vision of mine, but a truth.  We would do well to heed the warnings, and accept the changes he may be undergoing."

There was a soft murmur from the trashed mattress.

"... He's waking up."

*****

Nopony knew what to make of the situation.  Luna pondered, pacing across the floor back and forth.  Meanwhile, Cadence was talking up a storm, asking various questions concerning the current scenario.

They had been rushed out of the room as soon as the procedure was over.  The last they'd seen of Spike was hours ago.  The hospital ponies had moved him to a new room, and were practically suffocating him with the amount of surgeons and doctors that entered and exited the room regularly.

Meanwhile, the three princesses sat -- or stood in Luna's case -- in the waiting room, with all of the other ponies.  It wasn't the most discrete option, but it was certainly the easiest and least disasterous... or so they'd thought.  Luna did not take any notice of the ponies around her as she paced the floor of the waiting room.  She almost seemed vigorous about it, like her soul purpose in life was now to somehow form a noticeable groove in the floor after walking over the same spot so many times.

"But how did he survive the procedure even when it went hay-wire? And why would a simple transportation spell reduce his size so drastically?" Cadence asked.

"I don't know, sister," Celestia answered for the ump-teenth time.  "Only time will tell whether the recovery spell even worked or not."

"But it did... didn't it?" Cadence replied.

"We will have to wait to see, Cadence!  Calm down, I'm sure everything is going to be alright.  We just have to have faith."

"Faith?" Luna spoke up finally.  "Faith, Celestia, really?  Do you think a little bit of faith is going to save us?  Your visions were right!  The entirety of Equestria is about to fall into an abyss of chaos, destruction, and death, and you want to rest it all on faith?!"  She approached her elder sister.  "What we need is to go in there and see if he's alright.  Our magic is greater than any and all of these petty, dusty old unicorns.  We could heal him fully!"

Celestia seemed disgruntled at her statement.  That is, until "disgruntled" turned into "furious".

"Oh?  Is that so, Luna?"  She stood up.  "I'll have you know that, should any single one of these ponies be granted half of the time as we have been, they would have surpassed both of our skills a hundred-fold!  We are talking about our most trusted sorcerers!  They are not to be underestimated!"

Luna paused, a bit taken aback by her sister.  "Fine."

Just then, they heard a low rumbling sound before a very loud crash was emitted from farther down the hospital corridors.  The sisters looked at one another wide-eyed.  As in silent agreement, they raced down the hallway.

They rounded a corner to see a red-hot metal door flying off its hinges and into the wall, followed shortly by a cloud of smoke and ash filling the section of the hall around it.  An earth pony came stumbling out, black scorch marks covering his entire body.  He was charcoal everywhere except for his eyes, where visible goggle marks silhouetted his face.  Shreds of his old lab coat hung limply off of his side.

"He's... alright..." the scientist wheezed.  He fell face-first into the rubberized floor, landing with a dull thud.

The princesses rushed inside of the room, making sure not to step on the knocked-out stallion on the floor.  The first thing they saw were the multitude of ponies that were recovering from the wall, most of which were unicorns.  When they looked straight forward, they saw a small baby dragon on a near-molten metal table.  He was surrounded with limply-hanging machinery that were either dispersed or destroyed in the small explosion.

There were embers drifting through the air as the three alicorns separated throughout the room.  Luna went to the machinery behind a glass window in the back of the room, while Cadence helped some of the ponies up from the floor.  Celestia, however, fixed her gaze on the table -- which this time was surprisingly intact.

Spike lay on the top of the red-hot, steaming plates of metal that made up the table in the middle of the room.

After preparing a bed, the hospital staff carried Spike into a new room.  Soon enough, Spike was snoring softly under the sheets.  New medical machines surrounded him, although they were not as asphyxiant as before.  The princesses eagerly awaited some kind of an explanation from the Head Sorcerer of Canterlot, who now stood perplexed before them.  Even he was having trouble with the complexity of the situation.

"And you say that any attempt at a spell on him is virtually impossible?" he questioned.

"Yes," Luna answered, "but that's not the most interesting detail."

"Spike's physical appearance has been drastically altered, and we fear that it may be only causing him harm by continuing to conduct spellcraft operations on him.  In fact, I might dare say that we are only putting the rest of the entire hospital at risk," Celestia explained.

"Yes, yes.  I see.  Have you considered taking him to an isolated area?" Xenith Light asked.

Celestia recalled the words he'd spoken.  Black... Shadow...  The words echoed throughout her head, bringing an image of... she didn't want to think about it.

"Yes, I assure you that we have considered that as a viable option.  However..." she paused, a look of great concern building in her countenance, "We have reason to trust that the safest place for him is here, within our city's boundaries."

"Sire.  I understand your desire for such an old friend of Canterlot's to be kept here, if not out of curtiousy, but it simply may be too dangerous."

"Xenith, I know what the risks of this decision are, and I'm willing to take them all on account of something much greater than the simplicity of risks regarding possible accidents due to him being here."  Celestia held her ground.  Her chest rose, her neck craning to emphasize.  Xenith seemed hesitant to say the least.  After a moment, he conceded.

"Very well, Princess.  If there should be anything you need from me, do not spare a second to ask."

Celestia nodded.  Before Xenith could turn around however, she caught him with a firm retort.  "I should expect the same from you, Xenith.  As Head Sorceror, it is your duty to relay any and all information that you find important directly to me, and me alone, if and when it should appear.  If something -- anything -- should happen to Spike, and I am not immediately informed, I will hold you personally accountable for whatever damage is done.  Do I make myself clear?"

Xenith seemed to struggle for a moment.  There were many times in his work when he could not simply stop what he was doing to find the Princess and tell her about it.  Some things needed additional time when they deliver new data and findings.  Celestia made few exceptions to her rules, however, and her rules were absolute.  One does not simply disobey the Princess of the Sun, after all.

"A-hem!  Do I make myself clear, Head Sorceror?"  Her new tone relieved him of any true options.

"Yes my liege.  Perfectly, crystalline-clear."

She was content with this answer, letting a small grin show across her muzzle.  "Good.  Then we should not have any problems.  As you were."  She remained in her alighted posture as he walked away.

As Xenith finally disappeared around the corner of the hospital wing, Celestia immediately turned around, and practically began a slow sprint back to her quarters.  It would be there that, after some well-placed reading and true realization of what could happen as a result of his return, she... well, to put it lightly...

... flipped her shit.

*****