All is Dustby Rennoc215ChaptersThe HedronsThe ChallengeThe First RisenHistory RepeatingSleepThe HedronsThe ground trembled again, shaking dirt loose and knocking things off of the nearby roofs. Pots in the windows clattered and a few food items fell from their stands. Ponies scrambled about, trying to avoid falling debris. Ironically, Pinkie appeared to be sitting still in space, while the rest of the world shook around her. We can only asume that she didn't think anything was wrong, as she is always bouncing anyways. That's odd, Twilight thought to herself. That's the fifth tremor this week. I didn't think Ponyville was a geologically active area. Twilight shook her head, not understanding. In the few years she had lived in Ponyville, not once had the ground moved on its own accord. This whole tectonic shift was throwing ponies around, both figuratively and literally. Something was definitely not right. The ground was shaking everywhere, causing mass amounts of destruction in some places. Some of the larger equestrian cities, like Canterlot and Manehatten, have already had buildings collapse, and numerous other cities were threatening to collapse. And that's not mentioning all the smaller towns, like Ponyville, which happened to be suffering some quite severe quakes recently. And Equestria wasn't the only nation that had these strange tremors. Members of the Griffon kingdom and Zafrica had both sent out pleas for help, which was why all the princesses were away, providing a helping hoof to all the foreign nations. To quote princess Celestia, "We are all stricken by something we cannot control. This is why we must band together, so as to survive this point of global suffering." It's like the world is ending. Twilight thought grimly. Her thoughts were interrupted by another tremor, followed by the sound of grinding stone and screaming ponies. Twilight heard a loud crack, followed shortly after by a louder boom. Worried that somepony might have been hurt, Twilight raced outside, to see that one of the nearby houses had collapsed. Rising from where the foundations used to be was a strange, ornately carved stone. This stone hovered a few meters from the ground, and was easily a few meters wide. It was obviously carved, as all eight faces were exactly the same size and shape, fitting together like two pyramids, set base to base. The grayed stone betrayed its age, however, showing that it had to have been just as old, if not older, than the Everfree castle. In fact, doing a twice-over, Twilight concluded that it had to be centuries older than the ruined castle. Along each face was a set of intricately carved patterns, primarily straight, geometric figures. But within those recesses radiated a strange, powerful magic. When Twilight probed it, she saw a vast expanse of untapped power, hiding just behind a locking spell. When Twilight checked the lock, it seemed so foreign, so utterly alien to her mind. It was as if a flower was trying to understand what it meant to be a pony. But how can this be? Twilight asked herself. No ponies from that era could complete such precision, let alone imbue it with such potent magical powers. "Spike!" She called aloud. Sure enough, her faithful companion raced to her side, panting lightly. "Ah, Spike. Take a note, please. 'Dear Princess Celestia...'" -+-+-+-+-+- Celestia sighed. Today had been a long day meeting with the griffon council. All they seemed to want to do was fight about every last point. How much food goes where, what part of the nation needed help the worst, nothing trully mattered to them. Only the sake of arguing. She took a long sip of her glass of orange juice. Suddenly, she heard a loud pop, followed by a burning smell and a sizzling sound. She looked up to notice a letter, faithfully sealed and sent by dragonfire, which caused her to smile. She looked up at the sun, noticing that it was only midday, and a frown crossed her face. "Twilight sends her daily reports one hour before sunset. What could be so important to break her schedule?" Celestia wondered aloud. The frown still tainting her face, she carefullt opened the letter, and began to read. "Dear Princess Celestia, I hate to bother you during your meetings, but this is urgent. While continuing my studies, one of the nearby houses collapsed, revealing an ancient artifact. It is a huge, ornately decorated stone, which floats in the air a few meters overhead. This shape radiates magical power, yet all of its immense power is contianed behind an ancient spell lock, which could have only been crafted by a non-unicorn mind, because the magic is completely unfamiliar to me. I wish to know what I should do now. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle." Princess Celestia lowered the scroll and stared blankly into space, thinking back. During her impressive existance, she couldn't remember any being ever claiming to have made such an artifact. She turned back towards the meeting circle, and, upon seeing the group reassembling, she flew to join them. Once they had all assembled, she cleared her throat and adressed the group. "Unfortunately, I have just beem called back to my nation for a matter of utmost importance." Some of the griffon chairmen created an uproar over this, but the griffon king shushed them. "Now now, gentlegriffs. Celestia here is a ruler in her own right, and she has responsibilities. We appreciate your coming to help, and we wont forget these kind actions, but if you must leave, then you have to go." He bowed to her, and she bowed in return, as was customary. "Might I ask, what is this encounter?" Celestia smiled. "It is an unusual floating stone, which demolished a building when it rose from the ground." The griffon king nodded. "As I expected. For that is the very reason we met again so soon. Down in the valley below is such a stone. Tell me, did your messenger say anything about magical properties?" Celestia nodded, so he continued. "Same with ours. Which means we can reach a decision that we can all agree on. You can stay here, studying this 'Hedron,' as the locals have begun to call it. You can keep in touch with your messenger, thus spreading information. This way, we will all be aware of what these things are." Celestia furrowed her brow, thinking hard as to what she should do. To refuse would make the griffons suspicious, and to accept could worry Twilight. But Twilight can manage herself, and this is internationally important, Celestia reminded herself. "I can," she began, before she was cut off by a shadow falling over her. All around looked up, to see the moon moving forward, blocking the sun and creating an eclipse. A pulse of darkness later, the sunlight returned, to show her sister, Luna standing before her. "Tia! A most terrible happening hath occured!" Celestia laughed, cutting off her sister. "Let me guess, Luna. A rock, with powerful magical properties, has risen from the ground." Luna cocked her head, and Celestia laughed again. "It happened in Ponyville and down in that valley." Her face hardened up, as a mental bell went off in her head. "Luna." She said in a scolding voice. "I thought we agreed only to use the eclipse during an emergency." Luna could only lower her head in shame. "We are sorry, sister. We did not mean to cause panic, it is just that We ourselves were panicking, and we could think of no faster way to contact thou." Celestia smiled, and began to pat her sister on the back, when a fizzling sound was heard, and a scroll of light pink paper appeared beside her. Celestia raised an eyebrow, and carefully opened the scroll to read aloud. "Dear Aunt Celestia, I have a question. have you ever seen, or heard of, a strange stone with massive magical properties. The reason I am suddenly so interested is because one just rose from the outskirts of The Crystal Kingdom. Sincerely, Cadence. P.S. What was Aunt Luna so worried about? I saw the eclipse and I feared the worst." Celestia smiled again, and looked to Luna with an eyebrow raised. Luna looked down awkwardly. "Oh... I, uh... I didn't think of that." Celestia turned back to the council. "As I was saying, my decision is made. My student can independantly study the one in Equestria, my sister in Zafrica, and my neice in The Crystal Kingdom. And I," she said, motioning to the valley, "Will stay here. That way, we can have some of the most powerful minds each working on their own hedron." The councilmen nodded contently, and the griffon king smiled contently. "But I will need a small amount of time. I must visit each of them in turn, physically, for them to trully understand my plan." She said with a bow. "I shall return soon," She added, with a smile. The ChallengeTwilight looked long and hard at the hedron, which had now been relocated into the center of Ponyville, surrounded by Twilight's defensive network, which was erected in order to others out. Especially after what had happened to Spell Seal. Twilight shuddered at the memory. The brown unicorn stepped up, calling to all how his talent was magical locks. He looked into the hedron, his magic probing the lock. Twilight watched him worriedly, knowing something was about to go wrong. He probed the seal, and found what resembled a magic gate. Smiling, he went for it, pushing his aura into the gate, trying to slip past. Twilight watched in horror as his horn began to heat up, but he was far too deep now. His face contorted in frustration, but then he gasped in pain. His horn was glowing a super-hot red, and he screamed as it exploded. Horn shards went everywhere, with Spell Seal being knocked out cold. There was no reason to let any other pony tempt fate, risk ruining their horns, and most ponies complied. Every know and then, desperate unicorns had raced forward, trying to tap the limitless power within. Thus prompting for the barrier. Twilight was once again trying the seal, reaching deeper into the defenses each time. In fact, occasionally she would see a portion of the magic reserve flash a shade of purple, before returning to the faint, pale transparency it usually held. Before she could investigate further, she heard a call from behind her. "Twilight," Came the defiant voice of one particularly stubborn unicorn. Twilight turned away, seeing the proud blue unicorn striding up brought up a pent up frustration, which burbled like a fresh spring. "What do you want, Trixie?" Twilight spat. Trixie smiled boastfully (Yes, it is possible. It's that look where... You know what, you probably already know what it looks like.). "Oh, I can't visit my rival in Ponyville anymore? I just wanted to test my magic to yours again. I feel like I might have something on you this time." Twilight raised an eyebrow suspiciously. So, Trixie now thinks that those "Competitions" are leisurely events, times to flaunt one's abilities? Very well, I'll play her game. Twilight thought with a smile. "Alright, Let's see what you've got." Trixie's smile could have matched Twilight, but it was soon replaced by a grimace of focus. Twilight focused particularly hard on Trixie's horn, seeing if the color was different. To her surprise, it wasn't any shade other than her regular blue-ish. Twilight, in her analytical mind, knew something was off. The color, was it a shade lighter? Was it her new found approach? Twilight thought frustratedly. Finally, she sighed, and actually looked at what Trixie was doing. What it was made her gasp slightly. Trixie had focused on a small, young bush, and began to make it bloom. Of course, Twilight knew that the color on the blooms was perfect, since she had seen the bush in bloom several times before. So she isn't creating flowers, she is aging the bush to make it think it is time to bloom. Clever. And since she is doing it gradually, rather than instantly, it is taking less magic. Even more clever. Twilight thought. Finally, once the bush had bloomed sufficiently, Trixie let out a held breath and puffed her chest out triumphantly. "Very well." Twilight said, a wry smile creeping across her face. She focused on said bush, reversing the process just as gradually, undoing any damage to the bush. Then, Twilight focused on a nearby tree, causing it to grow a single, large, golden apple, which promptly fell from the tree. Twilight used her telekinisis to bisect it multiple times, until eight perfect slices floated around her. She pulled two plates nearby, and put four slices on each, before passing a plate to Trixie. "Can't compete without refreshments, can we?" Twilight asked, somewhat mockingly. Trixie took it in stride. "No, we cant." She focused again, and Twilight gasped. Storm clouds were gathering around them, unguided by any pegasus, instead softly encased in the light blue aura. But, that's pegasus magic! Twilight thought, sawing her pull more cloud together. They reached a certain point, and Trixie pulled two nearby glasses near. She wrung the clouds out, funneling the drops into the glasses. She focused on it, and part of the water froze, chilling the drink. "Now, we can begin." Trixie said, taking a sip from her glass. Twilight shook her head. You've got this, Twi. She reassured herself. Her horn sparked as she tapped into other magics, trying to bridge the gap like Trixie had. After probing them she found a bridge that seemed more than willing. That meant that some being, nearby, was close enough that it would let her tap into its' power. She shifted around, finding light knowledge on all the magics. Primarily fire magics. Spike, Twilight thought comfortably. She saw the way he warped fire to his command, and so she reached out, and set a fire. She focused on it, crafting it into the shape of a dragon, and caused it to fly off into the distance. Once it reached an appropriate distance, it banked sharply, and turned to pass over the town again. It repeated this display a few times, and on its fifth pass, it turned upwards, into a vertical climb right over the town. When it was rather high, it stopped, hovered for a moment, and then exploded in a large, firework-like display of reds and golds. Twilight let out a gasp of breath, noticing that the mental strain had caused her to start sweating. She delicately lifted a glass to her mouth, and lightly sipped at it, in such a way that would make Rarity proud. Trixie's brow furrowed, and her smile became dead serious. "My new found power is unmatchable. Not even the fabled alicorn amulet can match my new found power!" She said, her voice slowly getting louder as she spoke. "Now, Witness my power!" She shouted, before her cape began to billow in an unblown wind. Her body was lifted into the air, a gale of loose leaves blowing around her. Twilight laughed. "Nice trick." She said, making another stab at her pride. Trixie's eyes, opened, and they glowed with a soft, clear light. "I am not a conjuror of cheap tricks." She stated calmly, before the wind around her became even more vicious. Her cape billowed out, and from beneath it came a few small, floating objects, each glowing with the same clear light. Twilight looked closer, and saw that these were very much like the larger hedron inside the field, albeit much smaller. Each glowed with an unbound light, which began to arc out at nearby objects, before linking together, and then to her. A pulse of power shot from her horn, and the ground beneath them all began to rumble. "I am the master of the seas, of the soil." She said, in a voice much deeper than her own. "I control the mountains and the oceans. All that you see before you is mine, as are you. For I am the lord, the creator of this land. And it is now time for the harvest." She floated higher now, the gale strong enough to pull small, loose items into it. The ground was now violently shaking, knocking open doors and throwing unsecured furniture around. Dark clouds began to gather, and darkened the midday sun, creating an overwhelming darkness, like the twilight hours of the day, when you can see, but it is quite dark. "I feel what power is rightfully mine, and I will have it." The voice said, and a beam of power slammed into the defensive barrier, overpowering it and blasting through the shack, revealing the large hedron. "Come to me." It commanded, and the hedron was lifted into the sky. "With this might, I will rend the heavens and split tartarus. My might will be unmatched, and then I will be free." It continued, using Trixie's body as a conduit. The hedron lit up, and arced to her present collection. "You once belonged to my brother, but now you are mine. Open wide your gates, and feed me your might." Another pulse of magic hit the hedron, and it lashed back, stopping this beam in a battle of might. "You are mine!" The voice screamed. "OBEY ME!" The magic lashed back, slamming into the beam and sending Trixie to the ground. "Bah." The voice said. "This form is weak. Soon, I will come, and then you will be mine." The lights faded, the hedrons lowered, and the tremors faded. A blur of blue came across the skyline as the clouds began to disperse, and as Twilight followed it, she realized it was coming at her. Soon, her prismatic-maned friend had just pulled to a landing beside her, and was berating her with questions. "What happened? Are you alright? Who did this?" were the more common in the storm of questions. "Rainbow, I'm fine. I was just having a friendly magic duel with Trixie when something went wrong." Twilight said, hoping it would calm her friend down. "Who was messing with the clouds?" Rainbow asked accusatively. "Trixie." "Who was shaking the ground?" "Trixie." "Who's voice could I hear halfway across town?" "Trixie." "Who was throwing around the big bolts of magic?" "Trixie." "One last question: Who did the flaming dragon?" Twilight shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Wha...? Oh! That one was me." She said, puffing her chest out. Rainbow Dash nodded her head approvingly. "I thought so, 'cause it was too cool." As the two friends were discussing what happened, Twilight was interrupted by a grinding sound, followed by a loud crack. The ground shook lightly, and then all was silent. Not even the birds chirped, the silence was definite. Skreee! The First RisenSkreee! "Twi?" Rainbow Dash asked slowly. "What was that?" Twilight's mind sputtered. What kind of creature makes such a noise? She thought to herself, flipping through her extensive knowledge to find nothing reasonable. Aside from one thing. "It might be a changeling." Twilight said hopefully. "A solitary locust." Rainbow Dash nodded, and together they slowly turned around, to see some horrid monstrosity clawing it's way out of the ground. The creature could best be summarized as some sort of nightmarish binding of a squid and an ape. But that would be a grave understatement. The creature's body was that of some hairless, atrophied ape. Ribs stuck out, giving it a skeletal look. At the shoulder, instead of two arms, there were four, each one providing it another chance at pulling itself from the ground. The neck was atrophied like the body, and the muscles and veins bulged under the waxy, discolored skin, which ranged from white to deep purple in coloration. But the head could have very well caused anypony to turn tail and run. The head was shaped like a dome, off centered from the neck, giving the tapering head a beak-like look. But other than that, there were no other discernable features. No nose, nor mouth. Neither eyes, nor ears, or even hair for that matter. Only the waxy, white skin stretched over the dome. As it found more purchase, it was able to pull it's lower half from the ground, revealing a mass of tentacles, as if a young tree had just been ripped from the ground. They all flailed in the sunlight, grasping everything within reach to help pull it further from the ground. It scrabbled towards the unconscious form of Trixie, using it's arms as well as tentacles to pull itself closer. But Twilight was faster, and encased it in an orb of psychic energy. It crawled about the bubble, screeching and slamming into the bubble, trying to flail its way out. The repeated needs to focus were leaving Twilight feeling drained, and this thing wasn't helping either. It slammed into the bubble again, shattering it like the changeling army did. It turned and scrambled for one of the tables in a nearby coffee shop. Once it reached the shade of the umbrella, Twilight had an idea. She encased it again, and this time it seemed content to rest for a moment. "Rainbow Dash, go get Spike. I need to speak with the princess immediately." Twilight commanded, to which Dash saluted and flew off. Twilight gingerly stepped up to the dome, in an attempt to speak with it. "Hello?" She asked. The thing turned its dome towards her, sending a shiver down her spine. "Who are you?" She asked, and the thing pulled closer to the bubble, and reached it's arm towards her, before it was knocked back by the shield. It let out a shrill of pain, and Twilight toned the shield down a bit, to prevent harm. "Hello?" She asked again, and it repeated the previous action, reaching out with its arm, only to be shocked again. This time, it let out a shrill of anger, and slammed into the shield, which shimmered under the pressure. It raised it's hands, and turned towards Trixie. It hit the barrier again, and a small portion fizzled away. It reached out again, trying to grab her, but she was out of it's reach. It let out another angry shrill, and slammed into the barrier again, crumbling it like before. It crawled forth again, trying desperately to grab her, only for her to be whisked away by Twilight's magic. It took the change in stride, pivoting on a single arm so as to face her new location. Twilight pulled Trixie closer as it raced forwards, and when it was within reach, she quickly teleported to the other side of the clearing. It let out a low growl, and turned around to face them. It lumbered forward again, charging across the street, where Twilight was able to trap it again. It wailed about, slamming into many things, as if any amount of intelligence had escaped it started "hunting" them. It was just so primal... Fluttershy. Twilight realized. She could probably calm this thing down. She looked to the sky, relieved to see Spike and Rainbow Dash flying in. "I came as fast as I could. What did you need us to do?" Rainbow asked, Spike sliding off of her back. Twilight smiled, and relaxed a bit. "It's good to see you. I'm pretty exhausted from today. Dash, I think I have a solution to resolve this peacefully. Can you get Fluttershy and the biggest cage you can find?" Twilight asked, some of her words laced with the heavy tones of exhaustion. Rainbow Dash nodded, then took off, flying as fast as she could, not out of fear like before, but worry that her friend wouldn't be able to last much longer. "Well, what can I do, Twilight?" Spike asked, shaking slightly. Twilight looked down at him with a reassuring smile. "I need you," She said, ruffling his spines lightly. "To write a letter to the princess." He smiled, nodded, and pulled out a piece of parchment and quill. "Dear princess Celestia. I found something that I feel has great importance. I would like to see you in pony to discuss it. Please hurry, as I may not be able to hold it for long. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle." Spike finished scribbling on the page, before rolling it up and breathing dragonflame across it, burning it away, the ashes flying off into the distance. "Thank you, Spike." Twilight said, yawning. "Sure thing, Twilight." Spike responded, with a thumbs up. Twilight blinked, and turned back to their captive, who seemed unusually still. It simply sat there, leaning forward on all four arms, its back heaving slightly, as if it were slowly breathing. In and out, in and out. It's asleep! Twilight realized. She let out a sigh, relaxing slightly. A short while later, Twilight could see the two pegasai carrying a cage plenty large enough for the creature, Fluttershy with a look of concern on her face. "What poor creature needs me, Twilight?" She asked as they pulled in for a landing. "And why did we need such a large cage. Twilight pointed at it, and when Fluttershy saw it, she dashed underneath a nearby table, cowering. "W-wh-what is that?" She asked, stammering slightly. Twilight sighed. "I have no idea. It was acting very... primal, and so I thought you might be able to help. As for the cage," She added, pointing to the bubble, "Holding up a shield for so long, along with a little 'friendly competition' I had, is surprisingly draining." To add effect, her horn sparked slightly. Feeling comfortable the thing was asleep, Twilight lowered the shield, then lifted it softly on a small patch of telekinesis. She floated it into the cage, where it rested on the hard, solid bottom of the cage. Twilight quickly shut the cage door, locked it, and breathed out a sigh of relief. "There." She said, before promptly collapsing to the ground, fast asleep. Author's Note For everyone who has favorited this so far, I apologize about not thanking you all properly. It's just not telling me when people favorite me stories anymore. So I am going to go ahead and thank all the readers here! History RepeatingThe first thing Twilight heard as she awoke was a worried, motherly voice."Twilight?" It asked gingerly. She shook her head rapidly, to clear the fogginess, and when her vision was cleared she found herself looking into the face of her mentor. "Ah, hello there, Twilight." Celestia said, a flicker of relief crossing her face before it returned to her original neutral glance. Twilight, on the other hoof, was quite spooked. She was just standing outside, and began to relax after the thing had been contained. I must have fallen asleep. I guess my display of "fireworks" took more out of me than I realized. Twilight rationalized. She put on a sheepish smile and stood, rubbing her head. "Hi there, Princess." Twilight responded. She looked about to see herself inside her room, the caged creature simply sitting there, observing them. "I take it you have met the... ah, creature?" Twilight asked, tilting her head a little bit. Celestia smiled. "Yes, I have become acquainted with it." She said, her tone quite formal. It reached out, between the bars, its arm reaching upstairs, towards Twilight's room. Twilight frowned. "I take it Trixie is in my room?" Celestia nodded, and Twilight sighed. "Have we figured out why it is hunting her out specifically?" She asked. Celesita's eyes brightened. "Actually, I have a theory. I heard Trixie had a new trinket? Could you go and get it for me?" she asked, nudging Twilight towards the door. Twilight looked down and quickly walked towards the door. Thankfully, Trixie was asleep, so this should be easy. Simply walk in, pick them up in her aura, and then trot out. Simple, right? Twilight rationalized. She saw the pile of hedrons softly jutting from under Trixie's cape, prompting Twilight to focus on levitating them towards her. But as she reached them with her psychic aura, to her surprise, she found that they actively resisted her call. What is up with these things? Twilight thought angrily. She prodded the defenses gingerly, feeling around for a backdoor. Within a few moments, she found the small, hidden opening, the one weak point. As these were miniature magic wells, they resonated with their current owner's magic-color. Thus, these glowed a soft blue, diluted by white. As Twilight felt around, they began to accept her, the light blue darkening to the familiar purple Twilight's had. Soon, the matrix was swirling about her, and she felt her magic potential grow. So they lend their might to the strongest... Interesting. Silently, she tiptoed out of the room, and she watched the creature as she walked down the stairs. "Interesting." Celestia murmured as the creature followed Twilight's movements, silently grasping for the purple mare. "Twilight, would you mind stepping just within reach of the creature?" Although her mind was screaming no, her body moved to comply. The creature reached out and grabbed a hedron from mid-air, and Twilight felt the drop of magical power leave her. The thing held the hedron like a monkey picking fruit, and it reached out again, snatching another. Once again, the drop faded from her pool, and she stepped back involuntarily. Twilight reached out, and plucked the two hedrons from its grasp, and it shrieked like she had pulled an arm off with them. The creature recomposed itself, and reached out again, desperately trying to grab the hedrons. "Thank you, Twilight. If you do not mind, I would like to have a few moments of privacy with this beast." Twilight nodded, and stepped outside, looking at the large hedron before her. "I had always thought I needed just a little more power..." She mumbled to herself, realizing she might now be able to get inside. She probed the part again, until she found the seam she had so neatly made. She dug in, and began rooting around, seeing the hedron's inner light briefly flash purple. The extended connection was putting a strain on her, and she found herself using up some of the matrix'es charges. The feeling was alleviated, prompting her deeper. She had always found the intricacies of locks stunning and beautiful, but nothing mesmerized her like these arcane locks. She delicately probed deeper, and finally found the release. She set it off, and the way inside was made clear, albeit with a surprisingly loud boom. She saw the magic of this "super-hedron" Slowly convert to her color. That's when she heard a loud crack. -+-+-+-+-+- Celestia watched as Twilight stepped out, and quickly shut the door behind her. No distractions. She faced the creature, which regarded her with mild disinterest. Celestia stepped closer, and the thing just sat there, watching her. Well, this is new. She thought mildly. "Alright. Have you a name?" It only sat there, unmoving, save for the rhythmic swaying as it adjusted its weight. "Speak! I command it! Hear my voice and obey!" She shouted, not quite reaching royal canterlot levels. Yet the thing simply stood there. It then gently reached out, one finger extended. Curious... Very curious. Celestia broadened her mind, reaching out to see what sapience lay behind the cold, featureless face. What she found shocked her. She found nothing. As she sat there, staring at the void of a mind, she heard a voice. "Come closer..." The dry voice whispered. Celestia cocked her head, and leaned towards the creature. "What did you say?" She asked. "Come closer. Let me show you..." It whispered again, and this time the creature motioned with it's finger, motioning her closer. She leaned in, and the creature set its elongated finger on her brow. Her eyes widened as the images flashed through her mind. Days before ponykind, whole civilizations of two legged beings. Humans. I remember the studies in archeology. They lived in towns much like her own, including huge cities, with all kinds of humans. White, tall humans and green, shorter, frog-like humans. Then, the tremors. The hedrons, then this mindless horror. But they came in the thousands. They began as small ones, like this being here. Then, more violent tremors, and even larger ones rose. That's when everything went to tartarus. Because the little ones had gathered the hedrons together, creating a superstructure larger than canterlot. It emanated enormous quantities of magic energy, and it ripped the ground beneath it apart. The hole in the ground created a doorway, where even more of the little ones came up. But buried beneath all the small, weak ones was a monster. A goliath of them, wordlessly leading it's abhorrent horde. It had no reason but destruction, no need but death. These creatures were like locust, devouring the fields of all life. The humans were not alone either. Some wielded magics, some spears, and while their defended cities held against the smaller ones, the titan plowed through all the defenses. Soon, when more hedrons had been collected, a second one rose. He played mind games, and was a master manipulator. He would have them screaming their innermost secrets, just to make the burning in their minds stop. And shortly after, there rose a third, forming a brotherhood of destruction. One, master of the soil, one of the sky, and one of the mind. They rampaged across the planet, and the humans fell. Their thousands of years of history crumbled in a year. Nothing survived. And when the soil was ash once more, and there was no more death to sustain them, the ancient gods slept again. But there was still hope. Although the elder gods had killed everything, a few beings teleported into view. Although Celestia could not tell how, or from where, those beings planted new seeds, hoping the slaughter was over. They used immense magics, rebuilding the land. They wept silent tears as they walked, spreading hope of a new, peaceful world to follow. One particularly prolific mage pulled a strangely familiar mountain from the ruins of an old city. Celestia thought back to what she had seen, trying to remember the name of the old city. "Camelot, I believe." She heard the voice whisper. "Canterlot..." She breathed. "But if there are only three blind intelligences, then you must be..." She began, before she was thrown away by a large exploding sound. She saw a blinding light from outside, the shadow of a unicorn shining through the window. "Come back, let me in, let us talk, make me whole, make me strong, give me light, give me freedom." The voice whispered. Celestia shut her eyes, and took a moment to compose herself. Her mind finally returned to normal, the dark whispers shut out. "Twilight." She whispered as she stepped outside, into the blaring light. SleepTwilight heard a faraway voice calling her name. It seemed so far away, as if it were an echo from a previous life. But it sounded urgent, this faraway whisper. But the blank whiteness that she was engulfed in was so pleasant. She couldn't feel the ground beneath her hooves, yet there was no feeling of falling. It was comforting, this blank vastness that stretched before her. Suddenly, there was something wrong. A pale discoloration, a golden color, so much like sunlight. Yet no matter how nice the sunshine is, it was marring the purity of the white around her. Lashing out harshly, Twilight shattered the hold that the yellow had on this expanse. Twilight smiled, and settled down into her relaxation again. She could feel time passing, but it didn't concern her. She was in bliss, this white vastness keeping her sustained. There was no need to think, no need to do anything. Even learning, which was the bread and butter of her life, wasn't necessary. She would have questioned herself, ran through a list of what affects her like this, and then explored her surrounding. But then again, she would have to be thinking straight in order to come up with this. Still, the time passed, and she smiled. "Peace..." She heard something whisper, drawing her attention. She turned her head to look around, yet saw nothing. She was about to say something, when the catatonic peace washed over her again, drowning thought in bliss. Once again, she heard the urgent calling, and felt something tugging at her leg. Twilight frowned, and knocked the thing grasping her away. But it came back, insistent. Angry that her joy was being interrupted, she smacked the point of origin away, forcing the grasp with it. Glad that it was gone, she smiled and leaned back into the pale eternity. "Twilight!" A new voice called. Woken from her sleep, she angrilly stood, four hooves feeling nothing beneath them yet holding position as if by instinct. "Twilight!" It called again, and she turned, seeing a blemish of blue in her whiteness. She reached out to smash it, like she had the gold spot. Yet her force went right through the patch, which was slowly growing. Soon, the large blob took on a pony shape, striding forward, detail etching onto its surface as it walked. It grew taller, more slender, and the blue began to shift colors, gaining shadowing and tone. Soon, a mane and tail erupted from its shape, billowing ethereally. A horn and wings grew, and recognition crossed Twilight's face. "Princess Luna!" She cried, rushing forward. The blue alicorn smiled, and embraced the smaller unicorn. "Twilight Sparkle, thou hath made us worried." Luna whispered in her ear. "We were afraid even we could not reach you. But we must awake, and soon, dear Twilight." "Awake?" Twilight asked, cocking her head. "Am I asleep?" "No, thou hath the endless sleep." Luna said gravely. "The... endless sleep? Do you mean... a coma? I'm in a coma?" Twilight asked frightenedly. Luna could only nod. "Well, how do I get out?" "For this, there is no spell. Indeed, even We do not know if thou will awaken, We can only hope." Luna replied, her tone sad. "We will be trying, That is what is important." And with that, she was gone, leaving Twilight to drift in the comforting void. All this power is mine, yet I can't use it. Ironic. Twilight thought angrilly, folding her hooves across her chest. Sleep took her bitterly, slowly crawling closer. -+-+-+-+-+- "Is she going to be alright?" Spike asked the taller princess beside him. Celestia simply looked grimly at her favored student. She was floating at the center of an orbital field, the swarm of hedrons circling her like planets to their precious sun. Suddenly, without warning, a high pitched wail shattered the grim silence, and one of the library windows shattered outward, the creature leaping at Twilight. The largest hedron floated between them, and the creature shrieked again as it impacted upon the surface, bending and breaking akwardly. The creature fell unceremoniously at Celestia's hooves, before being lifted in a faint purple aura. The limbs were repaired, bent back into place, the dent in the face popped out, and the body rotated back into place. Gingerly, it was set down again, and simply sat there, watching Twilight, as if waiting some unspoken command. Quickly, the thing nodded, before turning to Princess Celestia again. It reached out, and the princess hopped backwards, not ready for another terrifying immersion. It recoiled, as if offended by her reaction, before looking down at it's hands. It let out an unholy wail, holding it's hands above it's head, and wailing again. It looked at the princess, and held it's arms out, as if begging for something. Celestia cocked her head, and leaned carefully closer. "What do you want?" She asked, arching an eyebrow. The creature took it's lower arms and folded them across it's chest, and flapped it's upper arms like wings, before taking them and wrapping them about it's body. It leaned it's head into one of it's arms, as if nuzzling one, and Celestia's other eyebrow joined the first, high above the normal location. "I... don't think I can." Celestia answered, and the thing broke down. The silence was pervasive, but sobs racked the thing's body, and it slumped to the ground. The four arms crumpled beneath it, and it stayed like that for some time, looking up at the impassive princess looking down at it. After a while, and with a sigh, Celestia aquiesced, walking over, and embracing the creature with her wings. Having no dear ducts, the face which pressed itself into her chest was eerily dry, but the arms embraced her like a terrified filly clings to a mother. After a while of that, the tremmors which racked it's body ended, and it looked up at her expressionlessly. She cocked her head, before the thing stroked her horn. She recoiled, and the thing's arms flew to it's own head, frantically searching for something. Another wail escaped it's mouthless face, and it reached for the princess. To her credit, this time the princess held her ground, but did not embrace the creature back. The thing finally relaxed before turning and throwing it's arms in the air excitedly and racing towards Spike. Spike leapt back, onto the princesses' back, who shook him off. It stood there for a moment, before pointing upwards with a single finger. It quickly raced back into the treehouse, giving a confused Spike time to look at the princess. "What was that all about?" He asked. Before the princess could reply, the thing came flying back out of the house, and slammed into the ground, quill and parchment in it's claws. Albeit akwardly, it slowly scribbled out a note to the dragon. It handed the sheet to him, and collapsed onto it's hands, which it used to help support it's upper section. He cleared his throat before reading. "Spike," he read. "You may not recognize me now, but it's me, Twilight. Now, before you ask for proof, below, I have written a particularly private tale of yours. You don't have to read it aloud, but it will prove that I am who I claim to be." At this, spike went silent, his cheeks blushing furiously as he read the written document. Celestia curiously glanced over his shoulder, and he quickly pressed it against his chest so she wouldn't see how he had an enourmous crush on you-know-who. She scoffed lightly, and gave the tiny dragon his privacy. After a few moments of reading, Spike looked up at the creature resting before him. He held it's gaze for a few moments, the rushed forward and embraced it in a hug. "I was so afraid we had lost you." He said, holding it close. The thing nodded, before taking the quill and page again. It finished, and handed the note to Spike, who read it aloud. "Unfortunately, it seems this body can't speak. I guess I will have to write anything complex that I want to say, but that shouldn't stop me from much. What really distresses me is that I no longer have my horn. My magical studies will take a large hit, but my non-magical studies will flourish, so maybe we will get some new major discoveries. Which made me think of something..." Author's Note Sorry about taking so long; my time spent writing has taken a big hit recently. Maybe this is the end of the drought, and the rains of writing will come again. Hopefully.
The HedronsThe ground trembled again, shaking dirt loose and knocking things off of the nearby roofs. Pots in the windows clattered and a few food items fell from their stands. Ponies scrambled about, trying to avoid falling debris. Ironically, Pinkie appeared to be sitting still in space, while the rest of the world shook around her. We can only asume that she didn't think anything was wrong, as she is always bouncing anyways. That's odd, Twilight thought to herself. That's the fifth tremor this week. I didn't think Ponyville was a geologically active area. Twilight shook her head, not understanding. In the few years she had lived in Ponyville, not once had the ground moved on its own accord. This whole tectonic shift was throwing ponies around, both figuratively and literally. Something was definitely not right. The ground was shaking everywhere, causing mass amounts of destruction in some places. Some of the larger equestrian cities, like Canterlot and Manehatten, have already had buildings collapse, and numerous other cities were threatening to collapse. And that's not mentioning all the smaller towns, like Ponyville, which happened to be suffering some quite severe quakes recently. And Equestria wasn't the only nation that had these strange tremors. Members of the Griffon kingdom and Zafrica had both sent out pleas for help, which was why all the princesses were away, providing a helping hoof to all the foreign nations. To quote princess Celestia, "We are all stricken by something we cannot control. This is why we must band together, so as to survive this point of global suffering." It's like the world is ending. Twilight thought grimly. Her thoughts were interrupted by another tremor, followed by the sound of grinding stone and screaming ponies. Twilight heard a loud crack, followed shortly after by a louder boom. Worried that somepony might have been hurt, Twilight raced outside, to see that one of the nearby houses had collapsed. Rising from where the foundations used to be was a strange, ornately carved stone. This stone hovered a few meters from the ground, and was easily a few meters wide. It was obviously carved, as all eight faces were exactly the same size and shape, fitting together like two pyramids, set base to base. The grayed stone betrayed its age, however, showing that it had to have been just as old, if not older, than the Everfree castle. In fact, doing a twice-over, Twilight concluded that it had to be centuries older than the ruined castle. Along each face was a set of intricately carved patterns, primarily straight, geometric figures. But within those recesses radiated a strange, powerful magic. When Twilight probed it, she saw a vast expanse of untapped power, hiding just behind a locking spell. When Twilight checked the lock, it seemed so foreign, so utterly alien to her mind. It was as if a flower was trying to understand what it meant to be a pony. But how can this be? Twilight asked herself. No ponies from that era could complete such precision, let alone imbue it with such potent magical powers. "Spike!" She called aloud. Sure enough, her faithful companion raced to her side, panting lightly. "Ah, Spike. Take a note, please. 'Dear Princess Celestia...'" -+-+-+-+-+- Celestia sighed. Today had been a long day meeting with the griffon council. All they seemed to want to do was fight about every last point. How much food goes where, what part of the nation needed help the worst, nothing trully mattered to them. Only the sake of arguing. She took a long sip of her glass of orange juice. Suddenly, she heard a loud pop, followed by a burning smell and a sizzling sound. She looked up to notice a letter, faithfully sealed and sent by dragonfire, which caused her to smile. She looked up at the sun, noticing that it was only midday, and a frown crossed her face. "Twilight sends her daily reports one hour before sunset. What could be so important to break her schedule?" Celestia wondered aloud. The frown still tainting her face, she carefullt opened the letter, and began to read. "Dear Princess Celestia, I hate to bother you during your meetings, but this is urgent. While continuing my studies, one of the nearby houses collapsed, revealing an ancient artifact. It is a huge, ornately decorated stone, which floats in the air a few meters overhead. This shape radiates magical power, yet all of its immense power is contianed behind an ancient spell lock, which could have only been crafted by a non-unicorn mind, because the magic is completely unfamiliar to me. I wish to know what I should do now. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle." Princess Celestia lowered the scroll and stared blankly into space, thinking back. During her impressive existance, she couldn't remember any being ever claiming to have made such an artifact. She turned back towards the meeting circle, and, upon seeing the group reassembling, she flew to join them. Once they had all assembled, she cleared her throat and adressed the group. "Unfortunately, I have just beem called back to my nation for a matter of utmost importance." Some of the griffon chairmen created an uproar over this, but the griffon king shushed them. "Now now, gentlegriffs. Celestia here is a ruler in her own right, and she has responsibilities. We appreciate your coming to help, and we wont forget these kind actions, but if you must leave, then you have to go." He bowed to her, and she bowed in return, as was customary. "Might I ask, what is this encounter?" Celestia smiled. "It is an unusual floating stone, which demolished a building when it rose from the ground." The griffon king nodded. "As I expected. For that is the very reason we met again so soon. Down in the valley below is such a stone. Tell me, did your messenger say anything about magical properties?" Celestia nodded, so he continued. "Same with ours. Which means we can reach a decision that we can all agree on. You can stay here, studying this 'Hedron,' as the locals have begun to call it. You can keep in touch with your messenger, thus spreading information. This way, we will all be aware of what these things are." Celestia furrowed her brow, thinking hard as to what she should do. To refuse would make the griffons suspicious, and to accept could worry Twilight. But Twilight can manage herself, and this is internationally important, Celestia reminded herself. "I can," she began, before she was cut off by a shadow falling over her. All around looked up, to see the moon moving forward, blocking the sun and creating an eclipse. A pulse of darkness later, the sunlight returned, to show her sister, Luna standing before her. "Tia! A most terrible happening hath occured!" Celestia laughed, cutting off her sister. "Let me guess, Luna. A rock, with powerful magical properties, has risen from the ground." Luna cocked her head, and Celestia laughed again. "It happened in Ponyville and down in that valley." Her face hardened up, as a mental bell went off in her head. "Luna." She said in a scolding voice. "I thought we agreed only to use the eclipse during an emergency." Luna could only lower her head in shame. "We are sorry, sister. We did not mean to cause panic, it is just that We ourselves were panicking, and we could think of no faster way to contact thou." Celestia smiled, and began to pat her sister on the back, when a fizzling sound was heard, and a scroll of light pink paper appeared beside her. Celestia raised an eyebrow, and carefully opened the scroll to read aloud. "Dear Aunt Celestia, I have a question. have you ever seen, or heard of, a strange stone with massive magical properties. The reason I am suddenly so interested is because one just rose from the outskirts of The Crystal Kingdom. Sincerely, Cadence. P.S. What was Aunt Luna so worried about? I saw the eclipse and I feared the worst." Celestia smiled again, and looked to Luna with an eyebrow raised. Luna looked down awkwardly. "Oh... I, uh... I didn't think of that." Celestia turned back to the council. "As I was saying, my decision is made. My student can independantly study the one in Equestria, my sister in Zafrica, and my neice in The Crystal Kingdom. And I," she said, motioning to the valley, "Will stay here. That way, we can have some of the most powerful minds each working on their own hedron." The councilmen nodded contently, and the griffon king smiled contently. "But I will need a small amount of time. I must visit each of them in turn, physically, for them to trully understand my plan." She said with a bow. "I shall return soon," She added, with a smile.
The ChallengeTwilight looked long and hard at the hedron, which had now been relocated into the center of Ponyville, surrounded by Twilight's defensive network, which was erected in order to others out. Especially after what had happened to Spell Seal. Twilight shuddered at the memory. The brown unicorn stepped up, calling to all how his talent was magical locks. He looked into the hedron, his magic probing the lock. Twilight watched him worriedly, knowing something was about to go wrong. He probed the seal, and found what resembled a magic gate. Smiling, he went for it, pushing his aura into the gate, trying to slip past. Twilight watched in horror as his horn began to heat up, but he was far too deep now. His face contorted in frustration, but then he gasped in pain. His horn was glowing a super-hot red, and he screamed as it exploded. Horn shards went everywhere, with Spell Seal being knocked out cold. There was no reason to let any other pony tempt fate, risk ruining their horns, and most ponies complied. Every know and then, desperate unicorns had raced forward, trying to tap the limitless power within. Thus prompting for the barrier. Twilight was once again trying the seal, reaching deeper into the defenses each time. In fact, occasionally she would see a portion of the magic reserve flash a shade of purple, before returning to the faint, pale transparency it usually held. Before she could investigate further, she heard a call from behind her. "Twilight," Came the defiant voice of one particularly stubborn unicorn. Twilight turned away, seeing the proud blue unicorn striding up brought up a pent up frustration, which burbled like a fresh spring. "What do you want, Trixie?" Twilight spat. Trixie smiled boastfully (Yes, it is possible. It's that look where... You know what, you probably already know what it looks like.). "Oh, I can't visit my rival in Ponyville anymore? I just wanted to test my magic to yours again. I feel like I might have something on you this time." Twilight raised an eyebrow suspiciously. So, Trixie now thinks that those "Competitions" are leisurely events, times to flaunt one's abilities? Very well, I'll play her game. Twilight thought with a smile. "Alright, Let's see what you've got." Trixie's smile could have matched Twilight, but it was soon replaced by a grimace of focus. Twilight focused particularly hard on Trixie's horn, seeing if the color was different. To her surprise, it wasn't any shade other than her regular blue-ish. Twilight, in her analytical mind, knew something was off. The color, was it a shade lighter? Was it her new found approach? Twilight thought frustratedly. Finally, she sighed, and actually looked at what Trixie was doing. What it was made her gasp slightly. Trixie had focused on a small, young bush, and began to make it bloom. Of course, Twilight knew that the color on the blooms was perfect, since she had seen the bush in bloom several times before. So she isn't creating flowers, she is aging the bush to make it think it is time to bloom. Clever. And since she is doing it gradually, rather than instantly, it is taking less magic. Even more clever. Twilight thought. Finally, once the bush had bloomed sufficiently, Trixie let out a held breath and puffed her chest out triumphantly. "Very well." Twilight said, a wry smile creeping across her face. She focused on said bush, reversing the process just as gradually, undoing any damage to the bush. Then, Twilight focused on a nearby tree, causing it to grow a single, large, golden apple, which promptly fell from the tree. Twilight used her telekinisis to bisect it multiple times, until eight perfect slices floated around her. She pulled two plates nearby, and put four slices on each, before passing a plate to Trixie. "Can't compete without refreshments, can we?" Twilight asked, somewhat mockingly. Trixie took it in stride. "No, we cant." She focused again, and Twilight gasped. Storm clouds were gathering around them, unguided by any pegasus, instead softly encased in the light blue aura. But, that's pegasus magic! Twilight thought, sawing her pull more cloud together. They reached a certain point, and Trixie pulled two nearby glasses near. She wrung the clouds out, funneling the drops into the glasses. She focused on it, and part of the water froze, chilling the drink. "Now, we can begin." Trixie said, taking a sip from her glass. Twilight shook her head. You've got this, Twi. She reassured herself. Her horn sparked as she tapped into other magics, trying to bridge the gap like Trixie had. After probing them she found a bridge that seemed more than willing. That meant that some being, nearby, was close enough that it would let her tap into its' power. She shifted around, finding light knowledge on all the magics. Primarily fire magics. Spike, Twilight thought comfortably. She saw the way he warped fire to his command, and so she reached out, and set a fire. She focused on it, crafting it into the shape of a dragon, and caused it to fly off into the distance. Once it reached an appropriate distance, it banked sharply, and turned to pass over the town again. It repeated this display a few times, and on its fifth pass, it turned upwards, into a vertical climb right over the town. When it was rather high, it stopped, hovered for a moment, and then exploded in a large, firework-like display of reds and golds. Twilight let out a gasp of breath, noticing that the mental strain had caused her to start sweating. She delicately lifted a glass to her mouth, and lightly sipped at it, in such a way that would make Rarity proud. Trixie's brow furrowed, and her smile became dead serious. "My new found power is unmatchable. Not even the fabled alicorn amulet can match my new found power!" She said, her voice slowly getting louder as she spoke. "Now, Witness my power!" She shouted, before her cape began to billow in an unblown wind. Her body was lifted into the air, a gale of loose leaves blowing around her. Twilight laughed. "Nice trick." She said, making another stab at her pride. Trixie's eyes, opened, and they glowed with a soft, clear light. "I am not a conjuror of cheap tricks." She stated calmly, before the wind around her became even more vicious. Her cape billowed out, and from beneath it came a few small, floating objects, each glowing with the same clear light. Twilight looked closer, and saw that these were very much like the larger hedron inside the field, albeit much smaller. Each glowed with an unbound light, which began to arc out at nearby objects, before linking together, and then to her. A pulse of power shot from her horn, and the ground beneath them all began to rumble. "I am the master of the seas, of the soil." She said, in a voice much deeper than her own. "I control the mountains and the oceans. All that you see before you is mine, as are you. For I am the lord, the creator of this land. And it is now time for the harvest." She floated higher now, the gale strong enough to pull small, loose items into it. The ground was now violently shaking, knocking open doors and throwing unsecured furniture around. Dark clouds began to gather, and darkened the midday sun, creating an overwhelming darkness, like the twilight hours of the day, when you can see, but it is quite dark. "I feel what power is rightfully mine, and I will have it." The voice said, and a beam of power slammed into the defensive barrier, overpowering it and blasting through the shack, revealing the large hedron. "Come to me." It commanded, and the hedron was lifted into the sky. "With this might, I will rend the heavens and split tartarus. My might will be unmatched, and then I will be free." It continued, using Trixie's body as a conduit. The hedron lit up, and arced to her present collection. "You once belonged to my brother, but now you are mine. Open wide your gates, and feed me your might." Another pulse of magic hit the hedron, and it lashed back, stopping this beam in a battle of might. "You are mine!" The voice screamed. "OBEY ME!" The magic lashed back, slamming into the beam and sending Trixie to the ground. "Bah." The voice said. "This form is weak. Soon, I will come, and then you will be mine." The lights faded, the hedrons lowered, and the tremors faded. A blur of blue came across the skyline as the clouds began to disperse, and as Twilight followed it, she realized it was coming at her. Soon, her prismatic-maned friend had just pulled to a landing beside her, and was berating her with questions. "What happened? Are you alright? Who did this?" were the more common in the storm of questions. "Rainbow, I'm fine. I was just having a friendly magic duel with Trixie when something went wrong." Twilight said, hoping it would calm her friend down. "Who was messing with the clouds?" Rainbow asked accusatively. "Trixie." "Who was shaking the ground?" "Trixie." "Who's voice could I hear halfway across town?" "Trixie." "Who was throwing around the big bolts of magic?" "Trixie." "One last question: Who did the flaming dragon?" Twilight shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Wha...? Oh! That one was me." She said, puffing her chest out. Rainbow Dash nodded her head approvingly. "I thought so, 'cause it was too cool." As the two friends were discussing what happened, Twilight was interrupted by a grinding sound, followed by a loud crack. The ground shook lightly, and then all was silent. Not even the birds chirped, the silence was definite. Skreee!
The First RisenSkreee! "Twi?" Rainbow Dash asked slowly. "What was that?" Twilight's mind sputtered. What kind of creature makes such a noise? She thought to herself, flipping through her extensive knowledge to find nothing reasonable. Aside from one thing. "It might be a changeling." Twilight said hopefully. "A solitary locust." Rainbow Dash nodded, and together they slowly turned around, to see some horrid monstrosity clawing it's way out of the ground. The creature could best be summarized as some sort of nightmarish binding of a squid and an ape. But that would be a grave understatement. The creature's body was that of some hairless, atrophied ape. Ribs stuck out, giving it a skeletal look. At the shoulder, instead of two arms, there were four, each one providing it another chance at pulling itself from the ground. The neck was atrophied like the body, and the muscles and veins bulged under the waxy, discolored skin, which ranged from white to deep purple in coloration. But the head could have very well caused anypony to turn tail and run. The head was shaped like a dome, off centered from the neck, giving the tapering head a beak-like look. But other than that, there were no other discernable features. No nose, nor mouth. Neither eyes, nor ears, or even hair for that matter. Only the waxy, white skin stretched over the dome. As it found more purchase, it was able to pull it's lower half from the ground, revealing a mass of tentacles, as if a young tree had just been ripped from the ground. They all flailed in the sunlight, grasping everything within reach to help pull it further from the ground. It scrabbled towards the unconscious form of Trixie, using it's arms as well as tentacles to pull itself closer. But Twilight was faster, and encased it in an orb of psychic energy. It crawled about the bubble, screeching and slamming into the bubble, trying to flail its way out. The repeated needs to focus were leaving Twilight feeling drained, and this thing wasn't helping either. It slammed into the bubble again, shattering it like the changeling army did. It turned and scrambled for one of the tables in a nearby coffee shop. Once it reached the shade of the umbrella, Twilight had an idea. She encased it again, and this time it seemed content to rest for a moment. "Rainbow Dash, go get Spike. I need to speak with the princess immediately." Twilight commanded, to which Dash saluted and flew off. Twilight gingerly stepped up to the dome, in an attempt to speak with it. "Hello?" She asked. The thing turned its dome towards her, sending a shiver down her spine. "Who are you?" She asked, and the thing pulled closer to the bubble, and reached it's arm towards her, before it was knocked back by the shield. It let out a shrill of pain, and Twilight toned the shield down a bit, to prevent harm. "Hello?" She asked again, and it repeated the previous action, reaching out with its arm, only to be shocked again. This time, it let out a shrill of anger, and slammed into the shield, which shimmered under the pressure. It raised it's hands, and turned towards Trixie. It hit the barrier again, and a small portion fizzled away. It reached out again, trying to grab her, but she was out of it's reach. It let out another angry shrill, and slammed into the barrier again, crumbling it like before. It crawled forth again, trying desperately to grab her, only for her to be whisked away by Twilight's magic. It took the change in stride, pivoting on a single arm so as to face her new location. Twilight pulled Trixie closer as it raced forwards, and when it was within reach, she quickly teleported to the other side of the clearing. It let out a low growl, and turned around to face them. It lumbered forward again, charging across the street, where Twilight was able to trap it again. It wailed about, slamming into many things, as if any amount of intelligence had escaped it started "hunting" them. It was just so primal... Fluttershy. Twilight realized. She could probably calm this thing down. She looked to the sky, relieved to see Spike and Rainbow Dash flying in. "I came as fast as I could. What did you need us to do?" Rainbow asked, Spike sliding off of her back. Twilight smiled, and relaxed a bit. "It's good to see you. I'm pretty exhausted from today. Dash, I think I have a solution to resolve this peacefully. Can you get Fluttershy and the biggest cage you can find?" Twilight asked, some of her words laced with the heavy tones of exhaustion. Rainbow Dash nodded, then took off, flying as fast as she could, not out of fear like before, but worry that her friend wouldn't be able to last much longer. "Well, what can I do, Twilight?" Spike asked, shaking slightly. Twilight looked down at him with a reassuring smile. "I need you," She said, ruffling his spines lightly. "To write a letter to the princess." He smiled, nodded, and pulled out a piece of parchment and quill. "Dear princess Celestia. I found something that I feel has great importance. I would like to see you in pony to discuss it. Please hurry, as I may not be able to hold it for long. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle." Spike finished scribbling on the page, before rolling it up and breathing dragonflame across it, burning it away, the ashes flying off into the distance. "Thank you, Spike." Twilight said, yawning. "Sure thing, Twilight." Spike responded, with a thumbs up. Twilight blinked, and turned back to their captive, who seemed unusually still. It simply sat there, leaning forward on all four arms, its back heaving slightly, as if it were slowly breathing. In and out, in and out. It's asleep! Twilight realized. She let out a sigh, relaxing slightly. A short while later, Twilight could see the two pegasai carrying a cage plenty large enough for the creature, Fluttershy with a look of concern on her face. "What poor creature needs me, Twilight?" She asked as they pulled in for a landing. "And why did we need such a large cage. Twilight pointed at it, and when Fluttershy saw it, she dashed underneath a nearby table, cowering. "W-wh-what is that?" She asked, stammering slightly. Twilight sighed. "I have no idea. It was acting very... primal, and so I thought you might be able to help. As for the cage," She added, pointing to the bubble, "Holding up a shield for so long, along with a little 'friendly competition' I had, is surprisingly draining." To add effect, her horn sparked slightly. Feeling comfortable the thing was asleep, Twilight lowered the shield, then lifted it softly on a small patch of telekinesis. She floated it into the cage, where it rested on the hard, solid bottom of the cage. Twilight quickly shut the cage door, locked it, and breathed out a sigh of relief. "There." She said, before promptly collapsing to the ground, fast asleep. Author's Note For everyone who has favorited this so far, I apologize about not thanking you all properly. It's just not telling me when people favorite me stories anymore. So I am going to go ahead and thank all the readers here!
History RepeatingThe first thing Twilight heard as she awoke was a worried, motherly voice."Twilight?" It asked gingerly. She shook her head rapidly, to clear the fogginess, and when her vision was cleared she found herself looking into the face of her mentor. "Ah, hello there, Twilight." Celestia said, a flicker of relief crossing her face before it returned to her original neutral glance. Twilight, on the other hoof, was quite spooked. She was just standing outside, and began to relax after the thing had been contained. I must have fallen asleep. I guess my display of "fireworks" took more out of me than I realized. Twilight rationalized. She put on a sheepish smile and stood, rubbing her head. "Hi there, Princess." Twilight responded. She looked about to see herself inside her room, the caged creature simply sitting there, observing them. "I take it you have met the... ah, creature?" Twilight asked, tilting her head a little bit. Celestia smiled. "Yes, I have become acquainted with it." She said, her tone quite formal. It reached out, between the bars, its arm reaching upstairs, towards Twilight's room. Twilight frowned. "I take it Trixie is in my room?" Celestia nodded, and Twilight sighed. "Have we figured out why it is hunting her out specifically?" She asked. Celesita's eyes brightened. "Actually, I have a theory. I heard Trixie had a new trinket? Could you go and get it for me?" she asked, nudging Twilight towards the door. Twilight looked down and quickly walked towards the door. Thankfully, Trixie was asleep, so this should be easy. Simply walk in, pick them up in her aura, and then trot out. Simple, right? Twilight rationalized. She saw the pile of hedrons softly jutting from under Trixie's cape, prompting Twilight to focus on levitating them towards her. But as she reached them with her psychic aura, to her surprise, she found that they actively resisted her call. What is up with these things? Twilight thought angrily. She prodded the defenses gingerly, feeling around for a backdoor. Within a few moments, she found the small, hidden opening, the one weak point. As these were miniature magic wells, they resonated with their current owner's magic-color. Thus, these glowed a soft blue, diluted by white. As Twilight felt around, they began to accept her, the light blue darkening to the familiar purple Twilight's had. Soon, the matrix was swirling about her, and she felt her magic potential grow. So they lend their might to the strongest... Interesting. Silently, she tiptoed out of the room, and she watched the creature as she walked down the stairs. "Interesting." Celestia murmured as the creature followed Twilight's movements, silently grasping for the purple mare. "Twilight, would you mind stepping just within reach of the creature?" Although her mind was screaming no, her body moved to comply. The creature reached out and grabbed a hedron from mid-air, and Twilight felt the drop of magical power leave her. The thing held the hedron like a monkey picking fruit, and it reached out again, snatching another. Once again, the drop faded from her pool, and she stepped back involuntarily. Twilight reached out, and plucked the two hedrons from its grasp, and it shrieked like she had pulled an arm off with them. The creature recomposed itself, and reached out again, desperately trying to grab the hedrons. "Thank you, Twilight. If you do not mind, I would like to have a few moments of privacy with this beast." Twilight nodded, and stepped outside, looking at the large hedron before her. "I had always thought I needed just a little more power..." She mumbled to herself, realizing she might now be able to get inside. She probed the part again, until she found the seam she had so neatly made. She dug in, and began rooting around, seeing the hedron's inner light briefly flash purple. The extended connection was putting a strain on her, and she found herself using up some of the matrix'es charges. The feeling was alleviated, prompting her deeper. She had always found the intricacies of locks stunning and beautiful, but nothing mesmerized her like these arcane locks. She delicately probed deeper, and finally found the release. She set it off, and the way inside was made clear, albeit with a surprisingly loud boom. She saw the magic of this "super-hedron" Slowly convert to her color. That's when she heard a loud crack. -+-+-+-+-+- Celestia watched as Twilight stepped out, and quickly shut the door behind her. No distractions. She faced the creature, which regarded her with mild disinterest. Celestia stepped closer, and the thing just sat there, watching her. Well, this is new. She thought mildly. "Alright. Have you a name?" It only sat there, unmoving, save for the rhythmic swaying as it adjusted its weight. "Speak! I command it! Hear my voice and obey!" She shouted, not quite reaching royal canterlot levels. Yet the thing simply stood there. It then gently reached out, one finger extended. Curious... Very curious. Celestia broadened her mind, reaching out to see what sapience lay behind the cold, featureless face. What she found shocked her. She found nothing. As she sat there, staring at the void of a mind, she heard a voice. "Come closer..." The dry voice whispered. Celestia cocked her head, and leaned towards the creature. "What did you say?" She asked. "Come closer. Let me show you..." It whispered again, and this time the creature motioned with it's finger, motioning her closer. She leaned in, and the creature set its elongated finger on her brow. Her eyes widened as the images flashed through her mind. Days before ponykind, whole civilizations of two legged beings. Humans. I remember the studies in archeology. They lived in towns much like her own, including huge cities, with all kinds of humans. White, tall humans and green, shorter, frog-like humans. Then, the tremors. The hedrons, then this mindless horror. But they came in the thousands. They began as small ones, like this being here. Then, more violent tremors, and even larger ones rose. That's when everything went to tartarus. Because the little ones had gathered the hedrons together, creating a superstructure larger than canterlot. It emanated enormous quantities of magic energy, and it ripped the ground beneath it apart. The hole in the ground created a doorway, where even more of the little ones came up. But buried beneath all the small, weak ones was a monster. A goliath of them, wordlessly leading it's abhorrent horde. It had no reason but destruction, no need but death. These creatures were like locust, devouring the fields of all life. The humans were not alone either. Some wielded magics, some spears, and while their defended cities held against the smaller ones, the titan plowed through all the defenses. Soon, when more hedrons had been collected, a second one rose. He played mind games, and was a master manipulator. He would have them screaming their innermost secrets, just to make the burning in their minds stop. And shortly after, there rose a third, forming a brotherhood of destruction. One, master of the soil, one of the sky, and one of the mind. They rampaged across the planet, and the humans fell. Their thousands of years of history crumbled in a year. Nothing survived. And when the soil was ash once more, and there was no more death to sustain them, the ancient gods slept again. But there was still hope. Although the elder gods had killed everything, a few beings teleported into view. Although Celestia could not tell how, or from where, those beings planted new seeds, hoping the slaughter was over. They used immense magics, rebuilding the land. They wept silent tears as they walked, spreading hope of a new, peaceful world to follow. One particularly prolific mage pulled a strangely familiar mountain from the ruins of an old city. Celestia thought back to what she had seen, trying to remember the name of the old city. "Camelot, I believe." She heard the voice whisper. "Canterlot..." She breathed. "But if there are only three blind intelligences, then you must be..." She began, before she was thrown away by a large exploding sound. She saw a blinding light from outside, the shadow of a unicorn shining through the window. "Come back, let me in, let us talk, make me whole, make me strong, give me light, give me freedom." The voice whispered. Celestia shut her eyes, and took a moment to compose herself. Her mind finally returned to normal, the dark whispers shut out. "Twilight." She whispered as she stepped outside, into the blaring light.
SleepTwilight heard a faraway voice calling her name. It seemed so far away, as if it were an echo from a previous life. But it sounded urgent, this faraway whisper. But the blank whiteness that she was engulfed in was so pleasant. She couldn't feel the ground beneath her hooves, yet there was no feeling of falling. It was comforting, this blank vastness that stretched before her. Suddenly, there was something wrong. A pale discoloration, a golden color, so much like sunlight. Yet no matter how nice the sunshine is, it was marring the purity of the white around her. Lashing out harshly, Twilight shattered the hold that the yellow had on this expanse. Twilight smiled, and settled down into her relaxation again. She could feel time passing, but it didn't concern her. She was in bliss, this white vastness keeping her sustained. There was no need to think, no need to do anything. Even learning, which was the bread and butter of her life, wasn't necessary. She would have questioned herself, ran through a list of what affects her like this, and then explored her surrounding. But then again, she would have to be thinking straight in order to come up with this. Still, the time passed, and she smiled. "Peace..." She heard something whisper, drawing her attention. She turned her head to look around, yet saw nothing. She was about to say something, when the catatonic peace washed over her again, drowning thought in bliss. Once again, she heard the urgent calling, and felt something tugging at her leg. Twilight frowned, and knocked the thing grasping her away. But it came back, insistent. Angry that her joy was being interrupted, she smacked the point of origin away, forcing the grasp with it. Glad that it was gone, she smiled and leaned back into the pale eternity. "Twilight!" A new voice called. Woken from her sleep, she angrilly stood, four hooves feeling nothing beneath them yet holding position as if by instinct. "Twilight!" It called again, and she turned, seeing a blemish of blue in her whiteness. She reached out to smash it, like she had the gold spot. Yet her force went right through the patch, which was slowly growing. Soon, the large blob took on a pony shape, striding forward, detail etching onto its surface as it walked. It grew taller, more slender, and the blue began to shift colors, gaining shadowing and tone. Soon, a mane and tail erupted from its shape, billowing ethereally. A horn and wings grew, and recognition crossed Twilight's face. "Princess Luna!" She cried, rushing forward. The blue alicorn smiled, and embraced the smaller unicorn. "Twilight Sparkle, thou hath made us worried." Luna whispered in her ear. "We were afraid even we could not reach you. But we must awake, and soon, dear Twilight." "Awake?" Twilight asked, cocking her head. "Am I asleep?" "No, thou hath the endless sleep." Luna said gravely. "The... endless sleep? Do you mean... a coma? I'm in a coma?" Twilight asked frightenedly. Luna could only nod. "Well, how do I get out?" "For this, there is no spell. Indeed, even We do not know if thou will awaken, We can only hope." Luna replied, her tone sad. "We will be trying, That is what is important." And with that, she was gone, leaving Twilight to drift in the comforting void. All this power is mine, yet I can't use it. Ironic. Twilight thought angrilly, folding her hooves across her chest. Sleep took her bitterly, slowly crawling closer. -+-+-+-+-+- "Is she going to be alright?" Spike asked the taller princess beside him. Celestia simply looked grimly at her favored student. She was floating at the center of an orbital field, the swarm of hedrons circling her like planets to their precious sun. Suddenly, without warning, a high pitched wail shattered the grim silence, and one of the library windows shattered outward, the creature leaping at Twilight. The largest hedron floated between them, and the creature shrieked again as it impacted upon the surface, bending and breaking akwardly. The creature fell unceremoniously at Celestia's hooves, before being lifted in a faint purple aura. The limbs were repaired, bent back into place, the dent in the face popped out, and the body rotated back into place. Gingerly, it was set down again, and simply sat there, watching Twilight, as if waiting some unspoken command. Quickly, the thing nodded, before turning to Princess Celestia again. It reached out, and the princess hopped backwards, not ready for another terrifying immersion. It recoiled, as if offended by her reaction, before looking down at it's hands. It let out an unholy wail, holding it's hands above it's head, and wailing again. It looked at the princess, and held it's arms out, as if begging for something. Celestia cocked her head, and leaned carefully closer. "What do you want?" She asked, arching an eyebrow. The creature took it's lower arms and folded them across it's chest, and flapped it's upper arms like wings, before taking them and wrapping them about it's body. It leaned it's head into one of it's arms, as if nuzzling one, and Celestia's other eyebrow joined the first, high above the normal location. "I... don't think I can." Celestia answered, and the thing broke down. The silence was pervasive, but sobs racked the thing's body, and it slumped to the ground. The four arms crumpled beneath it, and it stayed like that for some time, looking up at the impassive princess looking down at it. After a while, and with a sigh, Celestia aquiesced, walking over, and embracing the creature with her wings. Having no dear ducts, the face which pressed itself into her chest was eerily dry, but the arms embraced her like a terrified filly clings to a mother. After a while of that, the tremmors which racked it's body ended, and it looked up at her expressionlessly. She cocked her head, before the thing stroked her horn. She recoiled, and the thing's arms flew to it's own head, frantically searching for something. Another wail escaped it's mouthless face, and it reached for the princess. To her credit, this time the princess held her ground, but did not embrace the creature back. The thing finally relaxed before turning and throwing it's arms in the air excitedly and racing towards Spike. Spike leapt back, onto the princesses' back, who shook him off. It stood there for a moment, before pointing upwards with a single finger. It quickly raced back into the treehouse, giving a confused Spike time to look at the princess. "What was that all about?" He asked. Before the princess could reply, the thing came flying back out of the house, and slammed into the ground, quill and parchment in it's claws. Albeit akwardly, it slowly scribbled out a note to the dragon. It handed the sheet to him, and collapsed onto it's hands, which it used to help support it's upper section. He cleared his throat before reading. "Spike," he read. "You may not recognize me now, but it's me, Twilight. Now, before you ask for proof, below, I have written a particularly private tale of yours. You don't have to read it aloud, but it will prove that I am who I claim to be." At this, spike went silent, his cheeks blushing furiously as he read the written document. Celestia curiously glanced over his shoulder, and he quickly pressed it against his chest so she wouldn't see how he had an enourmous crush on you-know-who. She scoffed lightly, and gave the tiny dragon his privacy. After a few moments of reading, Spike looked up at the creature resting before him. He held it's gaze for a few moments, the rushed forward and embraced it in a hug. "I was so afraid we had lost you." He said, holding it close. The thing nodded, before taking the quill and page again. It finished, and handed the note to Spike, who read it aloud. "Unfortunately, it seems this body can't speak. I guess I will have to write anything complex that I want to say, but that shouldn't stop me from much. What really distresses me is that I no longer have my horn. My magical studies will take a large hit, but my non-magical studies will flourish, so maybe we will get some new major discoveries. Which made me think of something..." Author's Note Sorry about taking so long; my time spent writing has taken a big hit recently. Maybe this is the end of the drought, and the rains of writing will come again. Hopefully.
