Elements of Equity

Elements of Equity

Chapter One: "Chip on the Shoulder"

A soft glowing ember illuminated the horizon as the brightest star was no longer seen, and comely blended tinges of ashen indigo and fading violet embodied the sky above Ponyville. The only lit streets were those flowing by houses from which bright rays of amber light escaped... All but one of these paths was idle, and barely - - the road leading from Canterlot, and directly to Ponyville's Square. Trotting toward a thick and hollowed tree, a lone gray-furred unicorn paused in his steps. With his head lowered, his bangs hung down. Glancing slowly from side to side, the colt sighed. His dark blue eyes had not seen a full night's rest in months. Wistfully, he struck his hoof upon the front door of Twilight Sparkle's library.

There was no response within even minutes. This dispirited him even more than he had been. After shyly peering into a window, he turned around to leave. Whispering to himself, he stopped in his tracks - - a gentle voice to his side heartily laughed. "Who're you talking to, Mikus?"

His ears shot upward as he immediately turned his head to the side, noticing the fourth princess of Equestria. Twilight, a violet alicorn with a dark purple mane streaked with highlights, was accompanied by a coral-toned earth stallion with dark brown bangs and a mane pulled back into ponytail. The pegasus blinked once, and opened his mouth to speak.

"I've been lookin' all over for you, princess."

She approached him with a warm smile, but a lifted eyebrow, and then made her way to the closed door. While glancing back and unlocking it with a quick spell of her horn, the orange coated stallion nodded at the colt with a smirk. "You ain't gettin' very much sleep, are you?" Mikus rolled his eyes in response "It's tough."

He scuffed the ground with his hoof as he observed the two of his friends, from a short distance... On her side, he noticed the princess held a small pouch. Though she seemed drained, her movements were elegant and calm. Glancing to his other friend, he found the stallion quite difficult to read.

The young mare stepped into her vacantly unlit library, and beaconed her old friends to come inside. "How have you been?" Tracing her path in, Mikus cleared his throat with a faint cough, and carefully nodded. "Yeah, good. Very good." Examining the bookshelves, wearily, he overlooked the contents of her pouch as she emptied them into a wooden box. Her horn glowed as she slid the container into the corner of a cupboard. The moon was no longer hidden, and it shined through the windows and onto the carpeted floor.

Twilight turned her head to take note of what the crestfallen colt was doing, and nodded to herself. Mikus sat down in the middle of the room, and met eyes with the princess. "Your dragon friend... Where's he?" Twilight calmly smiled and rested in front of him. "Spike? He's with..." As Durriken peacefully joined the two in the center of the room, her jovial expression faded into concern. "He's helping Celestia while she deciphers what artifacts we could recover from..." Mikus lifted his hoof, and a peculiar necklace fell to the floor. "Hey, I heard about that. Which is why I wanted you to give this to her." Two amulets rested on the ground, bound to the silver chain-link heirloom... Two empty hourglasses, with their bottoms unsealed.

Twilight Sparkle blinked a few times, and levitated the necklace over to her side... It was in very poor condition. She bowed her head, graciously. Durriken's jaw dropped and a wooden toothpick fell from his mouth, which lightly struck his front hoof, rolling onto the floor. He mumbled to himself. "Ain't that supposed to be...?" The gray colt nodded with a patronizing smile, and set his hoof back to the ground. "The stuff of legends." The princess eyed it, strangely, and added. "Where did you find that?" Mikus tilted his head to the side, in the direction of the - - "Abandoned village, east of here. Got into a little stand-off with some changelings, when I took a cartography job. One of them dropped that."

Durriken broke the silence. "How much did you get from that job, Mikus?" He replied, with a subtle trace of sarcasm. "Enough bits to last me the rest of my life." Durriken let out an "Oh?" in between his guffaw. Mikus nodded, before directing his eyes back to Twilight. "Yeah, maybe if I die next week."

Twilight's sad expression had darkened ever more. She then sat up and paced toward the stairway. "Do you still read, Mikus?" Responsively, the pegasus' ears shot up. "Uh - - Absolutely." While she began to make her way upstairs, she commented. "Durriken and I came over here to take some books to Canterlot. I-It just occurred to me that you might want to keep a few for yourself, perhaps...?" The look in her eyes signaled something else, entirely. Durriken noticed this and stood up. "I, for one, am very tired. I think it's about time for me to get some shut eye, heh."

Nodding, oblivious to her expression, Mikus looked back at Durriken. "Hey, take it easy..." The stallion winked, jovially. "You too, soldier." After trading words with his old friend, Mikus followed Twilight to the second floor and cycled through titles he may want to own. "Twi?" In response, the alicorn turned her head to glance back at him. He was leaning his side against the door frame and looking across the room, and out the window.

"I'm thinking of making that ghost town to the east useful again. Not even the changeling's have much going for it." Twilight tilts her head to the side. "That isn't what I wanted to talk to you about, right now. That necklace you found. It belonged to a very important figure."

Mikus heartily laughed. "You sure this isn't changeling propaganda? They didn't put up much of a fight, now that I think about it. Could've wanted somepony to find it." The princess shook her head. "Even with the vast archives Celestia allows me to explore, I haven't found very much information on this figure. But it's stressed that they are one of the reasons Equestria got to where it is, now." The colt stepped closer to Twilight, and turned his head to look at the book she laid out on her desk. He nods, pensively. "I've read it, Twilight. Most of that stuff is just poor translation, and it could mean a myriad of things." The purple alicorn shook her head, once more. "I'm cynical about it all, too. But, Mikus, you just brought me a real artifact that is mentioned in these stories."

Twilight prepared a test tube from across the room, and hovered it above the necklace, which was placed on a thick sheet of cloth. Tilting the tube ever so slightly, she allowed one drop of the chemical to fall to the artifact. Immediately, the droplet of liquid bounced up and suspended itself in mid-air. "What the..." Mikus stammered. The princess nodded. "I retrieved some water from the Mirror Pond a few months ago. Sure enough, this is what happens when I..." The pegasus raised an eyebrow after the long pause. Twilight Sparkle turned around to face the stairway, and shut the book closed, promptly. "I'll find the time to explain this to you, later. I need to see Princess Celestia."

Following closely behind Twilight as she made her way down the stairs, Mikus shook his head. "Whoah, there - - what's goin' on? Explain this to me as best as you can, at least!" Spreading one of her wings, Twilight Sparkle magicked the necklace to her side. After closing her wing, she carefully locked eyes with Mikus. She accepted the look of persistence in his eyes. Exiting her library, she began to lecture. "This is restricted information I'm about to tell you. But I owe it to you, because you did find this relic. Long before Equestria existed, this world was much worse off. All I know is that a great king formed a metaphysical dimension called The Aisle. This is where I received my wings."

With a solemn look about here eyes, she added. "It's also where The Elements of Harmony were created. Again, this predates even the Stone Age. Now... The Aisle was directly connected to this city - - one that isn't around anymore. When this city fell, The Aisle also shook into pieces, casting small parts of it's magical waters into the void. As the remnants of what perished were pushed back together by Celestia and Luna, traces of those waters made their way into our world. There are probably little pockets of it everywhere. The closest one to us happens to be the Mirror Pond."

Mikus reflected on what Twilight shared with him, as she continued to speak. "I don't know how the changelings would have come across these two amulets, but the waters of the Mirror Pond are of great importance to them. When the world was starting over, under Celestia and Luna's careful guidance, something must have slipped past their knowledge. The changeling's scientific name is "Syreni-Dissim", and are closely related to beings called Sirens."

Noticing the wooden sign that marked the end of Ponyville was near, Twilight glanced behind her shoulder before finishing her lecture. "Hm. To my understanding, perfectly normal ponies would drink from the magical water, everyday. Not knowing of it's effects until it was far too late, their gene pool was completely altered. The new species that came to be also acquired a lot of traits that sirens have." They approached the sign that read: "Come back to Ponyville, soon!" Mikus interjected on the alicorn's explanation, deadpanning. "How in the hell did I not notice that?" As they continued in their walk, Twilight gently laughed. "It's hard to put two and two together when one's missing from the other." Mikus chuckled at that.

As they continued to follow the pathway to Canterlot, Mikus prodded Twilight with a remark. "So you're taking the notion that those ominous tails of a world before this one are actually true." At first she displayed a look of uneasiness, but almost immediately corrected it with a faint smirk. With a playful nudge, she jibed. "I haven't many reasons not to."

"What exactly do you want to talk to the princess about, anyway?" The pegasus looked off to the side, at the blossoming efflorescences across the grassy fields. The sky-blue pedals all dipped their paper thin tips toward the ground, giving the flowers an umbrella-like shape.

"If this necklace, here, is what we think it to be..."

Twilight caught her tongue when she noticed Mikus admiring the natural scenery. She took a moment to appreciate it with him, and so they stood on the side of the pathway.

A sense of urgency found it's way back into Twilight's mind. "Mikus, if you're coming?" Breaking gaze at the field, he pensively nodded and began to follow her, again. "So. Uh... Celestia." The alicorn revisited her answer. "If this necklace is what we think it is, then I need to start figuring something out." Mikus gestured her to proceed.

"I need clarification. There's nothing else I can say, with certainty, until I talk with Princess Cel - -"

Twilight Sparkle, steps ahead of Mikus, ceased movement. A startled expression took over her face and her ears shot down, causing the pegasus to express concern. He had also stopped walking forward, when the princess left the dramatic break in her sentence. Twilight turned around, and focused on the colt's eyes. "Canterlot's been shielded." Mikus let out a worried laugh, and replied. "I'm sorry, what?" The princess nodded, once. "You can't see it, can you? I couldn't either, but Canterlot's got a shield around it for some reason, and it's visible from here."

Twilight stepped forward, and lowered her head. Her horn touched against the surface of an impermeable membrane of magical texture. "... And it won't let me out."

Several moments prior.

"Nnn..." Her body spread across the bed, uneasily. As she drew her hooves close to her chest, Princess Celestia gripped her covers between them. "Mm." She rubbed her eyes and propped herself upward. "... Highness?" A royal guard stood before the entry to her chamber. The princess found her balance, and steadily approached the guard, while lifting her formal attire onto her body. Her voice was pleasant, but timid. "How many times did you call?" The guard gestured for her to follow her into the long hallway, and explained himself. "Thrice, princess. Your sister awaits your presence on the highest balcony - - she emphasized that it was important." Celestia nodded once, and dismissed the guard. "You may leave me, then." As the white stallion continued onward down the hallway, the princess took a spiral stairway to her right. Once she knew the colt no longer had the ability to see her, she noticeably quickened her pace.

Following her arrival atop the highest balcony, Celestia advanced to her sister's side. "Luna, what is it?" Her mane and coat, alike, were of a strong blue tone. The stars of a night sky always glistened in her flowing tresses. With a sense of apprehension, the Night's Mare ceased her forward gaze, to meet eyes with Celestia. "The Changelings have set hoof toward the Crystal Empire." After taking moments to process what she had just heard, Princess Celestia solemnly nods.

Relaxed upon an oak bench in Canterlot's frontside courtyard, a young and bright-jade coated unicorn sat with her hindhooves extended before her. While she held an instrument in one hoof, she took a moment to brush a white-strand of hair from out of her eyes... Then continued plucking at the strings of an acoustic lyra, which emitted a lulling melody of F's, C's, and D#'s. As the orange sun rose above the horizon, a black cloud split the circle in half... The sky was empty, save a few gray bodies of vapor. Below the towering kingdom, the plains and towns were consumed by a blanket of fog. After finishing her aria, the sitting mare closed her mouth and glanced to her side. Four single files of decorated royal guards marched through the courtyard. Their helmets were a darker shade of gold than the conventional design, and from the tops protruded a long, blood-red mohawk.

Galloping in the opposite direction, a white stallion unicorn with a dark blue mane passed by the guards. They ceased their movement, and saluted as he went by. On his flank, there was a shield and star - - his name was Shining Armor; First Captain of the Canterlot Royal Guard. With a quick glance to his side, Shining barked. "Miss Heartstrings! You do not want to be here." After following the other guards with her eyes, the mare sprung from the wooden bench and trotted closely behind the captain. "Is there something I've missed?" Shining Armor quickly nodded, expecting to be questioned. "Unless you feel comfortable knowing the castle, proper, is being attacked? I'd say you definitely seem to have missed something, Lyra." Tilting her head to the side, she responded with confusion. "That's ridiculous. Why is everypony leaving if we're being attacked? Those fellahs back there... Isn't their M.O. supposed to be prot- -" The stallion interrupted her. "No, we're not experiencing the full attention of the enemy. Two Changeling regiments are pushing into the Crystal Empire. We're receiving a blockade; they knew we'd send retaliation for the empire. I'm to gather a small resistance against whatever they think they're pulling off, here."

Lyra forced a smile. "Do your thing, Armor. I left my stuff back in the courtyard." Almost instantly, the captain shook his head. "There's no time to go back, Lyra. Even if I wasn't obligated to, I'd still make you leave Canterlot." He glanced down at her, apologetically. "I'm sorry. But you have to believe me when I say that you can't be here." The young mare frowned, but understood. Having covered a great distance while they traded words, Shining Armor arrived at the stairway to the highest balcony... Lyra had taken his advice and evaded the vicinity while she still could.

Once he reached the balcony and carefully scanned the area to make sure nopony was still obliviously wandering around, he summoned a sphere that surrounded the entirety of Canterlot. Unlike his usual protection spell, this served a very different function. Invisible to those approaching, the magical sphere would prevent anypony from leaving, once entering. Descending, by stairway, to meet with his Royal Guards, Shining Armor braced himself for battle.

Directly below Canterlot's towers, a company of changelings marched up the mountain and toward the invisible shield. Alongside the changelings, making up less than a quarter of the wave, was a race of half-bloods... These mongrel offspring were the byproduct of a changeling physically draining the love from a pegasus or a unicorn. In most divisions of the Changeling Army, any living member of this hybrid species was a walking act of heresy. Other settlements that were further from Queen Chrysalis reluctantly accepted the bastardized race only as less-than-pony.

Silently approaching the gardens behind Canterlot, the company ceased movement and steadily prepared to blast down the castle entrance door. "This is it, you curs. Tonight, you sacrifice yourselves in battle for the Queen." Several commanding officers narrowed their heads, and began directing a linear extension of the bright ember which originated at the tip of their horns, continuously shooting forward in the direction it was pointed - - that direction being into the large doors. While taking turns at scorching their obstacle, the company began shifting their appearance to match that of a standard Royal Guard... Something a half-blood could not do. After several moments, there was a direct passage into the castle, and the commanders stepped back as the other changelings galloped in. After every last changeling made their way inside, the commanding units followed closely behind.

Stepping halfway into an empty courtyard, the faux-royal guards emphatically paused. Some cocked their heads, while others ducked in anticipation of a flanking. In this angle, some rays of sunlight made their way through the narrow openings of their legs and hooves. Their pupilless, light blue eyes frantically searched the area, some flipping their sharp ears downward. More and more poured into the courtyard and were now inside Shining Armor's inescapable dome, and they slowly learned of this. A bright flash of light exploded in the middle of the courtyard, and a fraction of the leading wave had been caught in the first strike.

Lifeless bodies scattered across the grass and some slid into the pond water, now tainted with the color of bloodshed. Scarlet was the tincture of love, until the four chambers from which it had retained purity were empty...

Then it became the thick tone of misery and death. Changelings do not bleed red, for they do not feel love. Even ancient stories taught that ice-cold water flowed through their veins.

What was true was the color of their blood, and that it was not warm like that of which belonged to a being with a soul. Their vital fluids were transparent, and very, very cold.

And so, the pond water was tainted with the color of bloodshed, as it always had been. "Was this what made killing them less taxing to a hero's sense of grief after a battle? That when you struck one down, they would return to their true appearance, and bleed the color of the air around you. Much like the things everypony takes for granted; the water they drink and the air they breathe - - they do not realize the importance of the blood they spill." After recalling these words, Shining Armor nodded to continue the shower of attacks.

Taking a few moments to reform, the changelings began shooting deadly spells from their horns at the silhouettes visible behind the arches of a wayside pathway on either end of the courtyard. Before each spell left a horn's point, part of it would explode in an outward ripple of energy until dissolving into the air.

The struggle between the shapeshifters and Royal Guards ensued. The half-bloods of the horde were picked off, first, because they were the most easily distinguished. Outside of the Changeling's army, they were referred to as "mergers", and that is precisely what Shining Armor called them. "Take out those mergers - - they're moving in!" The Royal Guards began fending off the Changelings and some were forced to leave their shadows. This is when the intuitive leader of the Changelings noticed they were not identical to their enemy...

Their armor was a barely different color. In response, he and the others began to shift into what they saw. They did not realize that Shining had expected this, as well. The Royal Guards marched toward their enemy in a specific algorithm of their Captain's design, so that they would not mistake one of their own as a foe, thus avoiding friendly fire.

A bright series of flashes distracted Shining Armor's eye, and after gaining sight, he glanced up to see a struggle within the Princess's watch tower. Although Celestia was able to handle her own fights, Shining couldn't help but wonder how the enemy infiltrated their way to her position. In this brief moment of pondering and blindness, a blast caught him off guard. The spell tore through his neck, causing him to combust in a green flame.

This form of dark magic was lethal, and he knew it. The flame was to spread out beyond his body, and take as many nearby soldiers with him to the grave as possible. With a dry bark, he mustered what he had left of his voice. "G-Get away from me! I'm hit by a leeching curse - - back off from me!" He choked. The fatal blow that was cast to ignite Shining Armor consumed him in a pulsating flame, and he groaned in frustration.

Not a single soldier could hear his cries, for his breath had been stolen by the fire.

The flame emitted a powerful shockwave before imploding on the captain, compressing his entire body into ashes and dust. Only two changelings remained, while barely any royal officers suffered casualties. Almost with a drudge, the battle was over. A white stallion in gold armor leered into the eyes of the last standing changeling and blasted it through a marble statue beside the overflowing pool of blood. The courtyard became a site of misery and death. One of the Royal Guards approached the pile of ashes, and grimaced in disbelief. "W... Where are the princesses."

Several moments after the guard spoke, one commanding knight escorted an alicorn of the magenta color into the courtyard. The guard saluted the princess, and barked with a hint of emotion in his voice. "Princess Twi..." The guard choked, briefly... "L-Light Sparkle!"

Observing, in awe, the ruins of the devastated

~

The Fourth Division of the Changeling Armada was the only branch that consisted of mergers... By social class, they were the bottom feeders of the Queen's task force. Each member of the army was anonymous, but assigned a number. The more characters to your name, the less importance you held. It was unheard of that a merger carried a two-digit serial code, yet there were a few. One slaved by day as a data-entry clerk, and by night as a sleepless insomniac. His name was "47", and he wanted more than anything to simply slip into a coma.

~