Prologue: The Precipice of Disaster
It was the middle of the night, the air outside was cold and still. The sky and stars were obscured by the dark clouds. Equestria was enjoying its quiet nightfall; everypony was sleeping, tired from the struggles of their long day. Quietly one lone Pegasus flew through the night, his black body blending in with the dark sky above him. His wings beat forcefully, but precisely, each flap slicing through the air almost without a sound. He searched quickly, scanning the land all around him, drawing a map of it in his mind. He soared until he found his destination in the distance and slowly glided to it. The training camp of the Royal Guard was unoccupied, the training being long since over. His red eyes glowed as he looked over his findings, before letting out a long, low whistle. From amongst the trees and clouds earth and Pegasus ponies emerged, they lined up in front of him, each with empty saddlebags.
“Go, take everything, we’ll need every last supply we can get.” He commanded, his was a voice of authority, calm but forceful, it was clear that he was in charge of this band of thieves. They nodded their heads. Recognizing his order they quickly dispersed themselves, breaking into the abandoned buildings and tents, looting them for every last piece of equipment they had. They worked swiftly and quietly, with a practiced precision, they knew exactly what they were doing. The black stallion stood, perched atop the flagpole, overseeing every move his troops made. He smiled, everything was coming together. His followers vanished just as quickly as they appeared once they had filled their bags with the left over greaves, helmets, and armor plates of the Royal Guard. Some had managed to locate the lances used in combat training and hurried off with them as well. Soon the Pegasus stood alone once more, he dropped from his perch and slowly lowered the flag which bore the crest of the Royal Guard. He dragged the flag to the base of one of the ransacked buildings and dropped it. Reaching into his own saddle bag he removed a small block of steel and a magnesium stone. Striking them once hard against the flag he set it ablaze, smiling as the flame soon grew to consume the flag and the neighboring building. He spread his wings, the new thermal source quickly lifting him into the sky. He let out one more whistle before flying off. Two earth ponies carried a cloth to the slowly burning camp and hoisted it onto the flagpole; they saluted their handiwork and quickly trotted back into the woods.
Princess Luna stood out on the balcony, overlooking her night. She sighed, it bothered her that the clouds were blocking her work, she enjoyed being able to gaze upon the stars as she over looked Equestria. She peered out into the distance; she thought she could see something, a faint flickering light perhaps. She was concentrating on the object when the doors to the royal court flew open and one of her guards stumbled in.
“Princess Luna,” he said quickly, stumbling through a bow before continuing on. “Princess Luna, we have an urgent problem.”
She turned to face him; she could see the urgency in his eyes. “Yes Sterling, what is it?”
“One of the Royal Training Camps has been attacked Your Highness.” He looked at her, unsure of what to do, he stood awaiting orders. She turned back to the faint flickering in the distance, “Rally some troops and investigate the problem. I will get Celestia and meet you.” Although her face displayed worry her voice carried an element of calmness and authority. Sterling bowed before taking his leave
He ran quickly back to the guard chambers in the lower east wing of the castle, he located the office of his commanding officer and entered immediately. “Permission to speak General Cavalier.”
“Permission granted Lieutenant Sterling, what have you?”
“Orders from Princess Luna sir, we are to rally together a squadron and investigate the attack.”
“Very good Lieutenant, what intel do we possess?” the general was already checking his list for available soldiers.
“As of the moment, we have an unspecified amount of hostiles; all we know is that there has been an attack and ensuing fire at one of the training camps.”
“Very well Sterling, gather 20 ground troops and head to the site, have all others on standby, I’ll gather the pegasi and run ahead for reconnaissance. You are dismissed.”
Sterling quickly trotted back to the sleeping quarters, ringing the bell he awoke his fellow earth and unicorn guards. They rose quickly, the unicorns already levitating their gear onto their bodies, the earth ponies standing at attention, awaiting orders.
“We have an urgent assignment, Training Camp Alpha has been attacked,” there was as general sound of surprise, but was quickly replaced by attention. “I need ten volunteers each, earth and unicorn, to form a squadron and follow me for investigation. The rest of you will remain here on standby until further notice.” As he spoke volunteers had already begun to line up in front of him, the highest ranking unicorn and earth pony standing in front of the rest. “Corporal Agro, reporting for duty Lieutenant Sterling, the earth ponies of Bravo division are at your service.” He was a rather large dark green earth pony, his lance strapped to his back, his division nodded in agreement, each had a elaborate set of armor and weapon on, earth ponies were the true power of the Royal Guard.
“Sergeant Embrace at your service, Tango Division, Medicinal and Magic.” the rose colored unicorn stood before her group of mages; they were the technical aspect of the Guard, trained in magic and medicine. They all wore cloaks and light armor, their horns glowing in anticipation.
“Alright then troops, lets move out, the boys in reconnaissance, are already on the scene, the rest of you stay here and await further orders.” Sterling turned to leave the room, the two group leaders followed close behind him and their divisions after them. They quickly exited the castle grounds as Sterling briefed the two squad leaders with the available intel. They ran quickly the camp was only a few miles away, but time could be of the essence.
Moments before, General Cavalier had led the Pegasi out on recon, they wore goggles and light flight armor, enough for protection on their exposed stomachs and neck as well as greaves on their legs. They were scouts only seeing combat on rare occasions and at that it was mostly hoof-to-hoof. As such they were trained to be agile, calculating, and strong. They flew over the site quickly, the general flew alongside Arrowhead, captain of the pegasi. They were busy scoping the area for potential threats, but as nothing appeared out of the ordinary, they quickly set about ordering the troops to fetch rainclouds. “Storm Chaser, there are sizable clouds just about a mile north of here, go and get them quickly.” The small blue pegasus quickly raced toward the aforementioned clouds. The general hovered near Arrowhead, watching the troops put out the flames. “So what do you think happened Captain?”
“As far as it seems the campsite was looted, nothing left but some blankets and old canteens. The flag was dragged toward one of the cottages and is the cause for the fire. There appears to be a new flag hanging but it isn't familiar to any of our troops.”
“Hmm, I see. As soon as we get this fire out I want a full investigation of the area, find any evidence you can.”
“Yes sir.” Arrowhead flew off toward the campsite, General Cavalier floated alone for a moment. He soon spotted Sterling and his squadron approaching over a nearby hill. He quickly glided over to them. The squad leaders saluted the general as he approached. “What news have you sir?”
“Well Sterling, so far as the recon division can tell, there are no hostiles in the area.” The troops began to grumble, some even let out a disappointed sigh. The general continued on, “The camp has been looted of all supplies, nothing remains except an as of yet unknown flag,”
Sterling led Agro and Embrace toward the camp, their squads joining in the fire fighting effort. They all walked quietly through the camp and stood near the flagpole. As they looked up at the black cloth they could see it's symbol, the two lightning bolts beside a crescent moon, a hoofprint in the top right corner and storm cloud above the moon. They all stared in silence, No pony knew what it meant.
Soon after Luna heard the news she rushed to her sister's chambers, Celestia was sleeping. Luna knew the urgency of the situation and although she hated to wake her sister she had to. “Tia, wake up, we have urgent business.” The younger alicorn shook her sister softly with her magic, “Please sister we must hurry.” Celestia woke up slowly, groggy from her deep sleep, she stood up and quickly placed her crown on her head.
“Yes my sister, what troubles you?”
“Sterling has informed me that one of the camps has been attacked, I ordered for a group to be sent out to investigate.”
“Very good Luna, we must hurry and meet them at once.” Celestia's tired demeanor was quickly replaced by one of knowledge and authority. “Quickly my sister,” she said, leading Luna down a small corridor in the room. “Put these on.” as she spoke she levitated a few armor pieces to her sister who quickly donned them. As celestia put on her own Luna informed her of the events of the night. They began to make their way to the balcony, they set to the sky, following the dull glow of the remaining fire.
“It would seem that the troops didn't meet any resistance Tia, they have begun to put out the flames.”
“Yes Luna, I believe you are correct, but that doesn't mean we can relax just yet.” they flew in silence for awhile, the white mare easily visible in the sky, her younger sister nearly nonexistent by her side. They landed a few feet from the camp and walked the remainder of the way.
The five squad leaders were standing nearby, talking about the events, they turned as they noticed the princesses and each bowed in unison. Celestia was the first to speak, breaking the silence for her subjects. “Good evening General, Sterling,” she nodded toward the rest, acknowledging their presence but letting them know her questions would not be directed at them just yet.
“What information have you found?”
“The pegasi and I were on the scene first, Your Highness. When we arrived there was no sign of any threat, the main focus was on taming the fire,” the general answered quickly, looking down as he spoke.
Sterling stood forward and bowed, “My princess, the ground investigation is still ongoing but it appears that the campsite has been looted. All that remains is that flag.” He pointed a hoof in the direction of the flagpole, turning to see I wave in the dying light.
“Very well Lieutenant, keep me informed.” Celestia turned to speak with her sister but she had vanished. She look in all directions and finally found her beneath the flagpole. She was sitting quietly staring up at it. She walked slowly and sat by her sister's side looking up at the flag as well.
“What troubles you Luna?”
“The flag. It seems very familiar, does it not?”
As they sat and spoke Embrace and Agro ran up to their sides. “Princess our troops have found something.” the unicorn said with a sense of urgency. The earth pony led them to the site, “One of my troops was searching the buildings when he found this note. It appears to be addressed to you Princess Luna.”
Both sisters leaned in close to read the letter, it was a bit blackened by the fire but still perfectly readable,
“Dear Luna,
We have long awaited your return, but it appears that the lessons you taught us so long ago have been forgotten by their very creator. We plan to right the wrong that has become of this kingdom, to bring back the glory that is night and form a new empire. You taught us well so many years ago, we have been growing in your absence, learning, training. The time has come for us to claim what you promised us 1000 years ago. The storm is coming Princess, and it will destroy everything in its path.
Sincerely,
an old friend.”
They stood, lost in thought, Luna was quiet, she knew what this was. Why the flag seemed familiar.
“What is all this sister?” the concerned alicorn turned to look at her sister, Luna was looking down, disappointed in herself.
“It's the Nightshade sister, they have returned.”
Author's Note
Alright, chapter one is up, There's a lot going on here, so I apologize if it's confusing. I hope it is enjoyable, next chapter will be more Mane 6 oriented and we'll get a little deeper into the story. I'll have that up by Monday at the latest and tomorrow at the earliest. Thanks for reading, if you're new to my writing please give my other stories a try I'd really appreciate it.
Cannon Conundrum (Cannondrum?)
Ponyville was bright and calm that day, nothing of interest had happened in the past few months. It was peaceful, the townsponies went about their business: Lyra and Bon Bon were walking through the park, Derpy was making her way to the post office, and a familiar purple unicorn was walking with her friend to Sugarcube Corner.
“Ah'm telling you Twi, things just don't feel right ta me,” The orange earth pony said. “I don't know what it is but somethin's wrong.”
“Applejack, really? Everything is fine, if something was wrong don't you think that Celestia would let us know?” She spoke confidently, trying to reassure her friend.
“I suppose yer right Twilight.”
“Well I'm glad we have that settled, now we should hurry. Pinkie said she had something special planned at Sugarcube Corner.”
They continued on to their destination, enjoying each others presence in silence; nothing left to be said between the both of them. They stopped to chat with some nearby ponies but were relatively quick in their travel. Applejack was walking beside Twilight when her ears flicked back, she did a quick jump to the side, Twilight barely noticed before she was hit by a large object, the wind knocked out of her lungs and her body flung to the ground. Rainbow Dash lay dizzy and confused beside her, her eyes rolling in her head as she tried to recover from the fall. As she and Twilight began to stand up, Rarity trotted over, Fluttershy beside her.
“Oh sorry Twilight, I guess I misjudged my trajectory a bit,” Rainbow laughed.
Twilight winced but laughed along with her friend, ignoring the slight pain in her side. “Yeah maybe just a bit,” she replied. Her friends joining in on the laughter as well.
“Are y'all headed to Sugarcube Corner too?” the orange pony asked as the laughter died down.
“Why yes Applejack we are, Did she call you as well?” the white unicorn asked as she straightened her main with her hoof.
“Yes actually she did,” Twilight responded, “it must be important if she wanted us all to see it, normally it's just Rainbow she invites.”
Rainbow blushed, “Yeah, well... We better not keep her waiting. You guys know how she gets when she's upset.” Rainbow quickly took to the sky and flew straight to Sugarcube Corner, her friends slowly trotting behind her.
They all quickly reached the Cakes' shop, Rainbow was patiently waiting outside. She was examining her hoof as if something had happened to it but soon snapped back to reality as her friends arrived.
“Geez you guys are slow, I could have flown from Canterlot and got her faster.
She smiled, her friends waiting patiently for her to stop chuckling at her own cleverness.
“Well we all can't fly Rainbow.” Rarity added, “otherwise we would have been here sooner.” Fluttershy looked down, tucking her wings close beside her; the comment made her feel a bit self-conscious. Rarity walked up past her rainbow friend and knocked on the door, “Pinkie darling, we're all here. Could you please open up?” She smiled and took a few steps backward, rejoining her friends. They stood together for another moment until the door swung open and the exuberant pink pony bounced out.
“Oh heya girls, I've been so busy tinkering I almost forgot I invited you.” She laughed and smiled widely, bouncing back inside, the rest following right behind her. They looked around, they were surprised to see the walls barren, not a streamer or balloon in sight. The pink pony smiled, it was then they noticed the oddly shaped tarp in the middle of the room. It was large, bulky and strange. Pinkie slowly walked over to the massive object in the room. She stood by it for a few seconds, checking under the tarp and doing some last second tinkering before finally addressing her crowd. “Well girls, let me introduce you to the Party Cannon Mach V.” She made a grand gesture with her hooves before pulling the tarp to reveal the large pink cannon.
Pinkie smiled at her friends, dwarfed in size by her massive creation. "I made it for really big parties," she exclaimed "Now I can decorate 10 times quicker and spend more time making sure ponies are having fun."
"Wow Pinkie, that sure is something." Twilight couldn't help but be impressed, the pure science behind the object confounded her.
"Well that's nice and all, but does it work?" Rainbow quipped, eager to see it in action. Applejack nodded in agreement. "Ah'm a mite bit curious ma'self, I reckon it's impressive."
Pinkie laughed and grabbed a rope that was dangling over the top of the machine, she gripped it tightly with her teeth and looked at her audience. "Yah mahght wahmnna cober yur eawers," she muffled before yanking her head down and pulling the string.
The resulting explosion left the room covered from top to bottom in balloons, confetti and streamers. No pony really had time to notice though, the ringing in their ears causing them much discomfort. "Isn't it a blast!!!" Pinkie screamed, as she began laughing at her own pun.
Twilight was the first to recover, shaking her head to try to clear her thoughts. She looked up to where Pinkie was standing shocked at the sight. "Oh and gee girls..."
"What did she say?" Applejack shouted at the rainbow mare next to her.
"Huh? You want soufflé? Pinkie might have some."
Twilight sighed, she was not going to go through this again. She quickly cast a spell on herself and her friends to fix their hearing before the damage became irreversible. She turned back to face them, looking away from the pink pony who was happily licking frosting from the walls.
"Now what were you saying Twilight?" Rarity asked as she was magically removing confetti from her mane. She glanced up to look at her, "Oh I do believe I see what it is." She cleared her throat, dislodging a lone streamer, "Pinkie, darling it does seem that you have completely destroyed the wall over there."
The pink pony hopped around the store, "Oh which one?" she asked, completely neglecting the large hole behind her.
Fluttershy replied quietly "Well from a technical standpoint I suppose it would be the fourth one." they all nodded in agreement as the pink pony turned to look at the damage. She looked down pensively but quickly jumped back to life. "Well like I said its for really big parties," she looked at the crater that had formed roughly 30 yards away, "I think I might have let the cake sit for too long." They all let out a small chuckle as spike quickly ran in through the front door.
"Twilight, it's an urgent message from the princess."
"Celestia?" she responded confusedly
"Who else egghead." Rainbow smiled smugly.
Twilight paid her no mind as she quickly read and reread the letter.
"My faithful student,
I hope this letter finds you well. I cannot for reasons of time delve into formalities, we request the presence of you and your friends here in Canterlot. It is a matter of great urgency, all will be explained soon.
Celestia."
Twilight stood still for a moment, running through worst case scenarios and contingency plans in her head. Applejack gave her a soft nudge to get her attention. "What's goin on Sugarcube? Do we saddle up?"
The whole group looked at her, awaiting her decision. "Alright girls, we have been requested in Canterlot, let's meet back here in 10 minutes." They all scattered to their collective homes, gathering their supplies and returning back to their rendezvous point with full saddlebags, Rainbow dragging Fluttershy along with her. Twilight ran through her checklist and her checklist's checklist before nodding and leading the way to the station.
As they trotted away down the street a few unicorns began to gather outside the back of Sugarcube Corner, they looked around, noticing the structural and collateral damage caused by what was essentially an oversized party popper. They smiled as they formulated a plan, the leader turning to his subordinate. "Silver Shoe send the signal, I think the boss will be pleased with this." No response came from the short unicorn beside him.
"I said call the others." he was growing impatient.
"Well um boss? The thing about that is um w-well I can't uh I can't really whistle." he was stammering nervously, looking at the ground.
The tall unicorn beside him sighed, raising a hoof to his temple. "Honestly, you have one job..." he grumbled before emitting a low whistle. A group of earth ponies who had been off in the distance arrived and circled in on Sugarcube Corner, hoisting the contraption onto their backs as the unicorns camouflaged them. Quickly they made their retreat, laughing as the went...
Author's Note
So the chapter well, it's not as serious as the first one, I was drinking for the first half and well I hadn't slept in a few days when I wrote the second half. The point is that it's headed in a little bit of a different direction but it shouldn't suffer from it. Enjoy this little detour, We'll be back into serious business soon.
