Prologue: The Royal Archives
Twilight shifted in her seat in the train. It had been a long journey and she had just woken up from the gentle vibrations of the carriage. Looking out from her window, dawn was breaking, Celestia’s sun peeking over the horizon, its rays stretching over the land as if the sun itself was crawling up from the sky. She smiled dreamily at the beautiful landscape, and thought about what a good view it would have been had she stayed in Ponyville.
Just then, something shifted against her side. Twilight turned to see Spike opening his mouth so wide she could see every tooth (‘and boy, does he need to brush,’ she thought as she wrinkled her nose and added a new item in her mental to-do checklist-get Spike to brush his teeth) in a rather large yawn.
“Morning Spike.”
“Morning Twilight, what time is it?”
“Well, it seems to be just after daybreak-“
“I’m going back to sleep.” With that, the baby dragon flopped over to his side again, content to remain in his comfortable position. Within moments, he was snoring lightly, floating by in his dreams of juicy gems and saving Rarity from many a dangerous situation. Twilight chuckled to herself as she watched her assistant smile in his sleep, drool starting to form at one corner of his mouth. Looking out the window again, Canterlot slowly shifted into view, its tall white spires standing proudly in the red sunlight, the colours of Celestia and Luna hanging high declaring the peaceful reign of the royal sisters. Unmoving, the great city remained in its place atop the mountain, overlooking the land of Equestria. It truly was a magnificient sight.
Twilight closed her eyes again. It was still going to be some time before the train reached the station at Canterlot.
“Hey Twilight, why exactly are we here again? And when can we get some grub? I’m starving!” An irate purple dragon inquired a purple mare as they moved through the streets of Canterlot, which was teeming with the upper-class ponies. A few cast their gaze on the strange duo, both in curiosity and disgust over their appearance. It never lasted more than a few seconds before they deemed them as a waste of their precious time before continuing their ‘important’ business.
“First, we’re here to pay a visit to Princess Celestia. Second we need to use the Royal Archives to conduct some research on one of the new spells I’m trying to create. Third, if you hadn’t decided to keep on sleeping when they offered refreshments on the train, you wouldn’t be complaining now. So, you’ve just got to wait until we’re done before we can ‘grab some grub’.”
“Oh-“ Spike groaned, only to hold his stomach in obvious discomfort as the latter decided to declare loudly that it had to be filled with many tasty delights. But with Twilight so determined to get to the castle quickly that she was oblivious to the aroma of delicious food wafting through the air, and the fact that he had no bits with him, Spike had no choice but to swallow his overflowing saliva and totter after the mare, hoping to get a bite in the castle.
The meet up with Princess Celestia had gone by without a hitch, with both the princess and Twilight swapping stories with each other in one of the pavilions in the castle located in the backyard that overlooked the grassy plains of Equestria. The occasional funny story would pop up, and both parties would laugh over the matter, be it one of Pinkie Pie’s many outrageous pranks or a slip up in the day court. Tea and refreshments had been served and while both Celestia and Twilight sipped lightly at their steaming cups of tea, Spike saw fit to stuff himself with the treats laid across the small round table, the consequence being a sharp reprimand from Twilight.
“But Twilight, I was so hungry I couldn’t help myself-“
“Spike! We’re in front of the princess!” Twilight hissed through clenched teeth at Spike, whose mouth bulged with sponge cake and hands greedily grasping more of the pastry. Spike pulled a pleading face, unwilling to relinquish his hold on his prized possessions.
Princess Celestia silenced the two of them with a gentle laugh. “Oh Spike, I am grateful that you appreciate the Royal Kitchen’s food. But do please continue at a more controlled pace so you do not accidentally choke yourself.” Spike swallowed the contents of his mouth in a large gulp and mumbled an incoherent response, before resuming eating his food at a significantly slower speed. Twilight, content with the response, turned back toward the Princess.
“Oh yes your Highness. I’d like to request permission to use the Royal Archives for research purposes. I was hoping I could use it today and be done with it quickly.”
The Princess smiled warmly. “Of course you may, Twilight Sparkle. In fact, I was wondering when was the next time you were going to ask to visit it.”
“Thank you so much your Highness!” Turning to go, Twilight trotted back toward the castle, before realising that her assistant was still busy scoffing himself at the table. She grunted in annoyance, before pulling a protesting Spike away with her magic, leaving Princess Celestia to chuckle quietly to herself.
Levitating a lantern in front of her, Twilight made her way down the steps to the royal archives, with Spike tailing her. The familiar smell of old books filled the air as the two of them reached the end of the spiraling stairway. Twilight’s horn flashed in a spell and all the torches in the Archives lit up in a single action, revealing large shelves neatly arrange side by side, perfectly parallel with each other, arranged by their topics in alphabetical order of the author’s name as per the large labels on each shelf. Despite the long periods of disuse, not a single cobweb could be seen in the old room and dust did not hang freely in the air. It was a bookworm’s haven.
Squealing with delight, Twilight made her way to a single study table at the very front of these great shelves where parchment paper, ink bottles and quills were already present. Immediately, an ink bottle was unscrewed, a quill dipped in it, and a piece of paper was scribbled upon. Inside was instructions which Twilight handed over to Spike, who upon seeing the large amounts written inside, sighed loudly. It was going to be a long day.
193 books later, Twilight was still scribbling furiously on the paper amidst towers of books. Spike had ran up and down to get fresh supplies of parchment and ink as well as the occasional quill to replace the ones Twilight had accidentally broke. Wiping the sweat off his brow, he was about to sit down on a stool to rest when Twilight called him. “Spike, would you mind if you run down the shelves to help me grab a few more books? I promise I’ll be done soon!”
Spike, despite his fatigue, simply shrugged and grunted something that sounded like “I’m so tired and I really want to rest, but I’ll do it because it doesn’t seem I have a choice right?” This prompted the mare to thrust a list that almost enveloped Spike’s face, and said encouragingly “Don’t worry Spike, after this, we’ll be done!” Spike rolled his eyes. “You’ve said that Celestia knows how many times already…” Spike muttered under his breath as he tucked the list under his arm and grabbed the Archive’s only ladder with his other arm. For a baby dragon, he displayed rather great physical strength as he maneuvered around the tight spaces with a long ladder.
The first three books were particularly easy to find as they were on shelves he had passed by frequently. Not to mention they within easy reach too. However, the last book…
“…almost at the corner of the Archive itself.” Spike muttered to himself, tucking the list and the books under one arm and retrieving the ladder off the ground as he expertly made his way through the maze of bookshelves. As he neared his destination, he realised that the lights were somehow dimmer and that the bookshelves themselves were quite devoid of books. Spike felt a shiver run through his scales as he assessed the change in the atmosphere. But, being Twilight’s faithful assistant, he continued on until he reached his goal.
The book that was to be retrieved was sitting on the top shelf of a shelf that only contained only a few books and some bound manuscripts, of which some lay flat on the shelf instead of standing upright like it was supposed to. Spike carefully placed the ladder on the shelf, before scrambling up. He grabbed the book and realised to his chagrin that it was somehow stuck in place. He tugged on it.
And again.
And again.
CRASH!
Spike was on the floor, seeing the world around him swimming around in circles. His head felt like his brain was pounding hard against his skull, and he resisted the urge to puke. The ladder lay flat on the ground, thankfully unbroken, but some of the books had fallen off the shelf. It was a mess.
“Spike! What happened?!”
Uh-oh, thought Spike, as he picked himself up and started to clean up the mess. Acting on impulse, just as he would back in the Ponyville library, he quickly placed the books back in place on the shelf, grabbed the ladder and ran back to the study table.
All without realising he had taken the wrong book from the mess.
The Fall of Discord
In a certain patch of land, there was an unusual sight. A checkered pink and white board, lay stretched across an entire plain where one would expect soft grass and small flowers. On top, lay several random items in awkward positions- a chair hanging upside down in midair, a grandly designed building resting on its side, gumball machines that were continually spewing out larger-than-life sweets from a floating chunk of land which fell into a gaping hole that seemingly had no end. Creatures that could only have been birthed from a mind not in its right state flew, slithered, crawled across the checkered ground, doing all sorts of nonsensical actions. Right smack in the middle of this strange piece of work was a small hill, and a small throne of vines and branches rose from the top of the hill. Sitting atop this throne, was a certain draconequus, sleeping with his head on the floor and his legs up the back of the seat of the throne.
Discord was dreaming that he was riding a cotton candy cloud and drinking chocolate from the same cloud, speeding through the air and performing giddying somersaults, when suddenly he hit an invisible brick wall with a loud ‘bang’. Puzzled, he reversed his cloud and tried accelerating forward again, only to hit harder…
And to awake with a start, falling off his throne in the process. Shaking his head to rid himself of the disorientation, he saw overhead what had disturbed his peaceful rest. A large black thundercloud loomed above him, with small bolts of lightning being discharged at random intervals. Thunder seemed to boom from the cloud as an afterthought.
“Really, what a coincidence. Here I was craving for some chocolate and cotton candy and you show up.” With a snap of his talons, the pestering storm cloud immediately turned into cotton candy with a lively shade of pink and started raining chocolate into Discord’s open mouth. Once he had his fill, he swiped it from the sky and stuffed it into his mouth, sighing with satisfaction.
“Seriously, I don’t see why they don’t see the fun in chaos. Being so ‘orderly’ and ‘proper’ is so boring, they should have died from boredom by now.” Discord sat back on his throne, resting his head on his paw. “But what’s that that I see?”
A large portal had materialized above his checkerboard space, and out spat divisions of troops- ponies and humans alike. The humans rode in convoys of trucks, and tanks whirred past, leaving dust and diesel and their wake, while the ponies, clad in the gold and dark blue armour of Celestia’s and Luna’s armies, charged from the portal, each of them emerging with a guttural cry in their throats.
Finally, just before the portal shrank and collapsed on itself, two ponies emerged from it, larger than the other ones and bearing royal armour, flying high above the large assault force.
All of them had one objective in mind- Discord.
The vehicles deposited their loads and the humans got into positions beside the tanks, protecting their flanks, while some stayed behind to cover the force’s rear. Soldiers split into their platoons and started their mad dash across the checkerboard. Magazines were fed into rifle housings and the charging handles pulled, making the weapons hot. Several sections fell back to provide cover for the powerful but slow tanks that rumbled across the ground providing cover from the rear, as well as to cover the medics that formed a separate platoon.
The ponies led the charge, the front line being mostly Earth ponies who ran fast and holding deadly weapons attached to their hoof armour, with a few unicorns that specialized in close-quarter combat magic amongst their ranks. Bringing up their rear was the line of long range specialist unicorns, their horns supercharged and ready to release their potent magic. Speeding overhead were the pegasi force, armoured lightly but their hooves adorned with very sharp weaponry. A group of them also acted as the cover from the sky, those pegasi who could allow humans to sit upon their backs to provide bullet hell from above.
Finally, the princesses flew side by side, their royal regalia shorn in exchange for shiny battle armour. Their faces did not show any emotion as they set their focus on Discord himself.
Surely, this scene alone would frighten any being who, being mindful about their lives, would run away as fast as they could.
But, Discord was no sane being. Instead, he threw back his distorted head and laughed throatily. It was a terrible noise, and it rang across the entire checkerboard plain, creating the illusion there were multiple copies of Discord laughing across the area.
“HA! The little ponies and angry humans have decided to team up and fight me? What fun! Imagine all the chaos and disorder that will come from this!”
Like how a snake descends from a tree, Discord stood on this throne of thorns and slithered down, such that his head was on the seat, his arms supporting his head and his legs on the head of the throne. He quivered with anticipation.
“Let’s see how this game of chess goes.”
With a snap of his talons, the checkerboard shook to life. The sky turned an ominous shade, and thunder cracked loudly.
“Game set!”
~~
Princess Celestia was thinking hard. A few weeks before their entry to Discord’s home ground, she had a long discussion with Luna and the leaders of the human populations as well as their commanders of the army-both human and pony alike.
It had been hard, especially since they were still wary of each other. Just days before, the ponies and humans had been at each other’s throats, thirsty for blood. The ponies had been fearful of the supreme technological capabilities of the humans, and the destructive properties of some. Guns? Tanks? It was something that ponykind had never seen seen before, and because they didn’t know what could be done with them, they feared the humans for their terrible technology. And started to hate them for achieving so much more than they could do even though they had magic and the power of flight at their disposal.
The humans too were suspicious about the ponies. It was strange to encounter an entire species of animals that could talk in their language. Furthermore, there were the different types of ponies that represented different potential threats. There were the unicorns who wielded magic. It was one thing to know about magic in fiction, but it was another thing altogether to see it in person. There were endless possibilities that came with the arcane power, and it made them fearful. Even the simplest spells such as levitation could become a force to be reckoned with if performed by a skilled unicorn, as even the heaviest object in existence could be manipulated by that unicorn’s will. Or even those pegasi, who could so easily take to the skies with a flap of their wings and even manipulate the weather to their favor. Who knew what natural disasters could be brought about them? Earth ponies also had legendary might and could easily outrun the frailer humans. Who’s to say that humans had nothing to fear from these seemingly peaceful creatures?
That’s when discord struck. Literally.
Nobody really knew when Discord set off the war. All that everyone knew was that suddenly, the Great War had started and humans and ponies had suddenly turned on each other. Even the Royal Princesses had been afflicted by Discord’s plague and had joined the inter-species war. To Discord, it was but just a game of chess. He was only waiting for the right time to strike before he could snatch the king pieces of both sides. In this war there would be no winner, only losers.
But somehow, Celestia was miraculously enlightened of the true intention of this war, and she managed to cast aside Discord’s enchantment. Yet, she had to try to convince the rest of the warring factions that the war was only a farce, and that the real threat was the misshapen beast that was watching over all of them.
Now, she was worrying how long this alliance would last. If Discord were to be defeated, would both ponykind and humankind stay as friends? Or would they turn on each other just like they did before?
She shook her head. It was not the time for such thoughts. She had to focus on the battle ahead. Her ponies were looking to her as their pillar of strength and she must not falter.
~~
The checkerboard across the armies swirled as a massive hole churned to life. From its gaping mouth, swarms of parasprites and timberwolves were spat out unceremoniously as they gathered for a massive assault on the ranks of soldiers that were slowly gaining on them. A chorus of bloodthirsty howls and the droning of small wings rang as Discord’s army dashed across to meet their enemies head on.
As soon as the horde was within range, the tank commander who was taking point gave the order to let loose. Immediately, the armoured vehicles were launching howitzers that screamed through the air that decimated the ground and blew apart bodies and shot shrapnel in all directions that would tear through flesh. Pony warlocks charged up spells that erupted from their horns, emitting intense bright light that blinded and burst apart into clusters of super-hot arcane liquid that burned whatever it touched. It would have turned most around fleeing for their lives, but Discord’s army was never sane. Instead, the hordes surged on ahead, hungry to lay their fangs upon the combined armies.
“All arms, open fire!”
A barrage of gunfire rang from the front lines, travelling at supersonic speeds toward the mass of bodies charging at them. Brass casings were ejected from rifles, tinkling to the ground. Auras of magic formed along the horns of the supporting group of pony unicorns. They did not supercharge their arcane powers, but instead opted for volume as they rapidly released their shots in a torrent of suppressive fire. The front lines of timberwolves crashed to the ground, new holes peppered along their torsos and heads; those that were still alive crawled toward the soldiers until they were shot again. Still more ran forward, leading over their fallen brethren, bloodlust in their eyes, uncaring about the corpses lining the checkerboard ground.
“Take them down!”
The pony hoplites sprang into action, uttering war cries as they brandished their swords and spears and sprinted forward to challenge the enemy. Their response was only feral growls and rabid cries. Metal pierced skin and sliced flesh, while fangs lanced into the hides and bony claws ripped through the armor of the pony soldiers. Screams of anguish and pain arose from both sides as the ponies struggled to hold the line against the horde. Bodies fell to the ground, mutilated either by metal or by claws and teeth, as they were trampled by their former brethren.
~~
“Sister, if we don’t do something, the line will not hold and the alliance will be lost!” Luna urged her sister as they soared through the sky.
Celestia closed her eyes in frustration. I’ve shouldn’t have underestimated Discord’s power, she thought with an audible sigh. Turning to Luna, she said “Alright, bring half of our air forces with you and try to lend support to the ground effort. The rest of us will attempt to flank them from behind.”
“What about the parasprites?”
“I’m sure we’ll find a way!”
Celestia sped off with a flap of her wings, calling upon half the pegasi forces to fly with her. Luna grunted with annoyance at the halfhearted answer as she brought the rest of them with her to fall back to the allied front. Parasprites attempted to surge in from all directions, but they could not outmaneuver the sudden change in formation and were cut down by the pegasi and the gunfire from their human riders. Soon, Luna’s pegasi force were upon the timberwolves bearing upon the allied front. The pegasi darted and swished through the masses, cutting swathes through the horde and giving the allied soldiers breathing room and time to recover from the onslaught. Occasionally, there would be the Pegasus that would fly too close to the jaws of the timberwolves and as a result was within pouncing range of the beasts. The result was that the Pegasus was torn from the sky and shredded to pieces almost immediately. Their human gunners fared no better, their heavy equipment impairing their chances of escape.
Yet, the horde was slowly pushed back, and finally the allied soldiers regained their resolve to advance further on toward’s Discord’s throne. The timberwolves cried in dismay as they saw that their attempts to break the enemy had been fruitless. Desperate, they tried to claw their way out or to run away from battle. They only received gunshots to the back or felt cold steel in their chests when they did so.
~~
Sergeant Waller was shooting from behind a tank, using its chassis for support for his rifle. As he squeezed the trigger, he could feel the shockwaves of recoil coursing through his body. The tank fired off another shell, and suddenly the world around Waller was just nothing but constant ringing. He didn’t care. He just kept squeezing off round after round, jamming in another magazine in when the rifle clicked dry. The timberwolves were some lot that could take heavy punishment. Despite the high velocity full metal jacket rounds they were using, it still took several well placed shots to drop one of them, and even if you did, more always took the place of the fallen.
The rest of Waller’s men were either using the tank for support, or in prone position around his proximity. The ringing in his ears stopped and was suddenly replaced by the sound of many small wings beating in the air. He looked up, and to his horror, there was a swarm of parasprites that had landed on the tank and had proceeded to make it their meal. The tank’s armor somehow could not withstand the teeth and fangs of the parasprites as they tore chunks away from the heavy vehicle. As they did, they were slowly multiplying.
“Kill those things!” Waller shouted as he focused his aim on the nearest parasprites, blasting them into colorful goop, timberwolves forgotten. Even as his men shifted their fire to the flying monsters, Waller could only watch as the tank was eventually devoured by the insects in a matter of seconds, too late for him to call for help. Soon, the parasprites were upon them, buzzing death as they tried to chomp on them.
“Fucking flying shits!” A red parasprite flew right into his face and tried to gnaw his face off. Waller butted it away with his rifle and pulled out his combat knife. His rifle would be useless here- too close and could cause fratricide. The parasprite flew at him again, its mouth wide open, displaying large teeth that was impossible for a creature its size. It flew into two pieces subsequently as Waller delivered a vertical slice that split it into half. Turning around, Waller saw that his men had no better luck fending off the creatures. They were slapping at the parasprites with their bare hands, a futile effort as the parasprites only had razor sharp teeth waiting for them. Those who had some sense left either used their rifle butts to try to whack them away or tried to run away from them. Those who were unfortunate were maimed and cried out as they slowly bled to death.
As Waller tried to step forward, a parasprite dive bombed into his back, sending him falling facedown onto the ground. His head rattled In his helmet, and dazed, he turned around to see the parasprite bearing its fangs, ready to make the kill.
“Shit.”
And then all of a sudden, a sudden gust of strong wind swept over Waller’s position. He closed his eyes to shield them from incoming dust. As he did, he was aware of squeaks and shouting above him and then getting further away. When he opened his eyes, the parasprites were gone, and only three men were left of his section. But they were still alive.
“Damn, sergeant. Princess Luna sure is a killer.” One of his men spoke.
“Yeah, get the wounded back to the support line, and grab whatever’s left of your weapons. You’re gonna need them.” Waller sheathed his knife back into its scabbard and looked over his shoulder where the wind had gone to.
“Thanks a lot, princess.” With that, he bent down and grabbed one of the fallen in a fireman’s lift, grunting at the guy’s weight.
~~
Steel Plates roared as he thrust his spear into a timberwolf springing at him. The metal tip pierced through flesh and exited the other side of the wolf, yet the beast still clawed furiously at the air, as if striking nothing would help its situation. The hatred in its eyes slowly gave way to a vacant stare. Its barks had subsided to a fading growl.
He didn’t bother to stop and see if it would die impaled on his spear. Swinging it sideways, he deposited of the timberwolf and searched for his next target.
“Steel Plates! Help!”
Steel Plates whipped his head around only to see Cobalt Blaze being tackled from behind by one of the timberwolves. He broke into a run, silently praying that he would make the distance in time to save his friend. The timberwolves had managed to break past part of the main defense of the pony guards and were slowly cutting them down. The reserves were doing their best to hold off the horde, but the front lines were being decimated by the beasts as they crashed against their spears and armor. Things were looking grim so far as the hole in the lines had not been plugged, and more enemies were streaming in which was straining the reserves.
The timberwolf had pinned Cobalt Blaze down on the ground and was only barred from attacking by the pony’s spear, which was jammed in its slobbering jaws. The timberwolf writhed and shook the spear back and forth, attempting to wrest it away from the pony’s grip. Yet Cobalt Blaze managed to maintain his hold on his weapon, but he grimly realised that his spear was slowly nearing his throat, and with that, the wolf’s teeth. The pony grunted as he tried to push back against his opponent in a contest of strength.
“Get away from my friend!”
The timberwolf suddenly went slack and its jaws slid off the spear. Cobalt Blaze let out a gasp of surprise as he tossed the corpse to one side, and saw a spear jutting out of the timberwolf’s back. Steel Plates was there, and with a quick flick, freed his spear from the flesh of the timberwolf.
“Steel Plates!”
He offered his hoof to Cobalt Blaze and helped him to his four hooves. “How are you holding up?”
“Shaky, but fine. Last one caught me unawares when I was grappling with another one.”
“Don’t be too careless next time. The battle’s far from over.”
They galloped back towards the front lines, hacking and slashing at any timberwolf that stumbled upon their way.
“Look! It’s Princess Luna!”
“Praise the Princesses, we’re saved!”
Luna and her forces swept overhead, striking down any timberwolf in their way. Those that weren’t struck down were instead struck with surprise and were cut down immediately by the surviving front guards. Eventually, the reserves were able to reinforce the front lines, and the hole bleeding enemies was fortified with fresh soldiers.
Howls arose from the fallen wolves as they were released from the hold of the mortal world instantaneously. Others suffered for longer, bleeding to death from large gashes by their sides or their throats, before gracious blackness overtook them.
With renewed vigor, the two ponies neighed as they galloped over to their fellow soldiers to form the phalanx, fire in their eyes, ready to strike down whatever came their way.
~~
Discord watched the battle unfold on a cloud screen floating in front of him. His head still propped against one hand, he lazily slid his hand into a bucket of popcorn floating beside him and threw in a few kernels into his mouth, chewing slowly as he did. He saw Luna as she descended upon his minions attacking the allied front, and regaining the ground that they lost.
“Seems like they’re getting a little ahead of themselves.” He let out a huge yawn and stretched his back in a contortionist manner. “But the game’s hardly even started.”
He snapped his fingers once. “Let’s see how they deal with this!”
To be continued...
