open An Ancient Shadow from Beyond

[Snow Mark 8]

OOC Link

 

For over 1,100 years, Celestia has ruled Equestria under an autocratic monarchy, with only her sister sharing power for a mere 100 of that time. But, unbeknownst to the ponies of Equestria, the truth of how she and her sister came to power has been covered up for that entire time, that Equestria, when it was first founded, was not a monarchy, and that Celestia and Luna was not always an alicorn. More than that, she had two brothers. Brothers that were exiled from Equestria for attempting to defend the old system no matter the cost. An exile that is now becoming no longer enforceable with the Elements of Harmony now in the hooves of the new Messengers of Harmony; Twilight Sparkle and her five friends. Needless to say, over a thousand years of exile have made the pair no less determined to restore the old system and overthrow their sister. This is a comeback story that no one wants to hear, the kind where both sides lose something in their determination to gain something. Just how will everyday Equestrians go about it?

 

Snow groaned as she rubbed her eyes, she had been reading nothing but quarterly reports and writing a letter to the Canterlot Headquarters on how to respond to the date all day. Her eyes needed a break, and luckily, she had an excuse for herself; she was running low on quills and ink. Looking around her messy, note and invention cluttered study, she yawned and sighed before putting down her quill, "This can wait, I'm going out." she muttered, almost glaring angerly at her work before very quickly fixing up her mane and putting on her saddlebags before trotting out through her living room (a very simple configuration of four modernist but comfy couches surrounding a coffee table) and out the front door onto her porch. Smiling and closing her eyes as she felt the wind hit her face, she stepped out and closed the door, "Ahhh, I missed this..." she muttered, taking a second to enjoy herself before looking out from her house. In front of her, a slow slope down to the edge of Ponyville, the only thing breaking up the grassy plain was the band of white flowers that went around her entire house, her family flower. "White Hopes...oh so beautiful they grow out in the sun..." she muttered before trotting out onto the path leading to a narrow gap in the houses that served unwittingly as the wall and concealment of her house. Behind her, her house, and behind that, the forest (but not the Everfree, the Whitetail forest), and in front, Ponyville.

Edited September 20, 2014 by Snow Mark

[Petal Dancer 55]

Hi, are interested RPr's supposed to just dive in?

 

 

It was a gorgeous morning indeed, perfect weather in Petal Swirl's opinion. The morning sky was a pale gold with grayish-blue clouds coming in. She hoped it would rain. Summer was coming to a close and Petal appreciated that. Cooler autumn weather was definitely in order. From her back, her pet ferret, Rachael, stretched into one of her purple saddle bags, scrounging for a snack. 

 

"If you them all now, you won't have any for later." Petal warned. Still, Rachael emerged from the pack with a chocolate chip cookie. The two were off to the Whitetail forest. Legends surrounded the place, such as the woods hid lost treasure, a spring of magic water able to heal any ailment, a legendary white phoenix that could answer any one question you asked it, and more. Ever seeking an adventure, Petal simply had to explore. Sure she had been in before...and found nothing but a beautiful forest, but she wasn't ready to give up just yet. Above her a rainbow streak zipped by. Petal watched after it wistfully. She was an earth pony, and had always wished that she could fly or do magic...or at least have some unique ability. Truth be told, she couldn't help but feel inferior as an earth pony.

[Gatekeeper Giggle 2,902]

Rhythmic Rhapsodist's train shuddered to a halt as it reached its final destination: Canterlot. He slowly stepped off the train and took in his surroundings. The spires of Canterlot towered over him, and beyond those the deep blue sky of Equesrtia loomed overhead. It was exactly like he remembered it. He sat down on a nearby bench to watch the train rumble off to its next destination. After the train had been gone for a few minutes he adjusted the lute case on his back and got up from the bench.

 

"Now we can begin" he muttered under his breath as he headed deeper into Canterlot. He shuffled his way through the hustle and bustle of morning Cantterlot, eager to get to his destination. Eventually he made it: his old house in upper Canterlot. It was weather beaten and dilapidated thanks to years of neglect, but even in such a state its majesty was undeniable. He fished his key out of his vest and unlocked the door, slowly making his way inside. The stench of decay hit him full in the face, but he didn't seem to mind as he made his way up the creaky steps to his old bedroom.                    

[Rokkurin 214]

It has been five long years since he has been home. Five years of grueling training. Five years of no interaction with anypony but his masters. Five years of training with no end. but it was all worth it. These skills that he has harnessed over the years were enough. He did not master any of them, but knew them all. A jack of all trades some ponies would call it.

 

The stallion walked through a forest to get to his destination. he wore a cloak with a hood that covered his golden fur and white main and tail. Under it was a saddlebag that was full with the necessities he needed to get him through his trip.

 

After walking for more than six hours, the sun was beginning to rise over the somber trees that kept him company.

 

He looked around and found a tree that was alone among the others. He walked up to it and sat down, taking off his saddlebag and brought out a canteen. He gulped down the clear crisp water that served to keep his hydration up. Once he was satisfied, he placed the water holder back into his bags and looked up towards the sky. The cloudless ocean of blue made him smile. he loved to relax and watch what goes on around him. Slowly, he put his head down and feel into a blissful nap.

[Mr. Critical 434]

Awaking to his usual sites of his home, Demo Reel began his usual routine. Getting his things together for the day, getting his breakfast together. If he was correct, he would be reviewing about two movies today. He couldn't remember what they were, usually that meant he wasn't looking forward to the films themselves or that they were indie films. Either way he found that he would not be enjoying the day today. Quickly finishing his breakfast, he made his way out to the newspaper office to meet his boss, Ink Well. His walk was the same as always and he wasn't a difficult to notice pony. He was taller than most earth ponies, almost reaching Princess Celestia's Height from what some ponies have told him. 

Opening the office doors, Demo Reel went in to receive his assignment for the day. All around him he could see that ponies were starting to wake up in their office spaces as they typed up their stories. Approaching the editor in chief's office, he found a note for him with his movies he had to watch today. She was probably out stallion hunting again, that or she was late from doing such a thing. Taking the list, he left to do his job. Speculating that he would either be making fun of them or raging against the films he was about to sit through.

[Gatekeeper Giggle 2,902]

Rhythmic Rhapsodist ruffled through the large stacks of old papers that were piled about his timeworn bedroom. He carefully examined each and every paper before setting it aside. As he shuffled through the old manuscripts, he spied a tattered newspaper. Picking it up off the floor, he begin to read it. He remembered this article from long ago; it was a movie review condemning a documentary about the royal sisters. Rhythmic Rhapsodist idly wondered who would be daring enough, or foolish enough, to say anything even remotely bad about the princesses. As he tossed the newspaper behind him, he saw that the next paper in the pile was the one he was looking for. The official royal audience request form was in much better shape than the rest of the papers strewn about the room due to the higher grade of parchment it was printed on. He quickly filled it out. Thanks to his time spent in Celestia’s court, he knew exactly what to write to make the document speed through the approval process. He chuckled softly to himself as he headed back outside. Baring a world changing cataclysm, he’d be talking to Celestia within the week. He carefully locked the front door behind him as he headed to Canterlot Castle so he could file the paperwork.

[Snow Mark 8]

Somewhere outside Equestria to the south.

 

"It's finally happening, brother." A cloaked figure said to a smaller one next to him in a deep booming voice that was barely being kept at conversational levels.

"What is?" The smaller asked in a much more pleasant, smooth voice.

"The "Harmony" barriers that have kept us in exile for over 1,000 years are falling. Our return is only a matter of time, then we can bring our sister to justice for her sins." the larger responded, "And Equestria can return to how it once was; where everypony was equal., and everypony will see the truth of our sister."

"Do you really think so?"

"I know so. Prepare the army, I want a swift attack at Canterlot itself. The more we can keep collateral damage to a minimum the better." The larger then placed a hoof seemingly on a spot in midair and pushed and a faint rainbow colored field revealed itself, pushing against his hoof, but a mere push put the hoof right through, "Hmph. And a thousand years ago I couldn't get within a hundred miles of the barrier. Our sister has grown weaker, and the Elements of Harmony are no longer hers." He noted before turning, "Come brother, we have much to do and not much time to do it. Every second that passes is another second our sister goes without paying for what she did to Equestria."

The smaller simply nodded and trotted after the larger figure before they both vanished in a flash of lightning. Soon, a thick, dark, ominous cloud layer covered Equestria swiftly afterwards, one that even the best weather ponies found themselves unable to deal with.

 

*************

 

Snow looked up as the sun suddenly disappeared behind a blanket of what looked like storm clouds as she reached the Ponyville market area, "Huh...I thought it wasn't supposed to rain until Wednesday?" she asked aloud. She quickly trotted over to the town bulletin at the weather schedule posted by the weather pegasi, "Nope...Today's Monday, supposed to be a clear day.." She said to herself as a crowd of ponies crowded around the bulletin. Then, there was a crack of thunder and the skies let loose, releasing a massive torrential rain. Yelping at the sudden freezing cold downpour, Snow cast a small shield spell that acted as an umbrella for her as ponies galloped for cover. Shivering as she looked up into the sky, she could just barely make out a blue pegasus with a rainbow mane flying overhead trying to clear the clouds when a lightning strike struck her and sent her plummeting to the ground. "That was no ordinary lightning..." Snow muttered in all, voice drowned out by the sound of the rain as the pegasus mare recovered just in time to avoid slamming into the ground. She looked positively singed with a strange pattern of burn marks all over her fur, hardly able to fly. Running for cover after seeing that, Snow sat in shock for a small time before she remembered reading a book back in her youth, the same one that she discovered the existence of Essence Magic in, how it said that storms in Equestria were much more...powerful and wild before ponies arrived. She quickly came to a shocking conclusion at that memory, this wasn't just any storm, it was somehow a storm from Equestria's earliest days before the weather was conquered. Little did she know however, this storm was happening across all of Equestria.

[Mr. Critical 434]

The films were awful, more than awful. Demo Reel exited the theater rubbing his temple as he left the doors, wanting to get back home as fast as possible to shut himself in for the rest of the week. Just as he left he felt a slight sprinkle on his head. Looking up he saw the clouds begin to darken as the local weather mare tried to ring it in. "Hm. Looks like the weather factory has a new recruit again." He sighed to himself and began walking home, letting his mane and coat get soaked as he began to walk through the streets. Seeing all the town's ponies run for their homes and move out of the way from Demo to get home.

Opening his home he walked in and crashed on his couch, rubbing his head as he tried to recover his day. "I swear, Applewood keeps making these films just to spite me." After taking a small breather he looked outside and saw the darkened skies and torrent of rain. He wasn't going anywhere for a while so he might as well get some work done. A crack of thunder struck and he felt a strong tingle go through his spine. "Huh... That's some strange lightning."

[Gatekeeper Giggle 2,902]

As soon as the rain began to fall in Canterlot, Rhythmic Rhapsodist stopped dead in his tracks. It never rained in Canterlot. Ever. The rain was always diverted to the mountainside above the city, where aqueducts carved deep into the side of the mountain carried the water into the city of Canterlot. The system had been implemented years ago when the wealthiest noble ponies had complained to Celestia about getting rained on. The only reason it would be raining now is if something had gone seriously wrong in Equestria. He quickly rushed back inside his house, galloping up the stairs as he hastily made his way into his bedroom. He barged into his closet, grabbing his thickest winter cloak. It was moth-eaten, but it would have to do. As Rhythmic Rhapsodist made his way back outside, he noticed it had stopped raining. He looked up and saw that Canterlot’s magic shield had been activated; unnatural lightning now crashed against the force field. Rhythmic Rhapsodist wanted no part of whatever disaster was brewing in the skies above Canterlot. He forced his way past the mob growing in the streets, hoping to reach the Canterlot hedge maze. He knew that any invading… whatever would be much more interested in subduing the citizenry of Canterlot then looking at shrubbery; he would also be close to his master’s statue, so he could keep an eye on it. He quickly trotted into the depths of the maze, hiding himself in some particularly thick bushes to avoid the sight of any airborne invaders.                    

[HunterTSN 1,444]

Ponyville.

 

"Well that's the last one" Zephyr said as the mailbox door clicked into position. Suddenly she blinked as a drop of rain fell onto her nose with a audible plopping sound that brought her attention to the quickly darkening sky. "No! Nononono" she muttered as she swung her messenger bag onto her back and took off at full speed for the post office. 

 

Zephyr ran through the glass doors of the PO just as the entire sky broke into a hail of raindrops, instantly drenching any ponies that remained outside. Panting slightly, she quickly returned her bag and collected her paycheck before heading back to the lobby where she was greeted by the sound of raindrops violently hammering against the glass windows. 'Just great, the last thing I wanted was to get rained into the freakin' Post Office, so much for any other plans I had to day. Ugh, the weather pony totally said that it was going to be a sunny day, that's the third time this has happened in a month' she thought bitterly as she checked her saddlebags in hopes that she had accidentally packed a raincoat or something. As expected, she came up emptyhoofed and had to settle for flopping down on one of the waiting chairs. After a few minutes of alternating between sitting and pacing the lobby, Zephyr finally made up her mind to brave the storm. She barely had time to push against the glass door before being swept away by the wind and stinging rain.

Edited September 29, 2014 by HunterTSN

[Rokkurin 214]

A loud thunderous boom woke Guardian from his sleep. He looked around him confused as it was bright out not too long ago. He looked up towards the sky and say a streak of lightning lash out at one of the trees nearby. The tree was completely obliterated.

 

Never before has he seen a storm like this before. In all his travels the closes one that happened was in the minator kingdom when five tornadoes descended around it. Soon enough another lightning bolt lashed out like a whip. This one struck a few feet away from Guardian. The force of the thunder was enough to push him several feet away.

 

'It is no longer safe for me to be out in the open like this, I need to find safety and quick!' he thought to himself.

 

Guardian packed away his stuff and took off in the direction he was heading before his nap. Soon enough he came to a clearing, 'Not a smart idea to be out here in the open.'

 

He looked around and noticed a town not too far from his position. Thinking that this was his opportunity to get out of the storm, he ran as fast as he could when it started to rain.

[HunterTSN 1,444]

Zephyr immediately regretted leaving the warm safety of the post office. The blinding rain stung at her wings and while her path was lit only by the frequent lightning that rolled across the sky with incredible vigor. She was fairly certain that she would need to invest in an industrial drier if she wanted to know the feeling of ever again being totally dry. 'Maybe there's a restaurant or something I can hop inside?' Zephyr thought as she squinted through the pouring rain, scanning the the side of the muddy streets in hopes of finding an open café.

 

The open market looked as though it had been thrashed by a tornado; tarps had come loose, wagons were overturned, produce was scattered around, and at least an inch of water flooded the saturated ground. Desperate for refuge, Zephyr quickly explored the ruined marketplace in search of any standing shelter. Quickly she spotted a somewhat protected tent that had miraculously survived the barrage of wind and rain and made a beeline for it, narrowly avoiding a hazardous pile of apples that had spilled from a flipped cart. Suddenly she became aware of another form under the small sanctuary that closer inspection revealed to be the hunched body of a mare.

 

"Hey!" Zephyr shouted as she got closer to the small shelter. "Do you mind if I squeeze in for a bit? It's getting kinda wet out here."

 

((In response to @@Snow Mark)) 

[Snow Mark 8]

Snow nodded to the pony who had approached her, expanding her magical sheild to cover the mare. "Quite the storm!" Snow almost yelled in order to be heard over the downpour, "Weather bulletin said tomorrow was supposed to be the rain day, but this...I have no idea!" Looking around, "I'm Snow, uhh...Shall we try to find a restaurant to get in to get dry?"

 

********

 

In the Canterlot throne room, it was pure choas as ponies tried to figure where in Equestria this storm came from, with the,only light coming from the flashes of lightning and candles. Celestia and Luna, on the other hood, had a sneaky suspicion, but kept calm and did not voice their concerns for fear of making the situation worse when they had no idea what was actually going on. Dark Light, the Master Protector of the Capital Region and the top authority of the military short of Celestia and Luna,trotted up to them with a worried look on her face, "Your highnesses, as far as my scouts, well, the ones that made it back without getting struck, report that this storm seems to cover virtually all of Equestria and the immediately surrounding lands. Efforts by weather pegasi everywhere have been fruitless, and Cloudsdale was even forced to raise its altitude significantly in order to escape the storm." She reported, "Do you have any idea what is going on?"

Celestia shook her head, "No, we are just as lost as you are, Protector Light. Now, if you'll excuse us, my sister and I would like some time, alone. In the meantime, could you restore order?"

"Yes ma'am!" Light quickly saluted and ran towards the guards and messengers running around, in and out to try to get them to calm down while Luna and Celestia quietly slipped out.

"Could it be sister? That...they have finally returned?" Luna asked Celestia with concern.

"I don't know, and I hope not. Even though the Elements of Harmony do have their Bringers, they aren't as powerful as they were connected to us." Celestia replied, "If they do come...We would likely not be able to resist for long."

"I know...But I'm sure we will find a way. We have Equestria behind us after all sister."

"Yes...But will we still have their support when our brothers tell the truth?"

"Then we should tell them ourselves!"

"No...It would likely only make things worse. Lets wait and be patient. Maybe he has simply made this storm to put us on edge and remind us he is sill out there."

"I hope you're right sister...I really do. I do not want a repeat of the War in our lands..."

"Neither to I, Luna.."

[HunterTSN 1,444]

@@Snow Mark, 

 

Zephyr gave a bright smile as she climbed in next to Snow with a heartfelt thanks, grateful to finally be away from the vicious downpour. 'Thank Celestia she's friendly' Zephyr thought as she began to futilely attempt to wipe some of the muck off of her hooves.

 

"I've just been through most of the east side of town and all the places I saw were closed, not much business in this weather or something I guess. It's pretty nasty out there but I know of a few cafés nearby that might be open if we're lucky, my apartment's also a little ways away if you're willing to keep up that spell for a bit longer" Zephyr offered, looking up at the dark rolling clouds above. "I'm surprised the weather ponies haven't fixed this up yet. It must be even worse than it looks if not even they're flying in it, that means we've gotta wait until it eventually breaks itself up. Wanna bet somepony's getting fired tomorrow?" She said with a joking chuckle.

 

"My name's Zephyr by the way, we may have met, I'm the mailmare... Oh I think the storm may lightening up a bit, if we're going to make a run for it then now's our chance before it get's bad again."

[Snow Mark 8]

Snow nodded, "Nice to meet you, though I doubt we've met, I'm always working." she replied, "You know what? If you're willing to walk a bit farther, we can take refugee at my house, got plenty of extra rooms you could stay in until the storm breaks." she asked, "And don't worry about me keeping the spell up, I can keep it up as long as I want." She then looked up, "You know, I don't somepony is going to get fired. Something about this storm...seems primeval. This is a sort of storm Equestria hasn't seen in centuries..."

 

********

 

"Shall we, brother?" The larger alicorn, now out of the cloak as he and the other stood in a circular room with what appeared to be a pit with a wall built up around it. His coat was the color of storm clouds, with eyes that seemed to have irises of pure lightning, and a mane that was a dark blue, like rain.

"I don't know...remember what happened to the previous Champions...We don't even know if these Champions will support us!" the smaller one, whose coat was the color of a perfect clear day sky and eyes of the same color, and a fluffy mane of a very light grey.

"That's the beauty of our Champions versus the Bearers of Harmony. Ours have freedom of choice, while the Bearers. whether they realize it or not, have to do Celestia's will as long as they wear the Elements of Harmony. It will only serve to strengthen our cause to return democracy to Equestria." the larger replied, to which the smaller sighed.

"Alright fine, I'll believe you, but I hope we aren't making a grave mistake."

"Don't worry, as long as the Champions aren't unified against us, we will be fine. Besides, we are just going in, removing Celestia and Luna and implanting the true government of Equestria, then leaving once order has been restored."

the smaller sighed once more before both lowered their heads to point their horns at each other before casting powerful magical beams at each other, which slammed into the other right above the middle of the well sort of pit then split into two, sending one beam into the sky and one into the bowels of the pit. They then ended the beams, but the vertical shaft of magic persisted as magical energy seemed to spew forth from the pit and into the sky.

 

*********

 

Celestia looked sadly back at Twilight and her friends as they ran into the room near the rear of the castle, a place never tread beyond Celestia and Luna.

"We came as fast as we could Princess!" Twilight exclaimed, "The storm slowed our progress though, and Rainbow Dash hasn't been feeling too good since she got struck by that lightning trying to clear the skies over Ponyville."

Celestia turned to face them, her eyes widening at the sight of the lightning shaped burns across Rainbow's fur, "Oh my...It is worse than I thought..." she muttered.

"What's wrong, Princess?" Applejack asked, instantly concerned by Celestia's sudden expression change from sadness to shock and fear.

"..." Celestia sighed, "I haven't...exactly told you, or Equestria, of the dangers that face Equestria." She stumbled a bit over the words, obviously trying to find the right words, but not quite so obviously thinking of a good lie to hide the truth even now, "You see...A long time ago, just after Equestria was founded, before even Discord, a serious challenge arose to face the nation. Known simply as the King of Storms, he invaded Equestria trying to install a brutal dictatorship over the kind, innocent ponies of Equestria. Only Luna and I combined with the help of the Elements of Harmony was strong enough to throw him back, and we exiled him from Equestria forever. However, the strength of the Elements of Harmony has fallen as they changed from being controlled by me to controlled by you, the new Bearers. That is what this storm is, it's his precursor to invasion. And once in power, Equestria will be a land of permanent storm. You must stop him!"

"Yes princess! We will get right on it!"

[HunterTSN 1,444]

@@Snow Mark,

 

Zephyr thought on Snow's words, she did have a good point. There was something definitely off about the storm, not only because it was possibly the worst to that Zephyr could remember sweeping through Ponyville, but also because of something else that she just couldn't put her hoof on, it just felt wrong.

 

"You don't think it's something like Discord and Nightmare Moon is causing it do you?" Zephyr asked, a hint of fear on her voice, "I mean, I'm sure the Elements of Harmony have everything under cont-"

 

CRACK!

 

Zephyr couldn't help but flinch as the a violent flash of lightning turned the world around her and Snow bright white for a split second, leaving the lingering feel of static electricity tugging at Zephyr's mane. "On second thought why don't we focus on getting somewhere a bit safer before continuing this conversation" she said, rising impatiently to her hooves. "I vote your place, it sounds a lot nicer than mine... That is unless you mind sleeping on my couch if you end up rained in which is something that, believe me, you don't want to do."

Edited September 30, 2014 by HunterTSN

[Snow Mark 8]

Snow nodded as she stared in fright at the now half-burnt cart right by them, "Yea, good idea, lets go." That's when all of a sudden there was another bright flash of light, only this time it was silent. When it faded, the world seemed completely black as her eyes adjusted, she could definitely feel she was on stone, and the sound of the rain and lightning was gone. Finally, the world finally faded into view, and looking around, Snow seemed to be in a circular stone room with 4 other ponies that she could see, all in various states of confusion and lost. In the middle of the room, there was a small circular wall emitting a beam of magical energy that paused halfway up the room, holding aloft 6 artifacts of various items, one looked like a sword, another a torch, and yet another seemed to be a simple band crown made to look like laurel leaves, there was a necklace with a horseshoe and four-leaf clover, and two others she couldn't see. Looking to her immediate left, Snow could see Zephyr.

Just when things couldn't get any weirder, two alicorns stepped out from behind the beam into view, and the larger one who looked like a storm had given birth to an alicorn cleared his throat, "Welcome Champions of the Ancients!" He boomed, though it seemed as though this was his "quiet speech" setting, "A very important thing is about to happen in the fair land of Equestria, and justice for a crime that has gone unpunished for over 1,000 years is about to finally be meted. I am Tremalion, Lord of Storms, Brother of Celestia and Luna, and this is my brother Heculius, Knight of Calm Days. And you, are our version of the Bearers of Harmony, the Champions of the Ancients, defenders of the Elements of the Ancients. However, we will give you a choice, once you leave here, to support us or to support our traitorous sister. However, I do ask one thing of you before I give you the explanation of the Ancients. I would like you to listen to the true story of Equestria's earliest history."

The blue one, Heculius cleared his throat to interrupt, "Uhm, don't mind his jumping straight to the point, he's always been like that, and well, his dream for Equestria to be restored to what it once was is so close it is well, making him anxious."

"It is not, brother." Tremalion shot back in a flat, but at the same time strangely "annoyed brother" tone.

Heculius simply rolled his eyes before trotting before the group, "Look, we are deeply apologetic for this random meeting that all of you are likely extraordinarily confused about right now, and for the storm that has covered Equestria. My brother was wanting to send a message to our sisters, that he is coming for them, that their crimes have not been forgotten. And I'm sure you are wondering what those cri-"

"Overthrowing a peacefully elected democratic government that she helped design, though made deliberately weak, declaring herself ruler of Equestria, plunging a peaceful young nation into a massive civil war that killed a quarter the population and lead to the exile of another third." Tremalion listed off, "Just to name a few."

"...Annnnyways, yes, she did all that in order to rule Equestria with an iron fist. I know it may seem silly that we are still wanting to punish her for doing such a thing when she has "run Equestria so well". Yes, because 1,000 years of near stagnation is sooo great. Ever asked your grandfathers on how Equestria compared then versus now? They'll say Equestria has grown more in the last 8 years than in the past 100! Either way, a crime is a crime, and punishment MUST be metted out. Not by us, we are simply the arbitrators. The police to haul her in for trail, oh, and turn her and Luna back into unicorns like they were when they were Sol Celestial and Selena." Heculius then fell silent then narrowed his eyes, "Wait a minute...There's supposed to be 10."

[Gatekeeper Giggle 2,902]

Rhythmic Rhapsodist was crouching in some shrubbery deep within the Canterlot hedge maze when he abruptly found himself blinded by a sudden flash of light. He flailed around wildly, and was stunned to discover he could no longer feel the leaves and branches of the hedge maze. When his vision retuned to him, he was further startled to find himself in a vast circular stone room, which was richly decorated with ornate tapestries and elaborately carved statues. Dominating the center of the room, a pedestal shot forth a powerful beam of light in which several artifacts of obviously magical origin floated. Four other ponies he didn’t recognize stood about the room, confusedly gazing at their surroundings. Without warning, two alicorns trotted out from behind the pillar of light, and they launched into a speech. Apparently he and whatever other ponies were here had been chosen to help overthrow Celestia. Although he was careful to ensure his outer features still conveyed shock and surprise, inwardly he grinned. He could use this. However, he needed to make sure the other ponies in the room chose to help the two brothers, and not Celestia. He patiently waited for the two brothers to finish their speech before starting a speech of his own.

[Snow Mark 8]

"It doesn't matter." Tremalion replied, "The Elements evolved, simple as that." Before looking overing over the ponies who had been summoned, "Any questions?"

 

******

 

Dark looked out the window of the castle just as the shield protecting the city from the storm shattered and rain came pouring down once more. Whipping her head around, she could see her Shield Captain, Shining Armor, sitting on the floor, grunting as he held his head. "Captain Armor! Where is the shield??" She demanded.

"Sorry ma'am...I'm not fully recovered quite yet from the Changeling attack...And the lightning..It's extremely powerful." he replied weakly.

Groaning, Light rolled her eyes before ordering, "Okay Sun, Vanish; Get Armor to rest ASAP, E.G. pegasi, on me! Everypony else, go out into the city and make sure you get any civilians to safety! And make sure the Castle has a garrison at all times!" She barked. That order finally gave the Guards direction and they immediately set about their given duties. Once the Elite Guard pegasi had gathered around Dark, she looked around before saying, "Okay, we are going for quite a flight, if you don't think you can do it, you're welcome to step out. I won't blame you. But we need to find the origin of this storm, it isn't natural, I can tell you that. It's got to end somewhere, and we are going to find out. And to do that, we'll have to fly all the way out of Equestria, above the cloud cover." Nopony backed out, "Good. Now lets go."

[Gatekeeper Giggle 2,902]

Rhythmic Rhapsodist took the alicorn’s asking for questions as a signal to begin his own speech. He spoke in a booming, commanding voice; one that bespoke of wisdom and authority.

 

“I… believe I speak for my companions when I say that we are not at all surprised to hear of Celestia’s treachery. Long has she looked down on us from the safety of Canterlot, using the elements of harmony as a bludgeon to silence all who oppose her. Speaking as one who was once a member of her court, I have seen first hoof the fate she had in store for any who raised so much as a whisper of dissent. They were cast out, mocked and ridiculed by their peers, forced to disappear into shame and obscurity. Many more simply vanished, never to be heard from again. But I know that if we work together, we can bring down Celestia and her works of tyranny. Only together can we free the citizens of Equestria from the jaws of oppression and bring them into the warm embrace of freedom that they so rightly deserve! I look forward to the day when a leader can be open and honest with the ponies, free from the foundation of lies that Celesta has built her empire upon. With the support of everyone here, and with the aid of the glorious armies of democracy, we can and will bring peace and prosperity to the downtrodden and the destitute!”

 

Rhythmic Rhapsodist brought his speech to a close as he waited to see what effect it would have upon his audience.

[HunterTSN 1,444]

@@Snow Mark,

@,  

 

Zephyr listened slack-jawed at the grey pegasus as he wrapped up his ridiculous speech. Growling she stepped forward and glared a the alicorn brothers.

 

"I believe he does not speak for all of us!" she objected with a stamp of her hoof. "You can't kidnap us, tell some crock story about Celestia being a tyrant, and then go and expect us to just agree to jump on board like we're a bunch of sheep; I've met sheep before and I'll bet none of them would even do that" Zephyr continued, beginning to trot towards the two alicorns, "even if Celestia did overthrow you, so what? Equestria isn't worse off, in fact I'd say we're way better off then we were a thousand years ago or whatever. If you say our help is so important than you had better give some real proof that this isn't some stupid revenge mission or power-grab by a couple of jealous relatives." Zephyr was only a pony length away from the larger alicorn (Tremalion?) when she finally stopped, giving an angry star that she hoped would mask the fear she was hiding. "You're going to have to do better than just words."

Edited September 30, 2014 by HunterTSN

[Gatekeeper Giggle 2,902]

@@HunterTSN

 

 Rhythmic Rhapsodist loved it when they played hard to get. Even so, he couldn’t let this upstart pegasus ruin his plans, not now that he was closer than ever before. He schooled his features into a look of infinite patience as he prepared his retort.

 

“You say you need proof beyond words?” He swept his hoof across the entirety of the room. “Do you not see what lies before us? Long has Celestia let us believe that she, her sister, and Cadence were the only Alicorns in existence, yet we can plainly see that this is false. I do not understand why you would willingly serve the one who has lied to you over the course of your entire existence, rather then aid the one whose very first action was to give you a choice over your own destiny.”

 

Rhythmic Rhapsodist turned to look at the Pegasus, and gave her a benevolent smile.

 

“I only want to help you, friend. I want to help you make the right decision, as the wrong one could prove harmful to not just us, but to all of Equestria. Please, I need your help. Equestria needs your help.”

Edited October 1, 2014 by Stormgiggle

[HunterTSN 1,444]

@,

@@Snow Mark,

 

Zephyr spun on the stallion angrily. 'And ponies are always telling me I'm dimwitted, any time with this lemming would make them eat those words in a heartbeat' she thought bitterly.

 

"Are you so insane you can't even hear the words coming out of your mouth? Maybe they just said that because they assumed all the others were dead, or maybe they said it to keep us safe from the other more dangerous Alicorns. Maybe they weren't lying to us at all and these creeps are just unicorns with fancy spells or hell, maybe they're changelings. They haven't given us anything to trust them so why should we?" Zephyr berated, pausing only to take a breath before continuing her rant, "even if what you say about Celestia and Luna was true -which it isn't- then you still shouldn't just decide to throw your hooves in with two random 'alicorns' that show up out of nowhere and start making up all these crazy claims with no real proof. What if their story is bogus and they're actually planning on grinding us up into rainbows or something, huh?" Panting heavily, Zephyr finally backed up and address the other ponies in the room. "If anypony has any more conspiracies theories to share, get them over with. Personally I would rather like to get a real reason on why we're here and what plans these two have for us before jumping on the back of a hayride going who knows where."

Edited October 1, 2014 by HunterTSN

[Gatekeeper Giggle 2,902]

@Snow Mark

 

@@HunterTSN

 

Although Rhythmic Rhapsodist still held an expression of serenity, inwardly he fumed. How could the pegusus mare be so unwilling to listen to reason? She called him insane, yet spouted nonsense about being ground up into rainbows! Where did she get such a ridiculous notion? Even if all she said was in fact true, she had made things ten times worse by challenging the brothers to their faces. Not that it mattered. He was prepared for such an outcome, and he would not fail his master again. Suddenly realizing that he was probably just standing there doing nothing, Rhythmic Rhapsodist came out of his thoughts and looked about the room. Everyone, alicorn brothers included, were now openly staring at the two of them. It was time to move things along. If the pegusus mare refused to cooperate, the plan would simply have to evolve.

 

Rhythmic Rhapsodist turned to face the two alicorn brothers. They refocused their gazes to rest solely on him. “Have you nothing to say to all this, your graces? Surely you have more wisdom to impart?”

Edited October 1, 2014 by Stormgiggle

[Snow Mark 8]

Tremalion simply chuckled, "Let me tell you something about our past. Our father was Tarcarius, he was an earth pony with an unicorn mistress. Our sister found out how to turn regular ponies into something new, alicorns, tried to use her position as president to take control, and more. If you don't believe me, then I will take you to where we were banished, and there you shall see." Suddenly there was another bright flash and the group found themselves in the ruins of what looked like a grand ampitheather, with rows and rows of overgrown mossy stone seats, with another smaller raised section of raised steps that where surrounded by the larger rows.

"Well to the Council Chamber." Tremalion said as the storm directly above instantly cleared, "This is where democracy in Equestria was born, and where it died." Heculius and Tremalion then took up positions on the center stage, in defensive combative poses before suddenly a ghostly reality came into being around the group of regular ponies. The room rebuilt itself, with the stone rows replaced by desks and chairs, though they were all overturned and ponies where hiding behind them, ready to defend the room the death.

"Get ready!" Tremalion's voice boomed in an echo-y, distant way. Snow looked around confused before her eyes turned purple as she tried to confirm what she was seeing.

Suddenly, there was the sound of an explosion at the front of the room and two grand doors soared over head, slamming into the wall being Tremalion and Heculius, who were now somehow completely dressed in ancient armor now, who ducked before glaring at the front.

There was a blinding light emitting from where the door used to be, and the soldiers inside the room instantly began firing arrows at the hole, and the sounds of arrows slamming into ponies and the sounds of wounded eminated from the hole. Then however, Celestia and Luna stepped forward in armor similar to Tremalion and Heculius', but with Luna's armor obviously looking just like Nightmare Moon's.

"It's over, Tremalion! Surrender now and the only one who will have to suffer in this room!" Celestia yelled at him.

"Never, we are the defenders of freedom! Democracy shall never surrender!" Tremalion instantly responded.

Celestia chuckled, "How misguided of you. Fine. We challenge you to a hero duel."

Tremalion glared, "No. We shall fight together, every pony in this room would rather die fighting together than to live under your yoke!"

"You call yourself a Princess, all we see is a flimsy excuse for a tyrant!" Heculius added.

"You're Elements have been defeated, give it up, please, there has been enough bloodshed." Luna pleaded.

"Sister! why do you support this! You know what she's doing is wrong! All is not lost yet!" Heculius tried to appeal to her, which drew nothing but silence.

"You know what? I've had enough of this! I'm ending this!" Celestia yelled before levitating out three stones, three of the 6 stones of the Elements of Harmony. Luna sighed and hesitantly followed suit, and the fear could instantly be seen in the eyes of Tremalion and Heculius before they hardened their gaze.

"Sisters, please, think about what you're doing." Tremalion managed to get out, "This will only end with one of us dead.."

"Then it might as well be you." Celestia replied bluntly.

The brothers sighed as they noticed the two start to charge up the Elements of Harmony, while the horns of the brothers lit up, they knew they were going to lose. Then, a bright white beam from the two brothers slammed into a rainbow beam from the Elements of Harmony. The brothers seemed to be winning for a few seconds before suddenly the rainbow beam overtook their own and slammed into the brothers. Within a second, the beam dissapaited, revealing that the brothers had disappeared, all that was left was shadows burnt into the wall where the brothers were. Then, the memory ended, revealing the two brothers looking sorrowfully at the hole blasted at the front of the room, the same exact one from the memory. "Do you believe us now?" Heculius asked