open An Ancient Shadow from Beyond

[HunterTSN 1,444]

@@Snow Mark, 

 

Zephyr was mostly silent as she watched the display, flinching slightly when Celestia spoke. Surely this wasn't what really happened, it was clearly a biased take on events. 'It could still be some sort of trick or illusion, or maybe just a memory taken out of context' her mind told itself, feebly attempting to convince itself that what is was looking at wasn't reality. But no, this was not the memory of  a changeling or unicorn, this really happened. Zephyr was in a state of near shock by the time the memory finally faded away.

 

"Alright, I believe you" she admitted once she regained control over her mouth, "that doesn't mean I'll agree to help you yet though, I don't have any problems with what Equestria is like with Celestia in charge. What exactly are these 'Champion of the Ancient-whatevers' anyway and what are we supposed to do with them? I mean I'm just a mailmare; my cutie mark is literally a letter with wings on it. How do you expect to fight the alicorn princesses with just a couple working-class noponies? Actually while I'm asking questions, would you tell what's up with the magic wall thing? it's starting to hurt my eyes." 

[Snow Mark 8]

Snow looked at Zephyr suddenly, "Wait, you think I'M a working class pony? That's a first that I've heard that. Would've thought you'ld have known..."

Tremalion ignored Snow before going to answer Zephyr's questions, "One; the Champions of the Ancients are you, because the Elements of Ancients decided to choose you. The Elements are Divine Right, Power, Justice, Light, Speech, and Luck. Each one is a part of what a good ruler or leader is. What you're supposed to do with them? Well, that's up to you, but don't go thinking you can blow us up, because you can't, as we made them. And on your cutie mark..." Tremalion chuckled, "The way I see it, a tattoo on your flank shouldn't determine what you do with your life. You make your own destiny. And what magic wall thing? Referring to the memory? You shouldn't be seeing that bright light anymore." he told Zephyr.

 

*******

 

Dark Light watched as the clouds slowly ended and her group passed over them. Exhausted and short of breath, they dropped down to more manageable altitude and started gliding in the thicker air. That's when Dark noticed the massive war camp being assembled, "Oh dear Celestia..." she muttered, judging by the area being enclosed by the palisades, the camp would hold an army of up to 500,000 soldiers, 4 times the size of the Equestrian military. "We need to get back to Canterlot, ASAP!" she yelled before rocketing off back towards Equestria over the storm clouds.

[Loud Opinion 602]

@@Snow Mark,

 

    Silver Tongue was trotting through the streets of canterlot with a pep in his step and a song in his heart, while on his way to a job interview for the equestrian embassy. Silver was completely oblivious to the now gloomy weather, apart from his gratitude that the harsh winds were blowing in his direction. He was too distracted with mentally preparing himself for the upcoming interview, to even consider waiting out the storm. He knew when he saw that the administrative position was open, it would be the first step to his dream job of being an equestrian ambassador.

 

    Even if Silver Tongue had been paying attention to his surroundings, he could not have reacted to the lightning that struck just in front of him, sending him flying backwards. Silvers life flashed before his eyes as he soared through the air. He had just enough time to say "Disappointed!" before he realized his hooves were on the ground.

 

    Silver Tongue didn't remember landing, and all of his momentum had stopped, in fact, everything had stopped. He did not feel the wind urging him forward, the rain striking his fur, or even the ground beneath his hooves. As Silver observed the endless gray void before him, it took only a few moments to come to the conclusion that he landed on the ground with enough force to kill him, and this was a sort of limbo between life and death.

[HunterTSN 1,444]

@@Snow Mark, 

 

"So what element am I supposed to be then? Is there one like already picked out for me or do I need to take a test and fill out a background check? Just a word of warning; I'm a really bad quiz taker, there's just something about studying that never sat right with me" Zephyr said as she admired the Elements of the Ancients. All her life Zephyr had assumed that she was happy with her position in life, never had she wanted to be anything more than a small town mailpony. Now here she was being given a way out of the monotony of her everyday life and she began to truly wonder of she was actually happy where the was. If she accepted an element then everything she had would be gone, no not gone just... different. By accepting she would be agreeing to abet the starting of a brand new civil war, something Equestria hadn't seen the likes of in a millennium. The enemy would be acquaintances, cohorts, even friends. Hell she delivered mail to the Elements of Harmony themselves just about every morning. 'Even if the brothers do have the right cause, am I ready to give all of that up just to get a little variety in my life?'

Edited October 8, 2014 by HunterTSN

[Gatekeeper Giggle 2,902]

Rhythmic Rhapsodist silently stared at the hole in the wall, thoughts whirling about in his head. Even before he had left Canterlot, he had suspected that Celestia was not all that she seemed. She had always been quick to quietly silence any who disagreed with her aims, he had not lied about that. Back then, he had thought Celestia was simply misguided. Even after his master had shown him the truth, he had still believed Celestia would listen to reason. How foolish he had been. If these brothers were to be believed, Celesta ruthlessly murdered an entire civilization, without the slightest bit of remorse. Even he had never done something so utterly vile. Celestia had to die if Equestria was to live. But first, he would show everypony her true colors. He would take his element, and lead the brother’s armies into the heart of Canterlot. With his insider knowledge of Canterlot’s defenses, the city’s fortifications would quickly crumble. Not even the Elements of Harmony could stop him now.

[Snow Mark 8]

@@HunterTSN, @@Loud Opinion

 

"I don't know." Tremalion responded simply, "Only the Elements know to whom they will go to." he then took a breath, "I don't want any of you to hurt my sister though. As much pain as she's caused...She's still our sister. She just needs...correction. That is something we failed to see last time, and it is why we lost. This time, we are going to take her and Luna, give them a fair trail, remove the alicorn from them, and hopefully restore good in her. Who knows, maybe her heart has softened in the last 1,000 years..." He was then caught off guard by a random pony who slammed into the rock floor at high speed randomly, recoiling slightly in response, "What in the name of Equuinus!" he exclaimed, "What just happened?? Can somepony please make sure they're alright?"

Snow nodded, her eyes turning purple before she looked at the new arrival, seeing a soft blue glow radiating off the pony, focusing around his face, a sight that no pony in the room could see, "Yea, he's fine, looks like he'll be up soon."

Heculius raised an eyebrow at Snow, "An essence magic user? I thought Celestia killed or banished them all after our defeat..." he muttered

 

********

 

"Princess Celestia!" Dark Light yelled as she ran into the castle area where the two Princesses were, "I just...Got back...from an expedition  beyond the cloud.." she gasped out, trying to catch her breath, before taking a moment to breath deeply in and out.

"What's the matter?" Luna asked, "Something that troubles you? Please, inform us of your finds."'

Dark closed her eyes before looking squarely at the two Princesses, "There's an invasion coming. Massive army is preparing to gather up, from what I saw, it had to be 2, maybe 3 times the size of our entire military. Wasn't able to get a good look at the army itself so can't tell what troops are in it."

Celestia's face suddenly became deeply saddened, "What are our chances of standing up in a fight?" she asked solemnly

"Well, if they remain concentrated...Our only hope is that they don't have too many magic users. I don't even know if the Elements of Harmony could fix this. Heck, the Changelings were only defeated because Princess Cadence restored Captain Armor's shield."

"We need to get them back here regardless. Light, as Master Protector, I am given you the job of trying to slow down the army enough for us to prepare the defenses."

"Princess...Why don't we withdraw to Freedom Hills? It'll be much more easily defended!"

"I know that Light, but I won't stand to see the lands of Equestria occupied under a foreign power. We must stop them at all costs." Celestia replied.

"Princess, they're coming from the south, the only place we could reach in time to defend besides here is Ponyville! How would the Bearers of Harmony react to their home being rendered a battlefield!"

"It is a necessary evil.." Celestia replied simply, "Go, you must evacute the civilians there."

Light nodded slowly, knowing that she had to find Snow, if Snow was killed in the coming battle, it would be more than just the last member of her family besides her dying, it would take the heart out of half of Equestria's economy and the leading innovator of the entire nation.

[Loud Opinion 602]

@@Snow Mark,@,@@HunterTSN,

 

    Silver Tongue began to panic. 'Am I to be cast adrift between worlds, forever, forgotten by time itself?' He thought to himself.

 

    Just as the panic was about to take full effect, he heard a muffled conversation in the distance. Perhaps they were ponies that saw his body, and were trying to revive him. As Silver was regaining consciousness, the voices started to sound clearer, making the distance easier to guess.

 

    Finally, Silver started opening his eyes, (despite thinking they were already open,) he noticed that he was indoors, but not in a hospital. The air did not have the clinical feel, and he was resting on stone, rather than a hospital bed. Thankfully he didn't need a bed with the minor bruises he had.

 

    Looking over in the direction of the voices, Silver saw a small group of three ponies around two- alicorns? With an idea of his surroundings, Silver rose to his hoofs, and announced his presents in a clinical tone, "Don't everyone get up at once, my unconscious body was only launched through the void".

[Snow Mark 8]

"That's great and wonderful crazy stallion, but could you please not be so dramatic?" Heculius asked sarcastically, "All that happened was a simple summoning spell and you ended up landing on your head." he cleared his throat, "Anyways, I think it might be smart if we held off for just a bit, just in case one final Champion appears, as it seemed we are one or two short. In the meantime, could one of you fill him in?"

 

******

 

The Bearers of Harmony trudged through the muddy train track, the sheer amount of rain had eroded away the tracks, making it impassible for trains, "Come on girls! We gotta...Get to Storm Kingdom before it's too late!" Twilight Sparkle yelled over the wind, grunting with effort as they tried to keep going, Rarity having long since given up complaining about her ruined mane. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was still occasionally twitching from the lightning strike the day before, Applejack was silently sloshing her way through the mud, and Pinkie somehow managed to remain chirpy as always, simply bouncing on the surface of the mud like it was a trampoline, much to the digress of the others as it lead to constant splashes of mud on them.