Let me see, just how did all this start? Oh yes, of course! After the events that transpired in Canterlot during Princess Cadence and Shining Armor’s wedding, the crystal mines underneath Canterlot were reopened for excavation by Princess Celestia. Of course, there wasn’t much in them aside from, well, crystals.

After about two months of excavating and finding nothing other than crystals, Celestia decided it best to close the mines once again. But there was one pony that just couldn’t give up the excavating. He had a feeling in his gut that there was something down there. Something more valuable and important to the Equestrian history books than crystals. After much debate between himself and Celestia, she decided to allow him and his team exclusive access to the mines.

Let’s just call this pony ‘Captain,’ because he won’t be around too much longer. So Captain and his team of miners- the best in Equestria, by the way- continued digging ever deeper into the mines. After another week of digging, Captain’s team had all but given up hope of ever finding anything in the abandoned mines. I mean, they had to be abandoned for a reason, right?

It was early on a Sunday morning, and rain was pouring from the clouds overhead. The miners didn’t want to work that day, but Captain corralled them into the mines. Today was their last day to find something, or else Celestia was sealing the mines for good. Captain wasn’t about to have wasted all those resources and hours working to leave empty-hoofed.

Captain and his team were at the very bottom of the mines. This was the only area they hadn’t yet surveyed all the way throughout. If there wasn’t something here, there was nothing anywhere. They split up into three groups, each scouring different corners of the triangular chamber.

After an hour of searching, Captain called his group to the center of the chamber, and regretfully called off the expedition. He had seen enough to know that it was a fruitless effort. He hung his head low, and some of his team members could have sworn he was crying. Of course he would be crying. After spending all that time looking for something that wasn’t there, who wouldn’t be sad?

His sorrow was interrupted when a scream echoed loudly from deeper within the chamber. The dim light given off by their lamps wasn’t enough to cover the entire area, but it was obvious where the scream came from. A few meters north of where the team was standing, a stallion charged from a hole in the crystalline wall. The stallion was all in a fit, cut up and covered in dirt. He barely took notice of Captain and the rest of his teammates; that is until he rammed head first into one of them.

Captain took the initiative, trotting forward to speak to the spooked stallion. “What’s wrong, man? What happened back there?” Captain’s voice cracked as he asked, seeing the expression on the stallion’s face.

“I-We found something, Captain! Some sort of statue! Come quick, you gotta see this!” The stallion hopped to his hooves and took off back the way he came from. Captain and the others quickly followed. In his mind, Captain was already planning his speech to Celestia about how he was right about the mines.

After passing through the narrow hole into a hidden chamber behind the main one they were just in, every last pony stopped dead in their tracks as a shimmering light came into view. The light was being emitted by a giant sapphire in the center of the chamber. The small beam of sunlight shining down through the hole in the ceiling of the cave hit just the right spot to send light refracting all over the area.

But it wasn’t the sapphire that caught Captain’s attention. In the center of the sapphire, as if suspended in midair or gelatin, a small statuette floated up and down mere centimeters from its focal point. The statuette had a strange glow around it, visible through even the sapphire’s own glow. Captain approached the sapphire with curiosity and caution.

Captain couldn’t resist placing a hoof on the sapphire once he reached it. It was in his nature to examine and survey. Sadly, this one instance of instinct cost him dearly. As soon as his hoof touched the gemstone, it jumped up his arm. As if it were some sort of sentient blob, the sapphire quickly traveled up Captain’s arm, locking him in place. It continued to spread all over his body, until he was completely encased in the gemstone’s hard surface and glow.

“Captain!” The stallion that had led them to this chamber screamed in awe and disgust.

It was too late, though. The sapphire had swallowed Captain. Just like the statuette, he was suspended within it. He still had limited movement, but no sound escaped the gem. He mouthed the words “Run away!” over and over again. His team heeded the command, and turned to run. When they turned, the sapphire shined once more in a deep blue glow, then shattered to pieces.

The ponies all turned around and watched as shards of the gemstone floated to the ground. There was no trace of Captain anywhere in the chamber. However, in the exact same spot it had been before, the statuette sat still, emitting its glow even brighter now. The stallion that had discovered the chamber took careful steps up to the statuette, trying to examine it better. Upon closer inspection, he could make out features on the stone idol.

It was shaped just like a normal pony, except it stood on its hind hooves. It was holding up something that resembled the sun, or maybe the moon. Heck, it could have been both. As the group of ponies walked up to the statue to investigate for themselves, a voice began to speak to them. It was a faint, hollow, eerie voice.

“Thank you, my silly little ponies. Perhaps your curiosity shall still yet be my salvation… But at what cost to you?” The statue shined brightly as the voice rang out. Then, suddenly, the statue vanished into thin air. All of the ponies looked around at one another. As if they all had the same thought at the same time, they turned and darted toward the exit of the chamber.

They didn’t stop running until they were in the safety and familiarity of the Canterlot Gardens. They thought they were safe in the gardens, away from whatever that thing was. And then the stallion who had investigated the statue collapsed onto the ground with a loud thud. The other ponies began to freak out again. They gathered around the stallion, asking questions, frantically hoping for an answer that never came.

Then the stallion moved his front left hoof up, as if to say “Shut up.” He slowly opened his eyes and lifted himself onto all four hooves. The other ponies calmed down and sighed in relief. The stallion started laughing hysterically, looking at each of his teammates. They started looking at him as if he were crazy, and slowly started to walk away.

The stallion finished laughing and spoke, in the same tone as the statuette, “Thanks again, silly ponies. I do have to congratulate you on doing what no other pony has ever done. Oh, by the way, your Captain… He ain’t coming back. Sorry about that, but sacrifices must be made, right?”

“Who…What are you?!” Another stallion in the group stamped his hoof into the grass defiantly.

The stallion laughed, “Me? You can call me Feilbach. That was my name before I was placed in that damnable prison so many millennia ago…” He looked to the sky, as if to absorb the fresh air and rain.

“F-Feilbach?” The defiant stallion repeated.

Feilbach grinned slyly and chuckled, “If that’s too hard to remember, you can just call me ‘Master’!” A blast of black smoke poured from his mouth, entering the other stallion. After a minute of choking and screaming, the other stallion went limp.

“What…the…?” A mare from the team fell to the ground in shock.

Feilbach turned to her. “Care to join him?” he asked hollowly. Smoke poured from his mouth again and entered her. She too struggled for a few moments, and then fell limp just like the stallion. Suddenly, a huge cloud poured from Feilbach and entered the few ponies that had not yet run away.

The first stallion rose to his hooves, eyes colorless aside from faint grey irises and large black pupils. “What is your wish, Master Feilbach?” The stallion’s voice was hollow, just like his master. The rest of the ponies rose to their hooves and asked the same question.

Feilbach smiled a wide grin, his eyes now a crimson red color. He laughed, “Bring me more vessels for my Shadows. The children are getting hungry!” He disappeared into a ball of black smoke, and flew into the sky, en route toward the castle.

The other ponies nodded to their disappearing master, and began a slow jog into the surrounding residential areas of Canterlot. Their eyes were faded, they smiles twisted, their intentions cruel. They had orders to follow, and follow them they shall. It wasn’t long before all of Canterlot had been possessed by the strange black smoke Feilbach had spawned. In fact, it didn’t take long for the Shadows to reach neighboring cities.

In a matter of two hours, almost all of Equestria had been infected. Feilbach’s minions were efficient, to say the least. You may be wondering what Celestia and Luna were doing during all of this ‘infection’ nonsense, right? Well, we’ll get to them shortly. After all, how bad could things have really gotten in two hours? Celestia has the power to raise the sun itself, surely a few Shadows wouldn’t bother her too bad, right?

…Right?

Next Chapter: Chapter 2: That Day at the Castle Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 42 Minutes