Darkscape

by ViralStorm

First published 29th of May, 2012

The remnants of a ponies diary, and his final days.

NOTICE.: CHAPTER THREE UPDATED 5/31/2012

A pony spends his final hours finishing his diary, half in hopes others will find it, half for another reason.

This is the final chapter of that diary, detailing his last months before he travels to an area beyond magic, unedited.

DIARY: EMERGENCE

Canterlot.

One of the most important cities in all of Equestria. Royal, beautiful, mysterious. Headed by our two gods, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.

I owned a small home on the edge of the city. It fit in with the rest of the housing around it; a glossy white with a slightly more pink colouring for the roof, outlined with fake gold. A sort of box-shaped building, two floors, a basement, two bedrooms and two bathrooms. Large enough to hold a family of four. Two windows per floor. (I can hardly remember my home as of now. Refer to page 92 for Canterlot housing studies.)

Most ponies painted their houses, or remodeled them, or just added a signature garden in front to show how their home was unique. I never did anything interesting with mine, I only enjoyed thinking. Thinking about the planet I lived on, the other races that inhabited it, how it all coalesced without collapsing on itself…

I loved thinking about everything. I guess I was a philosopher? I don’t know.

These are my last entries before I continue. I am by no means a writer, or a genius. I must simply rid my mind of these memories. Whomever will read this, do not follow me. Do not model yourself after me. Do not remember me.

Do yourself a favor, and deliver this diary to the authorities with haste.

If you feel confident enough to follow my instructions…

Well.

Left home. Went to local café, ‘Latte’s Lots.’ Met Joyole for the first time, Zebra. Didn’t speak with a rhyming scheme. Pleased.

Talked for a while. Joyole told me that he worked at the Royal Castle. Invited me to come with him so he could give me a tour.

Accepted.
(I was busy with something on the side, magical oriented. Didn’t provide enough information for future readers; whatever. Probably won’t, looks good enough. Refer to page 23 for Zebra studies, and whatever notes that indicate what page my Canterlot Dining studies are located on.)

We arrived some time during the late morning, about 11:28 AM. The Royal Castle stood tall and wide, it was certainly a sight. I had never gotten the chance to see it up close before then, let alone step foot inside. I was smiling, staring at it and the area around. The guards stopped us, asking for identification before we went inside. I was actually surprised; I had expected them to be a little more rough, but they were quite nice to us. Probably didn’t get much crime to toughen them up verbally, but they still certainly looked like they could take a hit or two. Or a hundred more. (Page 134 for armor and guard studies.)

Joyole presented his identification, but I realized I hadn’t brought mine. Identification badges were needed to even set foot in the castle, everpony was given one. I had left mine at home; I had no reason to enter the Royal Castle. Luckily, the guards only needed one ponies (or Zebras) identification badge, so I followed behind Joyole. (Page 15 should have some studies on identification badges. Short one.)

The inside wasn’t as spectacular as the outside. At least, in my opinion. It did look amazing, but…

It was very large. It was pretty, but it felt too empty. It needed more clutter. It didn’t seem empty for a reason either, and it bugged me to no end as I followed Joyole. He asked me where we should go first, but I had no idea what was on the inside. He decided on a place we would both enjoy; the dining hall.

The dining hall wasn’t as empty as the halls, there were banners adorned along the walls and windows, carpets lined the floor and long tables accented them. Armors were placed seemingly randomly in the room, various shields were displayed below the banners.

Ponies were all around the room, sitting and dining, standing and chatting, and even some pegasi were flying above, watching the crowd or trying to get away from it, if only for a moment. Some were citizens, others were Royal workers. The largest majority of the population in this room was of the Royal Guard. Joyole seemed confused; and a little worried.

“What are so many ponies of the Royal Guard doing here? Usually, they’re out training or stationed down in Stalliongrad to protect that one machine those nuts down there have been working on. You got any ideas?” (This is the best I remember of what he said. Refer to day 56 on my studies on speaking, might have something there.)

I shrugged. I knew nothing about the Royal Guard, other than you do not get on their bad side. They were the toughest of the tough, they know things that regular ponies don’t, and they have space-age technology. Weaponry and machinery, amazing things. I’ve never seen any of them myself, but I hear things going around. (Page 101 for space-age design theories.)

Joyole shrugged as well, and he directed me to an empty end of a table. We sat down, and we waited for somepony to service us.

I continued watching the crowd. I loved being around others. I loved observing them, singling ponies out and watching how they behave. I felt surprisingly comfortable here.

I spotted two Royal Guard ponies pushing a cart full of books through the dining hall. Nopony else seemed to be paying attention to them, they'd probably seen it before. But why would they need Royal Guards to push a book cart somewhere, didn't they have ponies who worked here who did that?

I watched them quietly go through the crowd, and exit the room as silently as they went through.

I felt something.

I felt drawn to what was in that cart.

DIARY: CHAPTER TWO

I watched the doors they exited through close.

Oh no.

Was it too late, could I not follow them now? I knew it certainly wasn't a good idea to open the doors two guard ponies just went through, with what was apparently some very important reading, mainly because it was overly suspicious, and the doors were quite large. I studied the room some more; was there another way out?

I saw nothing. I felt worried and anxious. Why was I feeling this way? It was just a cart. A cart of books.

That's what I kept telling myself.

They were just books. They were just books. They were just books.

Perhaps that was the reason for them being taken away by two Royal Guard ponies?

Were they dangerous?

Did they have some sort of curse?

When I think back on what I was thinking, I think it was stupid. I know now that curses do not exist.

(Refer to page 275 for studies on curses and voodoo.)

I sat quietly, staring at the menu on the table. Maybe I just needed some water and something to eat. Perhaps I was just overwhelmed by the crowd? At the time, it seemed the most likely explanation. (Page 234 for studies on crowds and crowd effects.)

The waiter had come around. He was surprisingly young for how aged his voice sounded. Perhaps a magical mishap? He had a nice, formal outfit on. Me and Joyole decided to start with an appetizer; garlic bread with artichoke dip. It was probably the only item on the menu that had the most taste. (NOTE: Most food prepared in the Canterlot Royal Castle is very mild, most likely to accommodate the older residents and workers.) He decided on a fountain drink, while I got my water. (See page 3 for studies on fountain drinks vs. purified water.)

Me and Joyole talked about Stalliongrad while we waited for our appetizer to arrive. I had never been there personally, but had seen pictures. It was a military city; massive walls around the city itself, 24/7 security...

It was a shining example of a militarized city. I loved the thought of it, and the look of it. It was always quite interesting to me. I hadn't done any studies on it yet, mainly because I had never gotten to see it up close.

I learned some very interesting things about it, mainly that it was producing vehicles capable of large-scale war. I knew that the Griffons had already developed such things, but had not a chance to use them. I also learned that the easiest way of getting into the city was an official pass from the Royal Castle. As Joyole had informed me, they were easy to get. Almost so easy, it was a little worrying.(Page 858 for details on this, which is about 23 pages back. I just noticed as I was writing this that this page has no numbering. Manufacturing error.)

Before our appetizers arrived, I heard a blood-curdling scream across the room, a female voice, elderly. I stood up, looking over all of the guard ponies who had also stopped what they were doing to investigate.

An elderly citizen pony was screaming at a younger pony, accusing her of attempting to steal a handbag. The younger one started yelling at the older one, calling her crazy and senile. A guard pony went to restrain the younger one to ensure nothing happened, but she had the upper hoof.

The younger one picked up a plate with her magic, and flung it at the approaching guard. It shattered, and the guard screamed; apparently, some of the glass shards got into his eyes, greatly obscuring his vision. The thought of it made me grimace.

Several others bolted from their seats, going for the young mare. The young one hurdled silverware, plates, and even several chairs at the quickening group. Several citizens jumped in, only managing to make the fight that much more hectic; it had turned into a riot in no time.

Joyole bolted from his chair, and went to go and try and help. I watched him from my seat, and the rioting crowd, which was growing from out of the corner of the room where it had started.

I'd seen riots before, even did some studies on them, which were lost, but I had never seen one form this fast before. I would have kept paying attention, but I had noticed something in the far back of the crowd.

Something that was flung, probably a chair, had completely shattered a window.

I suddenly got tense, sweaty, anxious.

The thought of those books flooded back. I could get out through the window unnoticed due to the riot, and return to the halls and track down that cart. Something took over my rational thought, and I started hauling for that window.

I pushed through the crowd, using my magic to even hurdle some ponies into the air and back down into the crowd. I needed to get to that cart, and fast. I grabbed a table and turned it, then grabbing a chair, I jumped onto the table, flung the chair to the end of it, and ran at it.

I did my best guess and hoped I could use the table and chair to give me enough height to reach the window and jump out without goring myself on the intact shards left over.

I jumped, and before I knew it, I was outside on grass, underbelly intact. I did a 90 degree turn to my left, and began running faster. I did a sharp left again, at a door which led inside, it was fairly small as I remember.

Inside, I was just outside the dining hall doors. In front of them was the cart, left there as if waiting for me.

Without hesitation, I jumped into it, and used my magic to propel it forward down the hall at high speeds.

ISABELLA: META-ETHICS

Far away from Canterlot, bordering the Griffon Kingdoms, lied a powerful city, its energies practically soaring into the skies. It has made its mark on the world in which Equestria resides, and as such, major precautions had been made to protect it. A revered organization has just received a call from none other than Princess Celestia, the living Sun goddess, herself.

STALLIONGRAD

11:43 A.M.

"And topping local news today, one of the busiest buildings in the city of Stalliongrad this time of day, the Central Information Analysis And Processing Agency, has just received what they considered to be a 'death ticket.'

A call from Celestia has just ended inside, warning them of a very sensitive package that is to be transferred through the CIAPA to an undisclosed location in the Griffon Kingdoms. The reason that this is so upsetting for the CIAPA is because--"

An earth pony sat at her cluttered desk, which had various wrappers from food and packages strewn across it, conveniently covering up the larger mess of pens, pencils, and half-finished reports underneath. A single name plate was kept perfectly at the end of her desk, in the center. The name on it had long been scratched out, and a paper was taped over it reading, in all capitals, 'ISABELLA.'

Her appearance was fairly unique, even for Stalliongrad. Her body was a mess of shaggy, but clean, coat that of a light blue hue. Her mane was long and of a light brown hue. It was more well-kept than her coat, but so long that it forced her to comb it harshly back, making it a straight line down the middle of her back, which never stayed in place but had helped with keeping it out of her face, ending at the base of her tail, which was considerably shorter than her mane. She had a cutie mark that of a icy-blue check-mark. She was staring at the now blank television screen with a mix of depression and contempt. She groaned, and drooped her head down.

"... we have to cancel every other order going through here for it." She hated-- no, despised times like this. They were rare, but it seems their oh-so-caring deity decided it was about time they got a kick in the ass, and what a kick it would be.

Normally, cancelling one or two orders wasn't a big deal, just tedious. But cancelling EVERY order was a nightmare. Most of the orders were handled via the computer systems they had set up, which were very capable of cancelling an order with ease. But the problem was that half of Equestria's manufacturing and processing were located right there in Stalliongrad. This meant that the ponies/Dragons/Zebras/Griffons/what have you in charge of handling orders from any company decided it would be easier to just go to the building and handle it in person.

It's never easier. Everything that came into the building to handle an order in person almost ALWAYS fought when either:

A: An order was cancelled, and they have to do all of the order-handling paperwork again,
B:They did an order-handling sheet completely wrong and the entire paperwork was destroyed,
or C: They have trouble understanding how to acquire said paperwork.

And already, two or three dozen of the things out in the lobby were already up in arms about A, B or C. Having to walk out there, shove her way through that demonic crowd, telling them to shut up, and THEN tell them that all of their orders were now cancelled? She would rather go walk into a Manticore's cave covered in barbecue sauce than do that. Luckily, before she would have to do that, she needed to fill out the classification forms for the package, whatever it was. That always bought her at least one or two hours worth of time to muster the courage and strength to do the truly dirty deed.

Just before she was able to start with the classification forms, the telephone rang. She checked to see what brickhead was calling now, and then promptly steeled her mind. It was from the Royal Castle, but it wasn't Celestia or Luna. She picked up the phone, and brought it to her ear, wondering what it could possibly be.

"Yeah, what's it now? Do you royal ones got any more special deliveries for us?"

"I assume this is Isabella we're speaking to?"

"Yeah, 'ya got her."

"Well, get ready for the assfuck of the century, ma'am. Pardon the language, but it's the only way we can get the point of it across. We're truly sorry for this, but..."

The colt on the phone paused for a moment, obviously not wanting to continue his sentence. Isabella held her breath, waiting for whatever was going to come out of his mouth, listening intently. She managed to make out in the background of the call, on the colt's end, what sounded like sirens.

"...we have lost the package." Several silent seconds later, the colt hung up.

ISABELLA: CHAPTER FOUR

She dropped the phone.

Oh no.

She quietly rose from her chair, and began pacing around in panic. She knew exactly what that meant. It no longer meant she had to address the people outside, something that would have been a welcome thought if not for that fact it was accompanied by her having to travel all the way to Canterlot to help retrieve the package.

How did members of the Royal Guard lose a package so quickly? How did the Royal Guard lose a package in CANTERLOT, of all places?!

She exited the office, and came into the lobby, where what looked like a sea of people were at. The entire room was lit well, mostly by artificial lighting, as it allowed whomever was building the place still to hide the unfinished areas of the ceiling, if only a little. Most of the room was decorated only by tiles of all shapes and sizes, but consisted only of a grey color scheme. The unfinished areas were merely un-tiled, and revealed a heavy, metal material. Her destination, the exit, was on the far side of the room, where people were entering and exiting in a seemingly clockwork fashion. Pushing annoyed customers out of her way, she stopped at the front desk, raised a hoof, and tapped on the desk three times, her signal to the four colts that worked there that she needed to leave. She pushed her way through the rest of crowd and out the exit. She stopped a moment, completely stunned by the sunlight.

She had forgotten exactly how bright it was outside, being inside all day certainly caused some problems. Standing there for a few seconds to regain her sight, she also remembered how utterly freezing it was in Stalliongrad. Her coat was still inside, all the way back in her office, but she quickly decided against pushing her way back in to get it, preferring to grit the cold temperatures instead. She made a right and began a quick walk down the street, her mind shifting back to the pressing issue she was faced with.

This is not happening.

There was an incident like this one before in Canterlot, not as severe, but a package was still lost before it even got close to Stalliongrad's protective outer walls.

This can't be happening.

She wasn't worried about Celestia and the way she would react, oh no. She knew that Celestia could maintain composure very well.

Oh Celestia, this is happening.

She was worried about how Princess Luna would react.

She knew of the first incident, read the report thoroughly and everything. It wasn't something to get upset over, it was actually just an order of maintenance tools. The 'STALLIONGRAD-1' team had ordered them as a precaution in case their existing ones broke, but Princess Luna had treated the missing goods like they were a magical bomb that had been stolen.

It was most likely because Luna was still, well, behind on the times. As far as Isabella knew, back a thousand or so years ago, losing something valuable on your property was a serious offense, or something.

She hailed a cab, she needed to get to the railway. After waiting several minutes and trying to make one stop for her, she gave up. 'Dumbass drivers.' she thought. She sighed, and looked around for another means of transportation, walking all the way across the city was definitely NOT going to fly with her, not today.

Ohh, speaking of fly...

She spotted a group of Wingless Griffons, a common sight around Stalliongrad, as they used the city as a slingshot to get to a valley beyond Canterlot, where a large-scale mining operation between Ponies and Griffons was being conducted. The slingshot in question being, well, 'SLINGSHOT-ONE', the railway. It was originally called the Equestrian Railway, but with technological advancements in recent years, it wasn't a powerful enough name apparently. Not that she was complaining.

Wingless Griffons were originally a rarity among the Griffon race, at first thought to be a serious deformity. Wingless ones had a hard time living at first, since most of the Griffon cities were either perched high up on mountains (or built into them), or at the bottoms of giant hand-carved pits.

Over time, Griffons and Ponies, in a joint-research agreement, had discovered that the Wingless weren't actually deformities, but a different evolutionary chain of the Griffon race. This prompted the creation of new technology to aid the Wingless, one of the first being the elevator.

The sudden jump in advancement had caused a large shock-wave effect, causing other nations to begin making the same technological advancements, leading us to where we are today.

Some of the Wingless ones resided right there in Stalliongrad, working on the sky-way since no pony wanted to due to how dangerous it ended up being, and that no Griffon wanted to bother with it. The sky-way is a collecting of sky bridges between all of the buildings in Stalliongrad, to ease the overall congestion of the streets.

And it just so happened that this group was in the necessary construction gear.

Isabella strolled up beside the group of three. "Hey! Can I piggyback on you's three sky-way clearance? I need to be getting to the railway to get to Canterlot, and I missed all the cabs, can you believe it?!"

Normally, she would have been a little more smooth with this, but due to the fact she had no coat and making poor time already, she didn't care. The three stared at Isabella, then back at each other. The one in front looked back to Isabella.

"Why exactly should we let you up there? It's dangerous and we don't want an accident, especially considering that'll cut into our pay and--" The Griffon stopped as he realized the look on the cold-looking pony's face. Her eyes cut into him, meaning she wasn't going to take no for an answer. The Griffon didn't mean to come off so strong, especially considering he wanted no trouble. His pace slowed down for a few seconds, and then he nodded. "Alright, but uh, don't think you can do it again, y'alright?"

He started moving a little faster than he was before, obviously wanting to get this mare far away as fast as possible.

Never fails.