Chapter 1
Deep inside the twisting maze of the castle gardens stood a lone statue that appeared to be a mix of various creatures. He had a permanent look of horror plastered on his face, a dark haze seeped through the mouth of the creature and ascending into the night sky. As the black smog escaped the maze it caused ripples in the sky, black clouds began to form over Canterlot. A dark chuckle could be heard from the solitary statue.
Meanwhile...
Celestia awoke with a start, she was sprawled across her bed in a tangle of limbs and blankets. She was panting heavily and drenched in sweat. She picked up her pillow which managed to fall onto the floor and laid her head back down, she attempted and failed at trying to calm herself down. She's been having that dream for weeks now and she wakes up in the middle of the night in the exact same position.
Celestia has been worried about what this could mean, her parents always told her to never ignore her dreams. They just might turn out to be an omen, especially one that occurs periodically as this one. She once confided to her sister about her dreams but Luna shrugged it off stating that Discord's recent escape spooked her, but Celestia wasn't so sure.
Celestia jumped at the sound of thunder, she looked out her balcony window to see that it was pouring rain.
"Odd I didn't get any news from the weather managers of thunder storms," Celestia said confused.
The sun princess didn't like where this was heading, she got out of bed with a determined look on her face. Celestia stormed out of her room trotting past confused guards and servants, she climbed a spiraling staircase and reached the top of the main watch tower. As she reached the top she found her sister staring up at the sky in confusion at these sudden turn of events.
As Celestia entered Luna turned startled, "Sister? What are you doing up so late?"
"We need to gather the elements," Celestia said in her serious tone.
"What why?" Luna asked.
"It's time we told them the truth, what really happened that night."
Luna's eyes widened at the implications of what her sister was saying, "You don't mean-"
"If my hunch is correct we need to prepare them for what is to come," Celestia said darkly.
"When?"
"As soon as possible."
The two princesses quickly exited the tower.
Later...
Six young mares stood in the great hall of Canterlot Castle, normally they would be staring up at the glass windows in wonder but some of them were too tired to keep there eyes open. One pony was ever vigilant, a purple colored pony with a long main which contained a pink and purple streak. Twilight Sparkle, the princess' top and most favored student stood patiently waiting for her teacher. The moment she read the parchment that awakened her in the middle of the night she new it was urgent if the elements were involved.
She gathered her friends as quickly as possible, she had a little trouble with the more defiant ones such as Rainbow Dash who at the moment was sleeping on the floor at the moment. Applejack was very difficult to comply as well thanks to her tendencies to work herself to death. Rarity was concerned about her lack of beauty sleep so it was challenging for Twilight to convince her to get out of bed. Fluttershy was one of the easier ones, she was already awake but cowering under her bed from the sudden storm. Getting her out and into the storm to reach the castle was the real challenge. Pinkie Pie was the easiest by far, the proposal of a potential adventure was all it took.
That is how we find our heroines in their current setting, four of which are half asleep, one with determination etched on her face, and one bouncing up and down in anticipation.
The main doors to the hallway slammed open, the princesses of night and day stepped in. The six mares stood at attention, albeit some having trouble standing up straight.
"Princess, may I ask as to why you have summoned us?" Twilight asked politely.
"And why it couldn't wait till morning," Rainbow Dash grumbled.
"My devoted ponies, I'm afraid we haven't been completely truthful with all of you," Celestia said sadly.
"What do you mean?" Twilight asked.
"You all know how Discord was originally defeated?" Luna asked.
"Whah of course we do, we were all told that story when we were just fillies," Applejack said.
"What would you say if that what you have been told isn't entirely true," what Celestia said managed to get everyponies attention.
"Princess what-?"
"Follow me," Celestia said exiting the great hall with Luna.
The mane six stood perplexed but followed nonetheless, they trotted down the many long corridors of Canterlot castle. No matter how hard Twilight tried she couldn't get any answers from the princess, Celestia would just tell her to be patient. After many failed attempts Twilight eventually gave up, she watched her surroundings continue to change until they were in an unfamiliar part of the castle. They entered a dark passage way and heading down a dusty staircase into what appeared to be a large storage chamber.
The mane six took in there surroundings in confusion, they watched Celestia head towards a wall to the far back and placed a hoof against it. They heard a click and the wall separated into another chamber, at the end of this chamber was a large door being guarded by six soldiers.
"Princess Celestia, we didn't expect to see you here so late at night. No offense but shouldn't you be resting?" the largest soldier standing in front of the large door asked.
"I demand passage inside, as you can see this is urgent," Celestia said gesturing to the mane six.
The guards widened their eyes at seeing the bearers of the elements, one guard piped up, "Will you require any assistance inside?"
"That will not be necessary, what will go on inside is for the eyes and ears of us alone," Celestia said.
"Understood," the squad leader said.
The squad leader used his magic to open the large double door, the inside was pitch black an ominous feeling went through the mane six. They followed their princesses inside and the doors immediately slammed shut, they were left in complete darkness unable to see their hooves in front of their faces. Torches were instantly lit with magic basking the small chamber in light, it was fairly old with cracked columns, dust and cobwebs but the age of the room was not what caught the eyes of the main six. What stood in the middle of the chamber was what got their attention.
Six statues, most of them with looks of horror on there faces, stood there staring back at the eight ponies who disturbed them. A feeling of unease came over everypony, dark unrelenting hatred flowed from these statues. But something drew each of the mane six to individual statues.
"Wh- what are they?" Fluttershy said unable to look away to a particular statue.
"They are the Elements of Disharmony." Celestia said deadpanned.
The main six's eyes all widened and they all gawked at the statues that stood in front of them.
Twilight eventually shook off her stupor, "But princess this can't be possible, they can't-"
"I'm afraid it is my faithful student." Celestia said sadly.
"But how did this happen?"
"A long time ago during our first encounter of Discord we managed to drive him away with the elements. He one day returned with these six in tow, Discord somehow managed to create twisted duplicates of the elements and intrusted them with the most twisted ponies he could find. They quickly attacked us and we found, to our horror, that the Elements of Disharmony were just as powerful as our elements. We almost lost that day until we dipped into the elements true power and focused the love of one another into a single powerful blast that turned them into stone." Celestia explained.
The princess of the sun walked up to Applejack as she stared at the statue that drew her gaze the most.
"Uhh princess, who is that?" Applejack asked.
"That is Gold Scepter, he is the Element of Deceit."
The aforementioned earth pony had a fairly average build for a stallion, he wore a long flowing cape, a crown and tunic. He was standing on his hind legs with his front hooves protecting his face, his cutie mark was easily seen thanks to his cape stuck in the same flowing position. It was scepter a with a crown dangling from the top.
"Gold Scepter used to be a well renowned duke, he treated everypony who lived on his land with the utmost respect. He made laws to help ponies, never taxed ponies, he made everyponies day more bearable during times of great oppressions. He promised no one would live lives of torment and oppression, everyone believed him. But it was all lies, when everypony trusted him he showed his true colors. Ponies were suddenly forced to give everything they owned to Gold Scepter and they were promised protection but soon innocent ponies lived on the streets without a bit to their names. Scepter sat back and laughed watching so many innocence crumble under him, ponies soon questioned for these sudden turn of events. Scepter merely blamed it on money setbacks and he needed more income but assured his subjects that all would be back to normal. Everything got worse, Gold Scepter's web of lies finally caught up to him and he was driven out of his own land." Celestia explained.
"Garsh," was all Applejack could say.
"Oh uhm p-princess, who is this?" Fluttershy said just loud enough to get the princess' attention.
"This is Crackerjack, the Element of Cruelty."
The Pegasus pony statue appeared to be in severe hysteria, as if he was going through a mental breakdown right before being turned to stone. He wore a plain tunic and a cap with a feather in it, his cutie mark was a smiling laughing mask.
"At one point in his life Crackerjack spent his time trying to make people laugh, he used to perform in the streets for bits. He always had good materiel but was sadly unappreciated for his efforts, richer ponies made fun of him and he ended up as the butt of most of his own jokes. He soon created jokes that made fun of people, he got a rapid increase in money and from then on he focused on pulling pranks. He grew a liking to laughing at ponies than with them. His pranks started off good natured but eventually ponies were getting hurt from his 'good fun', as he watched his victims writhe in pain he stood in the background laughing. He became too much of a nuisance and was taken into custody by the local king's enforcers, he was forced to be the king's jester. For a few years he became the king's punch line, until he finally snapped. He played a not so harmless prank and the king was rushed into emergency care. Crackerjack was thrown into the dungeons to wait until his hanging, he cell was found empty the next day," Celestia said.
Fluttershy squeaked and cowered under the manic gaze of the ex-jester.
"Oh oh me next! Can you please tell me about my opposite, princess?" Pinkie asked excitedly.
Celestia walked up to the bouncing pony who was pointing to an earth pony statue, this one just like the others had a look of horror of his face but more severe. This one was cowering and balling his eyes out, some of his tears turned to stone as well. He had a smaller build compared to an average colt, he had a short flat mane. His most notable feature were the bags under his eyes, which could easily be seen even if he's made of stone. His cutie mark was a musical note.
"His name is Blue Note, the Element of Sorrow. He was picked on and bullied his whole life even after he became a full grown colt, his abused life and lack of any friends gave him a very bleak outlook on life-"
"Did he ever get invited to parties? That always cheers me up," Pinkie cut in.
"No he never got invited to any because ponies thought he was too depressing-"
"But he can't be evil, just misunderstood," Pinkie said lacking her normal vigor.
"He believes that if he can't be happy then no one can." Celestia finished.
Pinkie wasn't smiling anymore and her hair wasn't as poofy as it normally was.
The princess walked over to the fashion designer pony who was mesmerized by the stallion in front of her.
"This is Greenback, the Element of Greed," Celestia announced startling Rarity.
This unicorn pony was stuck in a screaming position, his hooves were grabbing onto something at the time but he currently had nothing in them. He wore a blouse and a vest, he also wore a pair of old rimless glasses, his hair was slicked back and he had a handlebar styled mustache. He had a hefty build to him and his cutie mark was three dollar signs.
"He was the owner of a small bank, he took ponies money and always gave them back with interest. He was a kind generous pony, outside his bank he gave and gave yet asked for nothing in return. Many ponies thought of him as part of their family, but everything changed. Many ponies started losing their money, it turns out Greenback started taking money out of ponies deposits and before anypony knew it they were broke. He was eventually driven out of town and never seen again," Celestia said sadly.
"Oh my, how could such a charming stallion partake in such villainy?" Rarity questioned.
"Hey princess who's this guy?" Rainbow zoomed in pointing at one statue.
Celestia trotted up to a very dark looking Pegasus pony, the pony appeared to be running away looking back with a look of fear evident on his face. He wore a cloak that covered most of his body, what could be seen was a long jagged scar going down the side of his face. His cutie mark was hidden in the folds of his cloak.
Celestia shuddered, "This is Dark Wing, the Element of Treachery. A long time ago he was known for being a world renowned spy and assassin, a master of espionage. He took on many cases and stabbed many ponies in the back, no one was safe for in the end Dark Wing follows his own orders. He took too many chances and betrayed a lot of dangerous ponies, he was captured and never seen again."
"Whoa," was all Dash could say staring into the eyes of the statue.
Celestia trotted over to her student, to the final statue. This one, unlike the others, showed no fear before being turned to stone. He had an angry expression, a look of hate but no fear.
"Finally, their leader, Silver Lance who represents the Element of Chaos," Celestia said glaring fiercely at this statue.
This unicorn pony was probably the most intimidating, his sheer size nearly dwarfed that of Big Macintosh. He wore a suit of armor covering his entire body, his eyes and cutie mark were completely covered.
"I knew this particular pony personally, he used to be captain of the guard," Celestia started.
Twilight gasped as she stared up at the menacing pony, the rest of the mane six surrounded this imposing figure.
"He was one of the most powerful unicorns in Equestria, second to only Starswirl the Bearded himself. He protected the kingdom day and night, risking his very life for it's inhabitants. But something changed in him, he didn't agree to our parents' decisions anymore. He demanded that they conquer the neighboring kingdoms or risk being destroyed ourselves, the king and queen disagreed so he took action. He attacked me and my sister, at the time we were still inept in most of the ways in magic and he easily overpowered us. He used us as a bargaining chips, he wanted control of the kingdom himself and he was willing to do anything that was necessary. His ambitions was for not as he was defeated by our parents and banished from the kingdom, he returned with these five ponies demanding the throne and you all know the rest," Celestia finished her long explanation.
Celestia was silent giving all this news time to sink in.
"Why didn't you tell us before?" Twilight asked.
"We wanted to keep them a secret, they have the potential to destroy the Elements of Harmony. We kept them hidden so they could never be found and freed to reek havoc." Luna explained finally speaking up the first time since they arrived.
"But why now?" Twilight asked again.
"I've been having visions of the last time my sister and I faced these six, I believe them to be omens. I believe they're trying to tell me that the Elements of Disharmony might returned and you all need to prepare for the biggest fight of your lives," Celestia said.
"So what should we do?" Dash asked.
"The only thing we can do is wait," Celestia said.
"Well I for one will be preparing for the gala, it's in a week you know?" Rarity said.
"Don't ya think this is a little more important than the gala?" Applejack asked.
"Yes but if all we can do is wait then I'm not letting it distract me from my preparations, I have to prepare everyponies dresses remember?" Rarity said.
"Perfect, you can all come and stay here until the night of the gala, a good distraction from all this," Celestia said gesturing towards the statues.
"We don't want to be a bother," Fluttershy said.
"Nonsense you will all be welcomed with open hooves, there is no bother," Luna said.
"I suppose this will be good for all of us," Twilight said.
"Oh this will be so much fun! I'll get to meet new ponies, make new friends and even party! This'll be the best week ever!" Pinkie yelled excitedly.
Everypony made for the exit feeling a lot better than they entered, as they left the chamber a dark mist entered. The doors slammed shut leaving the mist inside, it separated into six segments with each overtaking a statue. The statues all began to shake violently, cracks formed across each one. One statue's eyes were freed, a sinister glow of red behind cold gray armor.
Later...
The guards who stood in front of the door were bored out of their wits, there wasn't much action to be seen guarding a chamber of rocks. It was a boring job that was treated like it was a matter of life and death, for rocks! They were one of the best soldiers and they were given one of the worst jobs in the castle, they were very unhappy with the princesses to say the least.
A sound of crashing and rumbling was heard inside the chamber. The guards looked at one another confused before entering to investigate. To there shock instead of six statues, six live ponies surrounded by rubble stood inside.
"Ah gentlemen," they shifted there gaze to a large pony heavily clad in thick body armor. "Perfect timing, your assistance is required," the armored pony smirked as his horn glowed a bright red.
The guards backed away as these six odd ponies approached them, laughing cruelly.