Prince of Equestria - A Whole New Animal, Part 3

>It takes an hour to cross the city and sneak out to the precipice of the waterfall.
>The Canterlot city aqueducts empty at various points throughout the city, however they all empty into the expansive Lake Canterlot below.
>This seemed like such a good idea when Shining Armor dared you to do it.
>Now…
“So…you’re saying I just have to dive in to that lake down there…from here?”
>Shining Armor looks over the edge and gulps as well.
>It doesn’t take long for that little smirk to cross his face.
>”Y-yeah! If you can’t, that means I win!”
>You get the sneaking suspicion that’s what he planned all along.
>Certainly he didn’t expect you to actually do it.
>Wait…idea!
“You cheated!”
>Armor looks absolutely appalled.
>”WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!”
“I called you a cheater! Cheater Cheater Pumpkin Eater!”
>Shining Armor looks like you just called his mother fat.
>”W-WHAT? YOU TAKE THAT BACK!”
“NUH-UH!”
>Armor gives you a shove.
>”I SAID TAKE IT BACK!”
“YOU CAN’T MAKE ME!”
>”OH YEAH? MY DAD WORKS AT THE PALACE! HE’LL GET A GUARDP0NY TO BEAT YOU UP!”
>You just start laughing, which ticks Armor off even more.
>”W…WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!”
>You contain your sides with a grin, puffing out your chest.
“Why, I’m…”
>”COUSIN ANONYMOUS!”
>The feminine squeal is enough to send your machismo straight back where it came from.
>It’s Cousin Cadence.
>She flutters to a stop, panting from how far and fast her little wings carried her.
>Shining Armor’s face?
>Priceless.
>You, however, just groan.
“Aww man…Cadence, what are you doing here? Can’t you see I’m playing?”
>Cadence gives you a suspicious glare before turning the evil eye on Armor.
>”Oh yeah? Then who’s your friend here cousin?”
>Shining Armor gulps and clears his throat.
>”I-I’m Shining Armor…and…uh…”
“He’s my new friend!”
>”Yeah! We were just…uh…”
“Spitting at the lake!”
>”Yeah! Spitting!”
>The two of you nonchalantly spit over the side of the falls.
>Cadence doesn’t buy a single bit of this for one second.
>Man…not only does she have cooties, but she’s too smart for you to trick.
>”Anon, you know you’re not allowed out of the castle! You aren’t ready! Why, what if…”
>Oh no, the lecture.
>Shining Armor elbows you as Cadence goes off into her own little world, berating you for…well, everything.
>”Uhh…Anon.”
“What?”
>”She’s an alicorn.”
“Yeah, and?”
>”The only alicorns are all part of the royal bloodline.”
>Thank you, captain obvious…
“Yeah..and?”
>Is Cadence still lecturing you?
>”Dude, she called you cousin!”
“What’s your point?”
>”Just who the hay are you?”
“I’m…”
>Cadence stamps her hoof on the marble surface of the aqueduct.
>”ANON! ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?”
>You roll your eyes.
“Aww, buzz off ya’ pigeon.”
>Cadence snorts, as Shining Armor remains wisely quiet.
>”You…you JERK! JUST WAIT UNTIL I TELL YOUR MOM ON YOU!”
>Great, that’s the last thing you need as Cadence turns around to storm off.
“Wait, Cadence don’t! If you tattle I’m gonna tell everyone that you wet the bed!”
>You cover your mouth.
>You really shouldn’t have said that.
>Cadence turns around, fire in her eyes.
>Literally, there are tiny flames burning in those big irises of hers.
>”I DO NOT!”
>She accents this with a magical shove, like she always does.
>Anon?
>Yes brain?
>She shoved you backwards.
>Yeah, brain?
>You were standing at the edge of an aqueduct plunging hundreds, if not thousands of feet to a watery grave below.
>…
>You have a split second to let this sink in before gravity claims you.
“AAAAAAAaaaaaaahhhhhh…….”
>Cadence’s eyes go wide as she rushes to the edge of the aqueduct.
>”COUSIN ANONYMOUS!”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1kjxGr_xQw
>Oh no, you’re falling.
>WAT DO?
>GRAB SOMETHING!
>You roll a straight luck check.
>Nat 19.
>You reach your hand out as you plummet, feeling a shaft of wood smack against your open palm.
>Your body jerks and you yelp in pain as fire shoots through your shoulder, gripping the root sticking out of the cliff wall for dear life.
>You grab it with your other hand, but you can feel your grip slipping on the damp handhold.
“HEEEEEELLLLLLLLLPPPPPPPPPP!”
>Shining Armor looks down, like he’s about to soil himself.
>”HANG ON ANON, WE’LL GO GET HELP!”
>A pink blur zooms by Armor as Cadence takes off, flying down to you.
>She takes your shirt in her teeth and starts trying to lift you.
>You’re way too heavy for Cadence to lift you by herself, but at least she’s helping you to hold on.
>She’ll get tired eventually though.
>”SHINING ARMOR! HELP!”
>Shining Armor is in an absolute panic.
>”Oh man…what do I do…I could go for help! But what if they fall…”
>Cadence’s wings give out as she starts to droop.
”ARMOR!”
>”Ohmanohmanohman…”
>You grab Cadence by the tail as she finally stops in exhaustion.
>The jostling and weakened shoulder does nothing to help your grip as your lifeline slips through your fingers.
>You and Cadence scream as you resume plummeting, hugging your cousin close to you.
>That water is coming up awfully fast…
>Two blue hooves wrap around you, arms wrapped in a white coat.
“A-ARMOR?!”
>”Hold on you two, I’ve never tried this before…”
>Shining Armor grunts and strains as the lake below approaches.
>His horn glows.
>This is the end…
>The three of you disappear just before you hit the water.

--------------

>When you come to, the only source of light is Shining Armor’s glowing horn.
>Both Cadence and him give a sigh of relief as you wake up.
>C: “Oh thank Celestia! Anon, I didn’t mean to…”
>You wave your hand dismissively. It seems while you were out, the two of them used your shirt to bandage your hurt shoulder.
>You grunt as you sit up.
“Where are we, what happened?”
>Shining Armor looks around, casting light in different directions.
>You’re in a large chamber. The ground is dusty, flat and hard. You see stones of various sizes littering the ground.
>SA: We’re underground, I’m guessing far under Canterlot.
“What did you do?!”
>SA: “What I did was save our lives. I tried to teleport us to just above the water’s surface to break the momentum, but…”
>You hate it when p0nies say “but” like that.
>SA: “I may need a little more…practice.”
>C: “I’ll say.”
>Shining Armor snorts at Cadence as she draws next to you.
>You get to your feet.
“So, you teleported us in here, teleport us out.”
>Armor shakes his head.
>SA: “Like I said, I don’t know how far underground we are. If I try to teleport us out, we could rematerialize in solid rock.”
>You probably don’t want to think how that would turn out.
“Well…we won’t get out of here standing around. Let’s see if we can find a way out.”
>The three of you set off, following the rubble. Shining Armor in front as the light source, with Cadence trotting close behind you.
>It doesn’t take you to find something.
“Oh…wow…”
>C: “What is that?”
>SA: “It looks like a gate in a massive stone wall…or used to be…”
>The magical light illuminates the remnants of a giant wall. Holes adorn its surface as Armor’s glow hints at the ruins of buildings on the other side.
“It’s a city…a massive city under Canterlot!”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40KLVC_ep38
>The three of you trudge through the city streets, wandering, searching for a sign back to the surface.
>You all grimace at the sight of skeletons littering the streets and structures.
>Whatever happened here…was not pleasant.
>C:”Anon…I’m scared…”
“Me too, Cadence…come on, I’ll carry you.”
>Cadence flutters on to your back, wrapping her hooves around your neck. Humanback rides always did make her feel more at ease.
>Your shoulder doesn’t appreciate the added weight, but you’ll live.
>You notice something odd.
>Some of these skeletons don’t belong to p0nies.
>Some of them have strange appendages, they kind of look like…
>You look at your own hand, flexing your fingers.
>SA: “Hey Anon.”
“Yeah?”
>SA: “Why didn’t you tell me your mother was Celestia?”
>You glance back at Cadence, who by now has drifted to sleep on your shoulder.
>Someone’s been talking.
“…Would that change anything?”
>SA: “Well…it wouldn’t change that you’re still a hairless freak, if that’s what you mean.”
>…
>The two of you just start laughing.
>After awhile, you two find a building that seems mostly intact.
>A large circular structure, no windows, and a single door.
“Maybe we’ll find something in here…”
>Armor nods as you all enter.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6Hf1-lQElE
>Inside, the structure is hollow and circular, with rings of seats surrounding a central pedestal in front of a massive stone slab.
>You get the chills as you rub your arms. Something in here is giving you the heebie jeebies.
“Hey, Armor.”
>SA: “Yeah?”
“You get the feeling some of these chairs aren’t designed for p0nies?”
>Shining Armor nods as you approach the dais.
>A thick layer of dust covers everything. On the stone slab, under the dust, you can make out the remnants of writing.
>And something else.
>You set Cadence down on the floor as she groggily protests, brushing some of the dust on the slab away with your hand.
>The writing…you don’t recognize.
>The object embedded in the slab, you’ve never seen before either…but somehow you recognize it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk_4Tf4G4gs
>It’s a sword. An ancient one at that, embedded firmly in the stone.
>It must have been here for almost a thousand years, the handle sticking out.
>Begging to be grabbed.
>SA: “Wow…what is that?”
>Like an ancient, genetic memory, you grasp the hilt of the sword in your hand.
>Unleashing a magical hellstorm.
>The resulting conflux of magical energy hits Celestia back in Canterlot like a Mack truck, the pain in her head so great as to throw her on the floor.
>As she picks up her head, she sees her various guards and aides converge on her, as if in slow motion.
>Only one item is powerful enough to deck you like this.
>The sword that shields Equestria from evil has been disturbed.
>Somep0ny has found the Harmony Blade.
>But, that sword has kept the seal on Nightmare Moon for almost a thousand years, in the ancient temple deep below in the ruins of old Canterlot.
>She is the only p0ny that can even wield it.
>Well, her and…the species who crafted it thousands of years ago.
>Her eyes shrink to pinpricks.
“I know where Anon is…”
>As Celestia disappears in a poof of teleportation magic, she can only hope she is not too late.