Three Years.
It had been three long years since the Eternal Night had swept over the land of Equestria. It had been prevented twice before, but by this point putting a stop to it was nothing more than a Fallacy. Not only had their former rulers been dethroned, but in a bitter sting of Irony, one of the only ponies who could put a stop to the madness was the one who oversaw it all.
The Elements of Harmony had tried to save their friend, but in the end, poor Rarity was too far gone... Or rather, she wasn't as resistant as they had hoped she would be. After finally accepting the depressing truth of it all, that their friendship just wasn't enough to save anypony, the only thing the five heroines could do was split up and go their separate ways. They couldn't allow their elements to fall into the hooves of the newly crowned Queen... ...not to mention that their failure shattered more than just the friendship they had made with Rarity.
In the three years that passed, the once great land had fallen into turmoil...a large chunk of the population had been enslaved, forced to work where ever Nightmare Rarity commanded them to. Many of the fearsome creatures that would normally keep their distance from the once dominant Pony population now did as they pleased, knowing they would not be stopped by anyone. It was an absolute Free For All.
And yet, among all the chaos, the Element Wielders had all remained fairly undetected. Rumors of them starting a rebellion took root every now and again, but no one but Nightmare Rarity's own troops payed them any heed. But after several years of searching, that was about to change...
The Captain of the Royal Guard slowly trotted into the throne room of Nightmare Rarity's Newly Built castle. Upon his approach, he took a heavy bow, before speaking up in a monotone and obedient tone.
"My glorious Queen, I bring exciting news.", he stated, still not leaving his bow, "After all these years, your generous patience has finally paid off. We have a general location of each of the Elements of Harmony. Our Stealth Squadrons are on stand by, and have yet to be detected. All that's left are your own orders, your Majesty. What shall we do? I can give further information upon your request."
Nightmare Rarity made her way down the stairs of her throne, wearing her specialized battle armor, made from the toughest metal that could be forged, and adorned with only the finest, rarest gem's (some thing's never change...).
'Finally, these three years of patience bore fruit!' , she thought to herself as her minions bowed to her while she passed, upon approaching the Captain she placed a hoof on his shoulder, "You have done well Captain, then again what would I expect from Twilight's B.B.B.F.F.?", she said in an almost mocking tone as she smiled at her loyal minion.
Not long after the Element wielder's defeat, she was met with resistance from the Royal Guard's forces from Canterlot. While they put up a good fight, but many of them fell to the same corrupted magic that gave birth to the new Nightmare Queen, easily turning them against their former comrades, Shining Armor had been especially hard to turn against her sister, but in the end he became her most loyal and powerful soldier. She had not stopped there however, soon after she managed to acquire the cooperation of several outcast Pegasi from several part's of Equestria, eventually recreating the Shadowbolt's, while just as an effective force as the original Wonderbolt's, they were a smaller group lead by her elite flyer's.
"Now, tell me their location's...", she commanded.
"Without Delay, my Queen...", Shining Armor gave another lifeless bow, before creating an illusion of Equestria on the floor, the symbol for the Element of Honesty appeared above the desert, "Applejack...as well as her brother and younger sister seemed to have taken refuge in a home far along the outskirts of Appleoosa, likely with assistance from its residence...", he paused upon seeing his Queen scowl for a moment, "I assure you they will be punished severely, M'lady.", he reassured her before continuing ,"Due to the bareness of the desert, it's difficult to get in close without being spotted, and they may be changing locations once more in the coming weeks..."
Nightmare Rarity scoffed, "We will find a way, they may be strong, but we are stronger."
Shining Armor nodded before casting another spell, causing the symbol for the Element of Loyalty to appear, "Rainbow Dash, is...tricky, as you may imagine. She seems to very rarely sit still, and her speed is as remarkable as ever. The last report I have received pinpointed her around Manehatten, but it has likely changed since then."
The Queen smirked, 'She may be fast, but even she can't run forever...' , she thought to herself.
"Pinkie Pie..." Shining seemed to shiver slightly, even in his entranced state. "...actually she hasn't even left Ponyville. With the departure of the Cakes, we assumed the place had been long since abandoned, and we even had several investigations done, but only now have we actually detected her...she's been as quiet as a mouse, and as you may imagine, she's not in the highest of Spirits...she likely won't be going anywhere anytime soon, and I doubt she will put up much resistance, so we won't have to worry about losing her.", he said as the Element of Laughter appeared over Ponyville.
"And finally, Twilight Sparkle...", he seemed to hesitate saying her name, but only for a moment, "...as well as Fluttershy, are the only two that have remained together. Their relationship has become noticeably...intimate, my Queen." he spoke as both Element's appearing over the center of the Everfree Forest. "Surprisingly, they are located in the Everfree Forest, and reports show that they may have been there awhile...I suspect the Element of Kindness has had assistance from various creatures to cover their tracks and stay hidden.", he concluded his report with another bow.
The Dark Queen arched a brow upon hearing about Fluttershy & Twilight's "relationship", but smiled regaurdless, "Well done Shining Armor, your Queen is very pleased with this new information...", she said before turning to the window, "Nightshade!", the Queen called out, immediately the blue-haired Shadowbolt swooped in through the window, landing in front her and bowing just like Shining Armor did, "You summoned me my Queen?"
"It appears the Element wielders have finally been found, I want you and elite's to go and secure each area,don't let Any of them escape. I will handle their..."interrogations"...personally...", she finished with a dark, seductive smile, "You know where they are and you have your orders, now go!", she commanded, Nightshade nodded and flew off.
Nightmare Rarity walked out of the Throne room with Shining Armor, making her way through the dark halls towards the balcony, she had rebuilt her kingdom on the Moon that had imprisoned her so long ago as a means to have an empire that only she and minion's could access.
The castle always pointed at the planet she continued to spread her evil across. She smiled as she gazed at the dark-blue aura that enveloped the planet, blocking out any shred of sunlight, signifying her eternal night...
"Ready three of your troops, Shining armor...", she commanded, "We're going to Ponyville."
Author's Note:
This story was originally an RP I did with "Letterabcd" on a different site, I posted it with his permission.
Major note: The continuity is very different from the normal MLPverse and takes place during the comic series.