Prologue: Rise of a Nightmare

Nightmare Moon. To this very day the name strikes fear and awe into the hearts of ponies across Equestria. The story of this legendary Alicorn is well known to all ponyfolk. There are facts of this tale, however, that have been lost. Even to the memories of the Royal Sisters who lived through the dark time.

From time to time through the history of Equestria Princess Celestia has taken gifted unicorns on as her personal students. Few know that Princess Luna also once did this. It was true even as Luna began her dark conversion to Nightmare Moon. Her student at the time tried, as Celestia did, to talk Luna down. But the twisted princess violently refused. She attacked her student and almost stuck him down when she realized something. Her student knew the ways of the night better than almost anypony. He knew her. He knew the ways of her dark magic.

Luna savagely invaded his mind and twisted it. The same jealousy warping the princess warped him. Her student became Nightmare Moon's right hand. Her knife in the dark. Her key to rising. If he had been remembered, perhaps the War could have been avoided. Perhaps many would still be alive. Her student's name was, and is, Indigo Sky...

1,000 years ago

Indigo walked with swift steps down the darkened castle corridor. Each hooffall reverberated loudly and Indigo winced. It was damned near impossible to walk silently in this infernal castle. He eventually arrived at moderate set of double doors with a golden sun inlaid on them. Two pegasi guards stood at stoic attention in front of the doors and watched Indigo as he approached. The dark colored unicorn smiled as he looked between the guards, stopping a few paces away. "Greetings, fellows. Is Sunny in?"

"Yes she is. I believe she is reading by the fire. Would you like me to tell you are here sir?"

"I don't think that will be necessary,"

The two guards gasped and leveled their pikes as Indigo quickly shot a beam of magic toward each of them. The first guard collapsed wordlessly to the ground as the purple-blue bolt impacted his chest. The second guard narrowly blocked the bolt with his pike and quickly jabbed at Indigo. The unicorn jumped out of the way as the long spear impacted the floor with a clang. He quickly picked up the fallen guards pike and drove it forward with lightning speed. With a satisfying crunch the pike drove smoothly into the pegasus just above his collar bone. The guards eyes bulged out as fell sideways and lay on the floor, gasping and coughing up blood. Only when the guard finally stilled did Indigo turn and open the door.

Sunny Sky sat in a large armchair with it's back to the door. A fire crackled warmly in a large fireplace a few feet away, casting a soft glow across most of the room. Sunny's large four poster bed sat to the right of the door, and a large mirror and dresser sat on the far let wall. Apart from this the dark yellow room was mostly bare, save for and intricately woven rug depicting a sun in the likeness of Celestia's cutie mark. Sunny was intently reading a book levitating before her and did not notice Indigo quietly slip into the room.

For a moment Indigo was content to sit in the narrow band of flickering shadows near the door as he watched her. After a few seconds he stepped into the soft light. "Hello Sunny," The yellow unicorn jumped and dropped her book to the floor with a thud. She whipped her head around and breathed a sigh of relief, putting her hoof to her beating heart. "Oh, it's just you brother. You really must stop scaring me like that," she said with a chuckle as she picked up her book again with her magic. Indigo smiled and walked to the armchair opposite Sunny's. "I did not intend to frighten you," the unicorn said as he looked into the fire. "I just needed to ask you a few things," Sunny raised her eyebrow quizzically but did not look up from her book.

"You're Celestia's student," The way Indigo said it was more like he was talking to himself than Sunny.

"Of course I am, and you're Luna's," Sunny said with a confused look.

"You would do anything Celestia asked of you?"

"To a degree. She is both my mentor and princess, but I must listen to my own conscience,"

Indigo sighed and stared into the fire. "That's what I thought,"

"Hey," Sunny said with a concerned expression "What's wrong?"

He looked into his sister's concerned, sincere face and sighed again. "I'm sorry," but his face did not look sorry. It looked a bit like he was throwing away an old book he didn't need anymore. A little wistful, but by no stretch of the imagination sorry. He even looked like he pitied her.

Sunny began to ask what he was sorry about when he shot her in the chest with a bolt of magic. Sunny's heart stopped immediately, but she lay gasping in a terrified panic for several moments afterward as Indigo looked blankly at her. Her face showed an expression of suck despair, betrayal, and terror that he frowned and looked away. As Sunny stilled and slipped into blackness, her last thought was: why?

Indigo slowly closed the door behind him as he slipped back into the corridor outside Sunny's room. For the time being he had laid Sunny to rest in her bed. He would come and give her a proper burial later. Not for any emotional reasons, but simply for the sake of respect. He kicked one of the guards bodies away without a second glance as he strode back down the hall. A dark shape sat in front of a window a few paces away, looking out over the sleeping village around the castle. Indigo bowed to princess Luna as she turned and looked down to him. "Is Sunny disposed of?" she inquired, as if asking what time it was. "Yes she is Mistress. I tried to thin out the ranks of the guards as much as I could on my way, but I unfortunately did not run into many," Indigo said as he followed Luna, who was walking down a side passageway toward the throne room. The princess sniffed but continued to walk. "No matter. I go to confront Celestia now, and no prattling guards will stand in my way,"

"Do you wish me to accompany you?" Indigo asked as they reached the doors to the throne room.

"No. Stay outside the doors and insure nopony enters," as she opened the door and stepped through.

"Yes, princess," even though she was gone.

Indigo turned and planted himself firmly, scanning the dark passage for any sign of movement. From within the chamber Indigo heard muffled voices, then a loud crack and a low boom. Immediately after a low cackling reverberated through the castle. Indigo smiled wickedly and whispered to himself. "Destroy her, mistress, and the night will last eternal,"

A series of loud blasts followed, and small bits of rubble fell from the ceiling above Indigo. Soon the blasts grew more distant, as if the princesses were flying away, then... silence. Indigo shifted uncertainty and glanced toward the door. Should he go in and see if the princess had won, or stay put? He decided to stay put and planted his hooves wider apart, though his ears were focused on the throne room. Indigo heard a sound like sliding stone and then the grinding of gears. He frowned and shifted again. A moment later there was the unmistakable sound of a powerful magical discharge. Indigo finally turned and threw open the doors as Nightmare Moon bellowed "NOOOOOOO!"

Indigo watched slack jawed as his mentor, mistress, and friend was carried to the moon by the powerful magic. Anger first, then fury, bubbled within him as he looked to Celestia, floating above the destroyed ceiling. With a furious roar Indigo poured all the magical energy he could into a single blast, which connected with the Princess as she turned to look at him. One more explosion shook the castle as Indigo collapsed on the floor from the drain of the magic. Slowly, he dragged himself to his hooves and shook his head. Was she gone? Was that vile wretched excuse for a pony gone?

The unicorn's heart dropped to Tartarus as the dust cleared to reveal Celestia's steely but tear stricken face as the protective shield created by the elements faded. "Indigo Sky. I expected better of you," Even in his suddenly exhausted and foggy minded state, Indigo managed to smirk. "I suppose it's the gallows for me then,"

"No,"

Indigo looked up at the princess in surprise, and suddenly a little hopeful. That hope quickly faded as the elements spun faster.

"If you so blindly wish to follow Luna, you will share her fate," Celestia said coldly. Indigo was now truly scared. He had never seen Celestia like this, and it was utterly terrifying. Yet another huge beam of magic was sent forth from the elements, enveloping Indigo. The unicorn screamed at the top of his lungs. This was by far the worst pain he had ever experienced in his entire life. It felt as if a white-hot knife was being driven into his very being. Indigo's soul was shredded into tiny shreds before being thrown out of the castle and into the Everfree forest. Pain was the last thing Indigo Sky felt before the darkness of 1,000 years enveloped him.