That night Luna was hosting a party for all of Equestria's notable citizens. Drakken was hidden away in their room, sleeping since he didn't want his presence known to most of the land for now. It was nice for him to have some solitude. The other Elements of Harmony however were present for the event. Each was allowed to bring one guest. Apple Jack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight all brought their respective Cutie Mark Crusader. Fluttershy brought along Twist since she didn't have any other pony to bring and Twist wanted to come badly. Pinkie Pie brought Gummy. The alligator stayed on her back the whole time.
Cadence and Shining Armor were there along with Mayor Mare. Vinyal Scratch was the DJ and her guest was Octavia. The Wonderbolts showed up as well as Fancy Pants. Many other high classed ponies had attended as well. The party's total attendants came out to be 364 ponies in total.
Princess Luna was surrounded by ponies she'd never met, all asking questions on how she would be ruling the land, trying to gain a hoof in the new politics of Equestria. It annoyed her on the inside but she greeted all with a sincere smile. A pony with stars for his cutie mark and a night blue coat walked up to Princess Luna.
"Good evening, Princess." He said with a bow. "My name is Astromes. I am an astronomer and I just wanted to say thank you for the hard work you put into the night."
"Nice to meet you, Astromes." She replied. "Thank you for appreciating the night. It means a lot to know my subjects study my work."
"Anything for the sake of the night." He said with a smile. He departed and met up with a group of other ponies.
Twilight and Nyx then approached Luna. "Princess Luna!" Nyx shouted with joy. She ran up and hugged Luna who returned the gesture.
"Hello, Nyx." Luna said with a warm smile. "You've grown since we last saw each other."
"Awww you always say that." Nyx replied.
"And it's always true." Said Luna. "How are things going back home?"
"They're great!" Nyx responded, "I've been taking flying lessons from Rainbow Dash along with Scootaloo! It's a lot of fun. And Twilight's been teaching me more magic. Spikes grown a lot, too!"
"Why didn't Spike come along?" Luna asked.
"Oh, he's watching the boutique for Rarity." Twilight said, "Those two have been getting closer recently. I think little Spike may be getting into his first relationship."
Luna laughed, "Well you know that Dragons rules follow along the same lines as Dragonbreeds in that aspect right?" Twilight raised an eyebrow.
"I did not." She said with concern. "And I don't know how that would even work."
"Neither do I." Luna replied. "But I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. Are you both enjoying the party?" Both of them nodded, smiling. "Good. If you'll excuse me I must-" She was cut off by a loud bang.
"PONIES OF EQUESTRIA!" Came a loud voice, "The new world order is now under way. Celestia is out of power and a new Era begins now. One of eternal night!"
Luna and the others looked for the source. Floating high above them was the pony who'd introdused himself as Astromes. He was accompanied by ponies in hooded dark blue robes. His appearance changed drastically however. What was once an Earth Pony was now an Alicorn with Nightmare Moons emblem as his cutie mark.
"I am Night Stalker and we are the Children of Nightmare!" He spoke, "We have waited for this day for far too long! Now that the Sun Princess is out of power Nightmare Moon can return and bring on eternal night..." His eyes turned to Luna. "You have served well, Luna. But it's the darkness in you that we need to fufill our mission." He cast a binding spell on Luna that she could not break with her own magic. They flew through the window, taking Luna with them. Nyx flew after them instantly.
"NYX NO!" Twilight shouted, but it was too late. Drakken appeared in the center of the room. "Drakken they just took Luna and Nyx went after them!"
"Who did?! And who's Nyx?" He asked.
"I'll explain on the way but we have to follow them!" Twilight said in distress. The other Elements followed the two as the took off into the night. The four remaining crusaders all looked at each other and nodded. They tried to take off but Cadence stopped them.
"And where do you think you're going?" She asked.
"To help!" Scootaloo said. "Nyx is a crusader! She isn't going alone." Cadence studied the fillies for a moment.
"Ok...but hang on. You may be able to help another way." Cadence replied.
Drakken and Rainbow Dash kept to the sky as they followed the cultists who abducted Luna. The others followed on the ground. Drakken made a telepathic connection with Twilight.
"Ok what happened?" He asked.
"This alicorn just appeared and abducted Luna claiming to be apart of The Children of Nightmare." She responded. "Then my adopted daughter took off after them to try and rescue Luna."
"So that's who Nyx is." He replied, "What did this Alicorn say?"
"That his name was Night Stalker and Nightmare Moon would rule the world." Twilight said. "Why would somepony want that?"
"Twilight, you need to understand that someponies just want evil things. Nightmare Moon was a version of Luna that was misunderstood, however. So don't think she was evil. That side of Luna came to be as a result of her longing for ponies to adore the Night. Only after her thousand years did Nightmare Moon truly become evil."
He explained. "Luna told me there were ponies who worshiped Nightmare Moon. And the appearance of this random Alicorn is odd to me...he must have been around for awhile."
"I thought Cadence was the last one..." Twilight said.
"Who on earth is Cadence?" He asked confused.
"Another Alicorn. I'll explain later for now let's focus on the task at hand." She said.
"Right. Let's kill this guy so we can resume life." Drakken said coldly. Twilight shuddered at his words.
The cultists flew down into the Everfree Forest and disappeared. Nyx still followed behind them. Drakken and Rainbow however stopped. Drakken cast a quick tracker spell and they both flew down to the rest of the group.
"Alright, we are gonna follow on foot from here. We still have the element of surprise and time is of the essence so let's move." He told them. The seven ponies ran into the forest without hesitation.
The group traversed the forest effortlessly. Drakkens lack of fear of the forest had inspired the others to have no fear themselves. The approached where Drakkens tracking spell had stopped only to find a platoon of royal guards hiding in wait about a hundred yards from a village where Nyx was.
"Halt! who goes there?" Asked a guard.
"It's ok men. These are our allies I told you about." Shining Armor emerged from the group along with Cadence and the Cutie Mark Crusaders. "Hey Twilight."
"Shining Armor? Cadence? How'd you all get here?" Twilight asked.
"Sweetie Belle here used a locator spell on Nyx, much like her sisters ability to find gems." Cadence replied. "Shining knew of this village so he brought a group of soldiers to prepare an attack. We are just waiting for your command."
"Well this is gonna be Drakkens call." Twilight said. Drakken stepped forward.
"You must be Cadence." He said, "You must have been born after I was sent away."
"Drakken? Hmmm...wait...are you the one Celestia spoke of in her speech?" Cadence asked. He nodded. "So you're alive. And you must be here to-"
"Rescue Luna." Drakken finished. "Shining Armor...are you the leader here?
"I am." Shining replied. "My men will follow you into battle without question." The guards behind Shining Armor all looked at each other with question. Drakken saw this and spoke directly to them.
"I know what the guards think of me. I am responsible for your friends deaths...It was a mistake. One that I don't look at lightly." He addressed them from a soldiers tone. "I apologize for what I have done. But right now we need to set that aside. Princess Luna...your princess...needs all of us. I promise I will bring everypony here back to Canterlot. You will see your families again. But I need you to trust in my skills as a leader right now. Shining Armor, split the group into three. Surround in a half circle from the rear of this village. I am going to engage this Alicorn directly. When our fight sparks all of you will initiate an attack. Men, this is dangerous due to the fact that we don't know much about our enemy. All of you have a choice...go home now or fight for your Princess. Nopony will judge your decision. On my word."
The guards all remained unmoving, showing they would fight. Drakken smiled.
"Let's show them exactly who they've messed with." He said.
"Princess, you have served Nightmare Moon well. But now is her time to rise into power...once and for all." Night Stalker spoke. "We will rule all of Equestria as a grand empire. And the night shall last forever!"
"Exactly how do you expect to bring her back?" Luna asked. "She has been destroyed."
"Not true, your highness." He replied coolly. Two cultists emerged with Nyx bound by chains. Luna suddenly broke into a rage.
"LET HER GO NOW!" She screamed, "She is a filly who has nothing to do with this anymore!"
"She was Nightmare Moon at one point...now we will bring her back!" Night Stalker responded with an evil smile. Luna broke the spell that bound her however and rushed the alicorn. She connected a blow but Night Stalker just laughed. "You'll have to do better, princess." He then flared his wings which emitted a wave of stars that threw Luna back. Luna hit the wall of a building behind her and crumpled to the ground. "Nopony stands a chance against me..."
"Think again." Drakkens voice came as he shot a ball of fire from their hiding spot. Night Stalker was tossed back a bit but regained his stance.
"Who dares attack the great Night Stalker!" He shouted.
"I do." Came Drakkens voice from behind him. Night stalker turned around to meet a blow from Drakkens hind legs to the face. Night Stalker flew back and hit the ground. "You think you can honestly hurt the pony I love and get away with it? You will die you insolent foal."
"Who are you?!" Stalker shouted.
"I am her guardian and lover. I am A shadow warrior and a Dragonbreed...I am Drakken, the one who will end your life." Drakken said darkly. Night Stalker rushed Drakken but to no avail as the Dragonbreed disappeared. Stalker looked around confused. "Above you." Drakken said. Night Stalker looked up to meet Drakkens front legs this time. Stalkers body created a crater from the force of impact. Drakken landed just outside the craters edge.
Night Stalkers cultists made an attempt to attack but were met with the sound of the royal guards rushing from all sides. A battle ensued the village.
"You...you have made a grave mistake." Night Stalker said. Suddenly balls of energy shot from the hole he resided in, all colliding with Drakkens body. An explosion formed where Drakken had stood. The other Elements of Harmony had freed Nyx and come to Lunas side. Stalker shot out however and hit Luna again, causing her to fly through the building.
Suddenly a light emerged from the smoke that Drakken was in, clearing it away. Drakken didn't even sustain a scratch, but had changed. His coat, mane, and tail had all turned a radiant white. His eyes no longer had pupils or retnas as they were all white as well. Night Stalker looked upon him with a sudden fear. Drakken shot from his spot and collided with Night Stalker, screaming in rage.
"IT IS YOU WHO'VE MADE THE MISTAKE! NOW FALL!" Drakken screamed. A ball of white energy appeared in front of Drakkens open mouth. He released the energy which hit Night Stalker with such a force that he went flying sky high. Drakkens body changed back as he walked over to Luna. "Luna..." He said. Drakken was drenched in sweat.
"D-...Drakken?" She replied in a daze. "What took you so long?" She said taking a breath between words. The battle around them had died down as the guards quickly overcame the cultist.
"Had to make sure we would win." He said with a grin. His face turned serious again however and he looked up. Night Stalkers body landed right in front of Nyx,
who jumped back and stared at him. Night Stalker opened his eyes and looked at the filly.
"Nightmare...I will...you will rule the land! You...you must..." He tried to speak. Drakken walked up behind him and grabbed his head.
"Shut up." He said coldly as he twisted Night Stalkers skull, causing a chilling snap from the alicorns neck. Night Stalker fell lifeless in front of Nyx. The others all stared at the event in shock.
"You...you killed him..." Twilight said, "He was unable to fight...why did you kill him?!" Her voice filled with anger.
"He was a threat to all of you. He also hurt Luna badly...nopony will ever live after such a thing." Drakken said coldly. "His life meant nothing to me. We need to get Luna back so the doctors can help her." He walked back over to Luna and lifted he onto his back. He took off into the sky without a word. From the village came a roar of victory as the guards cheered.
They had no casualties.