Chapter Two
A Shadow on the Heels of Harmony
The shadow churned and writhed as the pair of glowing azure orbs scanned the interior of the crater. Molten slag cooled and blackened into slick slabs of obsidian and other glassy formations. Massive stones, ejected from the lower sediment layers, were scattered along the lip of the basin. Bonfires burned where vegetation was not blown away or vaporized by the devastating impact.
After a moment of observation, the pool of shadows slithered away from the bowels of the crater and scaled the wall like a serpent or an ascending blanket of thick fog. Tendrils of billowy shadows, like long fingers of ethereal smoke, curled over the stone where light feared to penetrate - like a lamb trembling at a wolf's den. The unblinking, cold, blue eyes followed the living darkness as it emerged from its temporary prison.
"You have risen, my lord."
The eyes glanced indifferently to the coiling darkness at their side, where a second pair of eyes materialized from the shadows. They were deep crimson, like freshly spilled blood, and bore a manic and barely restrained excitement that contrasted the cold calculating aura of the former. Thin wisps of red danced along the eyes like vaporous tears of blood.
"My strength lies dormant, but I rise like the ashes of a phoenix.." He replied. "It will take time for my power to return. We must be wary, for though our entrance was upstaged by the return of the Nightmare – it was still… theatrical. No doubt someone took notice."
The azure being scanned the clearing, peering through the trees with its penetrating gaze, before turning to its companion.
"I have a task for you, my most loyal servant. Descend into the forest and discern if any civilization resides in the vicinity. Also, if possible, discover the whereabouts of the Nightmare. We must take her presence into account, regarding our most immediate plans."
"Your will is my own, my liege," responded the crimson one. A mass of the living darkness severed from the whole and darted into the trees like a silent predator.
The superior shadow narrowed his gaze upon the dark light-speckled sky. A silver radiance drifted over the land, covering all except the living shadow in its calming aura. The moon's surface was clean and bare – void of the formerly ever-present looming glare of the Mare in the Moon – aside from the few craters that dotted its surface.
Still the same stars, he thought to himself. When the initial phases are complete, I must take a moment to observe them for omens.
After taking a brief inventory of the constellations, the shadow pivoted his focus onto the forest. The trees were either flattened or burnt into charcoal for the length of a bowshot. Beyond the devastation, the forest was just recovering from the initial shock of the heavenly bombardment. Ravenous growls and sibilant hisses emanated from the tree line. A chorus of curious hoots and irate caws mingled with the white noise of the rekindled insect orchestra.
"My lord?"
The blue-eyed shadow glanced to his side to find his companion flattened against the ground. Its silhouette was vaguely bipedal, but lacked the appropriate limbs to be classified as such. Two long gangly arms adorned with dagger-like claws hung loosely from its hunched form. The maw of the shadow creature opened in a demented grin, revealing a row of long, curved teeth.
"Report." He responded coldly.
"There is a small village to the north, where it appears that the Nightmare made her grand entrance. Now it seems that six of the villagers have ventured into the forest to defeat her."
"Interesting… Perhaps we should accompany them on their heroic quest."
"Oh! Most certainly, my lord! Perchance, afterwards, could I play with them?"
"For the moment – no," the blue-eyed shadow growled. "I would prefer to keep disembowelments to a minimum, since we have only been here for a few minutes. Also, they may prove to be valuable assets. It would be wise to leave them unspoiled for now. Go maul a bunny or two if you cannot contain your violent sociopathic tendencies. Furthermore, while you are off indulging, feel free to do something productive and explore the surrounding region in my stead."
"Yes, my liege," it replied, sneering its incorporeal mouth impossibly wide. "Your will be done."
The crimson-eyed shadow departed once more, leaving its superior alone. After taking a moment to ponder the stability of its underling, the living darkness shifted and curled like thick smog as it made its deliberate trek across the clearing and into the trees.
The shadow slithered through the underbrush like a serpent as it sniffed out its prey. A corporeal darkness drifted through the forest in its wake, smothering the woods in an icy blanket of perturbed silence. Two unblinking ghostly blue eyes narrowed coldly in the direction from which several voices drifted through the trees. The Living Shadow crawled along the forest floor as it sifted through the bushes – mimicking the natural shadows of the unnatural forest.
Moments later, the eyes materialized within the dark hollow of a decrepit tree. From its hidden vantage point, the Living Shadow focused its gaze onto the path. Curiosity glimmered in the featureless blue orbs as they beheld the six equine mares that trotted the narrow trail through the forest.
A lavender coated unicorn strode at the head of the herd. Her mane was colored a dark blue with a stripe of bright violet running down the right side of her bangs – which were divided by a spiraled horn that protruded from her forehead. The mare's tail bore a matching color scheme as her mane. A purple six-pointed star adorned her right flank. Five smaller white stars surrounded the large purple star in a synchronized pattern. Her bright intelligent eyes scanned the path as she trotted with a nervous yet purposeful gait.
An alabaster white unicorn followed behind her lavender counterpart. Her snowy coat resonated with a meticulously maintained sheen that paired strategically with a long flowing purple mane that bounced lightly with each step. The unicorn's tail was curled in a spring-like spiral. Long black synthetic eyelashes clung to eyes that were dilated by either the thick darkness that hung from the night – or the raw dread that dripped from the aforementioned darkness. Three cut sapphires decorated her flank.
A sturdy mare with a burnt orange coat trailed behind the unicorn. Sharp green eyes glanced suspiciously at the bushes from beneath a dusty brown Stetson. Her lips curved downward in a stony grimace as cords of iron-like muscle coiled in anticipation within her legs. The mare's long, full, blonde mane and tail were bound by red twine. A trio of red apples flexed atop her hip.
A butter yellow Pegasus trembled behind the orange mare. Her eyes, dilated firmly by barely restrained terror, were partially covered by a long, soft, pink mane. The mare's ears were flattened against her skull while her knees quaked. Two yellow feathered wings twitched at her sides. Three open-winged pink butterflies peeked out from beneath her right wing.
The fifth pony trotted with a light bounce in her step. Her mane was pink and fluffy, like cotton candy, and her coat was an even brighter pink. A small content smile was painted on her muzzle – eerily indifferent to the disturbed atmosphere of the dark forest – as she hummed a quiet tune. Her flank was adorned with the image of three party balloons.
The pale blue eyes rested upon the final member of the entourage. Her cyan coat contrasted the foreboding scenery as much as the rest of the herd of flamboyant technicolor. Two blue feathered wings pressed snugly against her sleek muscled form as a mane of prismatic rainbow cascaded over her shoulders. A subtle yet powerful strength was buried beneath her sleek build and the rainbow lightning bolt on her flank. Magenta eyes glanced discreetly over her shoulder.
Two unicorns, two pegasi, and two earth ponies walk into a forest… The Shadow thought to itself. … Sounds like the start to a bad joke.
"S-so…" stammered the lavender unicorn. "N-none of you… have been in here before?"
"Ugh. Heavens, no!" replied the white unicorn as she gestured to the treeline with a hoof. "Just look at it – it's dreadful!"
"And in ain't natural…" said the orange mare, glancing back to her other three companions. "Folk say it don't work the same as Equestria."
As they spoke, the herd of ponies made their way along a narrow path. A high rock wall flanked them on their left while a hundred foot drop sneered perilously at them from the right. The Living Shadow glanced down into the ravine where a cloud of smoke drifted along the rock face. Numerous flickers of light danced along its surface as the body of smoke dissipated and seeped into the cracks along the chasm's wall.
Ahh… There she is.
"What's that supposed to mean?" the lavender mare asked cautiously.
"Noooopooony knoooows~." The rainbow-maned pegasus fluttered in front of the white unicorn, yellow pegasus, and pink earth pony, crouching low to the ground as she approached like a mountain lion ready to pounce. "You know why?"
"Rainbow, quit it!" the orange mare snapped sternly.
"'Cause everypony that's ever comes in…" she slinked closer to the three other mares, eyes narrowed with a mischievous smirk on her muzzle. "Has. Never. Come. Out!" Rainbow Dash barked as she flared her wings.
Crack!
The Shadow watched in mild amusement as the rock suddenly split and sundered beneath the mares' hooves, causing the cliff to collapse into the gorge below. Boulders and dirt tumbled into the ravine – carrying two unicorns and two earth ponies in their wake.
"Fluttershy, quick!" Rainbow Dash shouted as she darted after her grounded companions in a blur of cyan and prismatic hues.
"Ohmygoodness! Ohmygoodness!" The yellow Pegasus panicked.
The unicorns and earth ponies slid down the incline as the pegasi dove. Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth as she plucked the pink mare free from the ground while Fluttershy zipped passed toward the white unicorn. She gripped the mare's tail in her teeth and backpedaled with her wings. Meanwhile, the orange Stetson-wearing pony took matters into her own hooves and caught a large root in her jaw – halting her descent. The lavender unicorn dangled precariously off the edge of the incline over a dizzyingly high drop.
"Hang on!" cried the orange mare as she released her grip and slid down towards the unicorn. "I'm-a-comin'!" The Shadow watched in fascination from its perch as the two ponies intertwined their forehooves.
"Applejack!" the unicorn looked up at her companion pleadingly. "What do I do?!"
The orange earth pony, Applejack, glanced at the ground before meeting the unicorn's gaze with a warm smile. "Let go," she replied calmly.
The Shadow raised a metaphorical eyebrow.
"What?!" the unicorn's eyes widened to dinner plates and looked at Applejack as if she'd grown a second head. "Are you crazy?!"
Applejack shook her head. "No I ain't. I promise you'll be safe."
"That's not true!"
"Now listen here." Applejack narrowed her eyes and grimaced. "What I'm sayin' to you is the honest truth. Let go, and you'll be safe."
The unicorn met Applejack's gaze with watery eyes and a pleading pout, but was returned with a reassuring smile. A moment passed between them before she closed her eyes and released a resigned sigh. She freed her grip from Applejack's forehooves and, with a scream, slipped off the ledge and into the unknown. Seconds crawled like hours for the unicorn as she fell to her painful and messy demise – only for her to halt her rapid descent by two sets of hooves wrapping around her barrel. The mare glanced to her sides where a barely winded Rainbow Dash and a struggling Fluttershy hovered beside her.
"Sorry, girls," Fluttershy apologized softly as they drifted toward the ground. "I'm not used to holding anything more than a bunny or two."
Applejack landed beside them a moment later and gave the pegasi a friendly nod before trotting over to the unicorn. She sat on her haunches and placed a hoof on the fetlock of the frazzled unicorn.
"Ya okay there, Twilight?"
"How…" the unicorn, Twilight, began as she met Applejack's gaze. "How did you know…? You saw them, didn't you? That's why you told me to let go – because you knew they would catch me."
"Eeyup!" Applejack nodded triumphantly before helping Twilight to her hooves. "Ah knew you'd be jus' fine an' dandy. Ah wouldn't have let ya go unless Ah knew you'd be in safe hooves."
"Why didn't you just tell me they would catch me?" she glared.
"'Cause, sugarcube, I couldn't hold onto ya fer long with the way we was danglin'. If'n Ah took the time to tell ya the full plan, we would've both been tumblin' down that there cliff! Ah needed ya to trust me, and ya did. An Apple's word is their bond, an' Ah would never leave a friend hangin'! … No pun intended."
The Shadow contemplated what it witnessed as the herd of ponies descended further into the depths of the forest. Applejack, the orange mare, showed remarkable integrity and honesty. She calmed and reassured Twilight when she could have simply saved herself or dropped her into the arms of her saviors.
A distant roar interrupted the Shadow's thoughts and piqued its interest. The oblivious ponies continued to blunder into the forest like a band of school fillies on a field trip or nature hike. Cold blue eyes shifted curiously as the Shadow discreetly followed from the veil of the dark underbrush.
"And once Pinkie and Rarity were saved… WHOOSH! Me and Fluttershy loop-de-looped around and WHAM!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she barrel-rolled over Twilight. She landed at her side with a self-gratifying grin. "Caught you right in the nick of time!"
"Yes, Rainbow, I was there…" Twilight sighed and rolled her eyes in exasperation. "… and I'm very grateful, but we gotta-"
Whomp!
Twilight was interrupted as a massive shadow loomed over her and the five mares. Her gaze was met with two blood-red eyes that burned straight through her own and into her skull. The creature towered above the ponies on four furred paws with two great leathery wings expanded into the forest canopy. A thick brown mane surrounded its feline maw and cascaded down its broad shoulders. It was opened in a vicious predatory snarl – exposing a full set of glistening canines. Golden yellow fur bristled like cactus needles as a long tail, covered by dark chitin and adorned with a menacing stinger, twitched erratically.
"A manticore!" Twilight gasped with the elegance of a gazelle trapped in the gaze of a lion.
The manticore narrowed its eyes, rose to its hind legs, bared its teeth and claws, and pierced the night with a soul-shuddering roar.
The ponies trembled in terror in the presence of the predator before Twilight shook herself from her stupor. "We've gotta get past it…" she affirmed, narrowing her eyes in determination.
As soon as she uttered her statement, the manticore lowered into a crouch and leaped across the clearing in a single pounce. Rarity instinctively reared back and barely dodged a swipe by a paw the size of her barrel. She pivoted and bucked the manticore in the maw with her back hooves. Rarity smirked triumphantly as the beast flinched and draped a paw over its reddening snout.
"Take that, you ruffian!" she taunted. The manticore glared furiously at Rarity before erupting in a deafening roar. Her mane was tousled by the beast's rapid exhale and coated in a shower of spittle as she fell on her haunches.
She blinked in horror.
"My hair!" Rarity wailed as she galloped away.
The manticore charged after Rarity before four hooves landed atop its back. It glanced up to see Applejack standing proudly atop its posterior. Growling in annoyance, it futilely swiped at the pony with a forepaw. Applejack maneuvered across the beast's barrel [barrel seems like an odd word. I know what you mean but it's distracting.] as it swerved its head, tail, and slashed with its claws.
"Wait!"
Suddenly, the manticore coiled and extended like a spring - sending its imposed rider flying into the underbrush.
She is strong - agile - but no match for the king of this jungle. For all her raw physical strength and speed, she lacks the mental focus for precision and a decisive blow. Striking against her honor and instigating anger could prove her downfall. Perhaps the rainbow-maned one will put up a better fight.
The manticore snarled as Rainbow Dash charged with her magenta eyes narrowed in determination. It slashed with its claws, only for her to nimbly swoop out of their path. She banked hard and whipped around the manticore. Rainbow flew faster and faster as it tried to track her movements and swipe at her like an annoying insect. A cyclone of prismatic colors formed around the manticore as a gale surged through the clearing – knocking up dust and dried leaves into the maelstrom. The manticore's ears flushed with its skull as it spun its head back and forth across the wall of kaleidoscopic light. Eyes darted in growing panic. Fur bristled to needles. An armored tail lashed out at the cyclone.
"GAH!" Rainbow Dash cried as she was clotheslined by the offending limb and sent tumbling through the air.
"Rainbow!" Twilight gasped as the pegasus skidded across the ground and landed in a convoluted heap.
Too bullheaded. the Shadow thought to itself. Much like the other one, Applejack, this Rainbow is strong and bears a near awe-inspiring agility. She has good fighting instincts, attempting to disorient the manticore, but her pride could be a weakness.
"Ugh… I'm alright." Rainbow Dash groaned as she untangled her limbs and got onto her hooves. "Let's get this bucker!" she snarled.
Twilight blinked at the sudden language and nodded. Five ponies – two unicorns, one pegasus, and two earth ponies – faced off against the fuming manticore. Twilight scratched the dirt with her hoof and snorted. The ponies reared back as one and galloped in a charge against the wild beast.
"WAAAAIIIT!" Fluttershy cried – now standing between the manticore and her companions. They slid to a halt and blinked in surprise.
"…Huh?" Applejack gracefully articulated their thoughts.
Fluttershy, much to the dismay of the flabbergasted ponies, cautiously approached the manticore with a warm smile. It snarled and lifted a paw in preparation to strike. The ponies closed their eyes in fearful anticipation.
"Shh… Shh… It's okay…" Fluttershy spoke softly as she approached the beast. It looked down at her, bestial fury dissipated, and blinked in confusion. She sniffed the manticore's paw and looked up reassuringly. The manticore paused and tentatively opened the appendage. A large thorn protruded from the swelled pad.
"Oh!" Fluttershy gasped. "You poor little baby…"
"… Little?" Rainbow quirked an eyebrow.
"Now this'll hurt for juuuust a second…" Fluttershy cooed softly as she gently gripped the base of the thorn in her teeth. She tugged the offending piece of foliage free with a dull pop. The manticore tore its paw free and unleashed a thunderous roar as it pounced on the bite-sized Pegasus.
"FLUTTERSHY!" The mares screamed in alarm.
"Heeheehee… Ohhh, you're just a little ol' baby kitty, arenchoo?" Fluttershy cooed to the manticore, which was now cradling her in its paws and lapping at her affectionately with its long sandpaper-like tongue. The other ponies gawked at the display as the tamed beast purred.
The mares hesitatingly trotted past the odd pair and continued down the path. Fluttershy strode beside Twilight a moment later. Her pink mane was disheveled and extended upward in a long glistening swirl.
"How did you know about the thorn?" Twilight asked as she kept her eyes trained away from the odd hairstyle.
"I didn't." she replied with a smile as she trotted passed. "Sometimes… we all just need a little kindness…"
Kindness…
Meanwhile, the Living Shadow had observed the confrontation, battle, and taming of the monstrous carnivore that had been reduced to a purring kitten. It had observed their movements and studied them down to the minuscule twitch of their tails, the perspiration on their coats, and the glint of fear that darkened their eyes. The Shadow saw the untamable fire that burned in the magenta eyes of the cyan pegasus, the unshakeable pride in those of the Stetson-wearing orange pony, and the elegance that the white unicorn resonated with [this is an awkward phrase.] even in the bowels of the wilderness and fighting for her life. There was the ferocious predatory manticore that emanated raw, predatory, animalistic fury. It was a carnivore. It was Nature. It was Death.
Then there was the meekly yellow pegasus – who tamed the beast with soft eyes and a warm smile.
The Shadow was intrigued.
The Shadow was infuriated.
Kindness was a mask. Kindness was a mask to hide demeaning pity or treacherous motives. Kindness was a mask to hide scars of suffering and sorrow – scars that should be ripped open and set ablaze as fiery rage and dark hatred against the perpetrators of said suffering. Kindness was weakness. It was the first step to betrayal and a cloaked dagger thrust into a steady beating heart.
The Shadow moved on - attracted by a distant scent of rising fear further into the forest.
No one would ever see the thick layer of frost that coated the clearing.
No one would ever heed the patch of blackened dead earth at its center.
"Ewhwhwhww…" Rarity shuddered. "My eyes need a rest from all this icky muck!"
It was then that the Living Shadow settled in the canopy like a thick cloud, shrouding the dense forest from the stars and casting it into further darkness. The shadows of the trees distorted in the absence of light.
"Well I didn't mean that literally…" Rarity huffed.
"That ancient ruin could be right in front of our faces and we wouldn't even know it!" Twilight groaned.
"Gah!" Rainbow grunted.
"I didn't see you there dear, my apologies."
Squelsh.
"Oops…" Applejack stopped and lifted a forehoof. "Ah think Ah stepped in somethin'…"
Fluttershy released a shrill screech that reverberated through the darkness.
"Calm down, sugarcube. It's just mud." Applejack rolled her eyes as she clopped forward – only to slam muzzle-first into a tree.
Applejack looked up to behold a massive titan of gnarled bark. Thorny branches reached out to her like long taloned hands as two beady knotted eyes glared into her soul. A low growl rumbled from a mouth filled with razor sharp teeth dripping in blood. She mirrored Fluttershy's scream and backpedaled – only to run into another monstrous abomination of vegetation. The ponies scattered, confronted on all sides. They were surrounded. Teeth. Thorns. Claws. Eyes. Death. [Good paragraph!]
The Living Shadow watched with amusement as the ponies panicked at mere shadows – shadows laced with subtle illusion magic, but shadows nonetheless. It idly wondered if this mischief was part of her agenda. Was she stalling them? Toying with them? Attempting to drive them into madness? Perhaps she was –
Wait… Where is the pink one?
"Heeheehaha… Hahaha! Hehahahe snort haha! Bleh! Bloolululululu! Hahahaha!" Pinkie giggled on the ground as she made faces at one of the horrific trees.
"Pinkie!" Twilight cried. "What are you doing?! Run!"
Pinkie glanced back at the five cowering mares "Oh, girls, don't you see?" she grinned innocently.
"When I was a little filly and the sun was going dooown~!"
Wait… Is that… music?
"Tell me she's not…" Twilight blinked as a mysterious melody of strings and tambourines materialized in the air.
"The darkness and the shadows – they would always make me frooown~…"
"She is…" Rarity sighed as Pinkie bounced around them as if the ground was a giant trampoline.
"I'd hide under my pillow
From what I thought I saw!
But Granny Pie said that wasn't the way
To deal with fears at aaalll!"
"Then what is?" Rainbow Dash quirked an eyebrow when Pinkie materialized at her side.
"She said, 'Pinkie, you gotta stand up tall
Learn to face your feeears~
You'll see that they can't hurt you
Just laugh and make them disappeeeaaar~.'"
Pinkie bounced up beside one of the deformed trees and grinned smugly. "Ha. Ha. Ha." At once, the clawed thorns, hungry eyes, and evil fang-filled pony-eating maw vanished in a puff of cotton-candy pink smoke – to be replaced by an unremarkable tree of bark, leaves, and acorns.
The ponies gasped.
What sorcery is this?!
"So giggle at the ghostly!
Guffaw at the grossly!
Crack up at the creepy!
Whoop it up at the weepy!
…"
The Shadow could only stare in bewildered shock as the illusion was further broken and shattered to pieces after each stanza of the reality-warping song. It could feel the panic and terror being washed away like sludge in a river as each pony joined in with the laughter. They continued along the path – unhindered by forest's attempt to thwart their progress.
A silent moment passed through the dark forest as the Shadow contemplated what it just witnessed.
They are… mere children.
Mere children, frightened of the dark, trekked through the veiled forest for an unknown quest. They were brimmed with innocence – unknowing of hate or pain or death. The shadow could see the purity that sparkled on the surface – but also their naivety. They knew nothing of death, and thus knew nothing of life. Perhaps it would show them what true ghostly horror looked like… A horror that could not be laughed away.
The shadow slithered through the forest of inconspicuous trees, leaving shriveled black husks in its wake and crumbled leaves that disintegrated into ash upon the ground.
The Living Shadow continued to haunt the herd of ponies as they giggled and frolicked through the suffocating dark forest until their path was barred by river frothing with rage. Its waters ravaged the sandy coastline like a host of claws and teeth – ready to ensnare any foolish enough to brave its depths.
"How're we gonna cross this!" Pinkie stamped her hoof.
Any reply was cut off as the echo of a despairing wail reached the ponies. Twilight adorned a puzzled frown as she led the group into the bushes further upstream. When they emerged, they beheld an enormous scaly tail of deep purple that thrashed violently in the river – churning the waters. Two gaunt arms stretched out from the creature's upper torso and held its serpentine head as it cried in anguish. A mane of golden yellow cascaded down its neck while a lonely half of a handle-bar mustache adorned his upper lip. Tears fell from the monster's eyes like buckets of water into the river.
The ponies cautiously emerged from the bushes and approached the coastline near the serpent.
"What a world! What. A. World!" the serpent sobbed.
"Excuse me, sir." Twilight hesitantly announced her presence. "Why are you crying?"
The serpent paused its weeping and thrashing and looked at the small group of ponies. "Well, I don't know…" he flourished with his hand. "I was just sitting here, minding my own business, when this tacky little cloud of purple smoked whisked past me and tore half of my beloved moustache clean off! … and now I look simply horrid!" he continued to wail as he dramatically collapsed into the river – sending a wave of water crashing down upon the ponies.
"Give me a break…" Rainbow squinted through her waterlogged mane.
"That's what all the fuss is about?" Applejack huffed.
"Why of course it is!" Rarity glared at them as she approached the serpent. "How can you be so insensitive?! Oh, just look at him… Such lovely luminescent scales…"
The Shadow groaned internally as Rarity continued to preen the flamboyant sea serpent - complimenting every aspect of its appearance, which was horrifically ruined by its freshly cropped mustache. As she applauded the beast, the Shadow idly wondered who or what the serpent could be trying to impress far out in the wilderness - and where could it get a manicure anyway?
"I simply cannot let such a crime against fabulosity go uncorrected!" Rarity narrowed her eyes as she reached out and plucked a scale from the serpent's hide.
"What did you do that for?!" he yelped.
"Rarity, what are you—" Twilight was interrupted as Rarity brandished the sharp purple scale and brought it down in an arc.
Shhing!
The ponies gasped as the serpent collapsed with a dramatic moan.
The Shadow raised a metaphorical eyebrow the second time that night.
Rarity dropped the scale onto the ground with a clatter before lifting the freshly cut curled end of her tail with a silvery aura of telekinetic magic. She levitated it over to the shaved end of the serpent's face, which was covered with his hands, and fused her tail to the cropped end. The purple shifted into a majestic burnt orange with a facial twitch and she exhaled a sigh of relief.
"Oh-hohohoho!" the serpent beamed as he twirled the new extension. "My moustache! How wonderful!"
"You look smashing!" Rarity beamed with pride.
"Oh, Rarity…" Twilight eyed the cropped stub on Rarity's flank with a frown. "Your beautiful tail…"
"Oh… It's fine, dear. Short tails are in this season. Besides…" she paused, grimacing, "… it'll grow back."
"So would the mustache…" Rainbow whispered into Twilight's ear.
Twilight threw Rarity a skeptical glance before returning her gaze to the river, which had soothed with the temperament of the serpent. "Look! We can cross now!" she said as she trotted into the water.
"Oh, alloooow me!" the serpent flourished as he lifted his tail above the water, forming a bridge for the ponies. They trotted across the appendage and reached the opposite shore of the now pristine and calm-flowing river.
Generosity…
The Living Shadow mulled over the latest development. Like kindness, generosity was merely another mask of the greedy. Generosity begot debt. Debt begot chains. Chains begot whips. It was just the next step on the shrouded road to betrayal.
Clumps of ice materialized on the water as the Shadow sailed across the river. The milky-white eyes and rotting scales of buoyant fish drifted to the surface as the silhouettes of two great wings formed against the solidifying liquid. Two ghostly blue orbs peered through the trees as they tracked the herd of ponies through the forest.
Twilight led the ponies through the forest with Pinkie prancing merrily at her rear. She was followed by Applejack, Rarity, and the two pegasi as they emerged from the line of trees. They released a collective gasp as the skeletal remains of a massive castle stood before them. Thick fog lapped at the decrepit walls and flowed outward over the landscape like a sluggish tide.
"There it is!" Twilight beamed as she galloped forward. "The ruin that holds The Elements of Harmony. We made it!"
"Twilight, wait for us!" Applejack called out to the rapidly accelerating unicorn.
"We're almost the—Ahh!" Twilight gaped at the fog-shrouded chasm that now attempted to devour her like a Tartarus-spawned demon. Her forehooves dangled perilously from the rock wall where they futilely tried to find footing. Thick menacing fog churned in the bowels of the bottomless abyss.
Twilight was yanked backward and onto her haunches. She glanced behind her to reveal Rainbow Dash spitting out the end of her lavender tail.
"What's with you and falling off cliffs today?" she grinned innocently.
Twilight huffed and flattened her ears in response.
"Hmph, now what?!" Pinkie whined as the rest of the ponies approached the edge of the chasm. The ruins of a rotting bridge dangled below them like a frozen waterfall of wood and rope.
"Duhh…" Rainbow smirked as she launched into the air with a flick of her wings.
"Oh yeah…"
Rainbow Dash swooped into the fog and emerged with the matching end of the intact bridge clamped in her teeth. She landed on the opposite side of the gorge and tightened the rope with a twang. The Living Shadow, from its vantage point, saw Rainbow abruptly glance at her side and drop the rope. She reared back and bucked at an unseen assailant with her forehooves. A moment later, three figures emerged from the smoke. They were pegasi clad in dark purple and black flightsuits that circled Rainbow Dash like three wolves.
"Rainbow, what's taking so long?" Twilight called out from their side of the gorge, and gasped when she saw the three dark pegasi. "Oh no… Rainbow! Don't listen to them!"
One of the pegasi glared menacingly at Twilight, and a brief flash of light illuminated their eyes. The fog broiled and closed the four of them off, muffling Twilight's warning.
"W-w-what's wrong, Twilight?" Fluttershy stuttered.
"Girls, I think we're in trouble." Twilight's eyes widened in panic.
"What'ya mean?" Applejack asked.
"The rockslide and the manticore… The trees… The serpent's mustache…" she stamped her hoof as she counted. "I think Nightmare Moon might be onto us, and she has been stalling us since the start. I thought I felt something following us, but I wasn't sure. At least, until now… Three ponies just approached Rainbow Dash when she went over there, and I could feel the dark magic radiating off of them. I think they might have been Nightmare in disguise – likely some sort of body displacement illusion."
Clever pony… The Shadow thought. I should give you a medal for your brilliant detective skills.
"Oh dear!" Rarity lifted a hoof to her muzzle. "Do you think she's alright?"
"I don't know, but I think—" she was cut off by a flutter of wings washing away the fog, revealing Rainbow Dash posing triumphantly atop a restored bridge.
"Yay, Rainbow!" Pinkie threw her hooves into the air. "You didn't join the dark side! It's okay, they don't really have cookies… and the cake is a lie!"
Rainbow paused and gave Pinkie a questioning look before turning a smug smile towards Twilight. "See? I'd never leave my friends hangin'."
"What did those dastardly ponies want, though?" Rarity cocked her head.
"Who, the Shadowbolts?" Rainbow raised an eyebrow. "Something about them being the best competitive flying team in the Everfree Forest, and wanting me to join them. But I had stuff to do, and had to turn them down."
"Rainbow…" Twilight said calmly. "I don't think they were the 'Shadowbolts'. I don't even think there is such a thing… Think about it, have you ever heard of any flying competitions in the Everfree? Is there anypony that lives in the Everfree to make a competitive league? Who else, besides us, would be in the Everfree Forest right now near the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters?"
"Weeelll…" Pinkie brought a hoof to her lip. "There is that one scary zebra. I even wrote a song about her!"
"You mean…" a look of dawning realization fell on Rainbow's face.
"We have to be careful, girls," Twilight said as she tested the first plank on the bridge. "We have to assume that she's onto us. No splitting up. We might very well be Equestria's only hope at seeing another sunrise."
And so the ponies somberly crossed the bridge that led to the ruined castle, which stood as a foreboding titan against the night sky and amidst the trees that formed a natural barricade of thorns and sinister shadows.
The Living Shadow followed.
Two hundred dark red eyes of a hundred oily black crows watched, unblinking and in eerie silence, as the ponies and Living Shadow approached the ancient castle.
"Ugh… Almost. Got it. There!" Applejack grunted as the large wooden doors lumbered open with a stubborn groan.
The six ponies trotted into the foyer of the castle. Thick layers of dust and moss coated the weathered stone bricks that covered the floor of the roofless antechamber. Pieces of broken pillars were strewn about the floor – toppled by the endless siege of both time and the elements. An enormous sculpture dominated the center of the room. It was a wide pillar with several platforms protruding from the sides like tree branches. Stone spheres sat upon the daises, draped under blankets of vines and moss like slumbering foals.
"Whoa…" Applejack gawked. "Come on, Twilight. Isn't this what you've been waitin' for?"
"The Elements of Harmony, we've found them!" Twilight beamed as Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy proceeded to remove the spheres from the display and set them before her. "Careful… Careful…"
"One, two, three, four," Pinkie counted. "Uh, there's only five!"
"Where's the sixth?" Rainbow crossed her hooves over her barrel.
"The book said…" Twilight recalled as she sat on her haunches. "That 'when the five are present, a spark will cause the sixth Element to be revealed'."
"What the hay is that supposed to mean?" Applejack grimaced.
"I'm not sure, but I have an idea." She replied as her horn illuminated with a violet aura. "Stand back… I don't know what will happen."
"Come on, y'all… She needs to concentrate." Applejack said to the other four as she retreated to the far side of the room.
Twilight channeled magical energy into the dormant stones as two azure eyes watched from the concealment of a far-off shadow. A darkness suddenly fell over the foyer. It was accompanied by a powerful gale that sent the dust and leaves into a fierce whirlwind. Maniacal laughter echoed through the wind and darkness. The whirlwind focused in the center of the room around the lifeless Elements – lifting them into the air and away from Twilight.
"Twilight, watch out!" Rainbow launched into the air and dove towards her friend.
"The Elements!" Twilight gasped and leaped into the vortex.
The vortex vanished in a flash of light as Rainbow Dash skid to a halt.
"Twilight!" the ponies cried in unison. They scrambled over each other as they darted around the room in vain search for the unicorn.
"Look, over there!" Rarity pointed at the window towards a tower on the opposite side of the courtyard, where light flashed through the cracks and holes of the walls.
Pain lashed through Twilight's skull and gut as the displaced sensation of teleportation dissipated. Twilight coughed away the dust and groaned. She clambered to her hooves, opened her eyes, and gasped.
A tall equine figure, black as the void, stood but thirty yards from the lowly unicorn. She towered above Twilight in both height and terrible graceful beauty. Long slender legs, adorned with metallic shin guards, stood confidently atop a platform. Slick, oily black wings spread out over the chamber and casted a suffocating shadow over the room. A spear-like horn, several times the length of Twilight's own, protruded from a helmet that encompassed the mare's head. Two demonic eyes with slitted pupils glared at her with pure murderous malice and revulsion while a fang-filled muzzle was spread in a devilish sneer. Her mane billowed with the awesome energy of the cosmos as it flowed in an unseen maelstrom. The magical cloud-like mane stretched out from her head and carried the latent Elements of Harmony like trophies of war.
Nightmare Moon cackled.
Twilight narrowed her eyes and set her jaw. Equestria was depending on her. Celestia was depending on her. Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash… Spike… They were all depending on her. She stamped her hooves and snorted as her mind filled through the dozens of spells and hundreds of lessons she'd learned throughout her life like a catalog.
"You're kidding…" Nightmare Moon raised an eyebrow at the unicorn's sudden spike of grit. "You're kidding… Right?"
With a final snort of determination, Twilight ignited her horn and charged the fallen alicorn. Nightmare Moon grit her razor sharp teeth and snarled as she met the charge. Both equines lowered their horns. Both horns burned with magical fire – one an arcane lavender, and the other with searing white deific fury. Both sets of hooves hit the cobblestone with unyielding resolve – one echoed with a light clippity-clop, the other shook the tower and cracked the tile with every step.
Just when Twilight could see the primal fire that burned in Nightmare's dragon-like eyes, she dove to the side and landed in a roll. Dozens of stone tiles came up behind her, forming a curved shield that stood between her and the alicorn. Nightmare Moon slid to a halt, shattering the ground with her hooves, and aimed her horn at Twilight before releasing a blindingly bright beam of arcane energy. The stone shield glowed red, then white, as the tiles melted into sludge. They were quickly replaced by new tiles – causing the shield to become an ever-shifting mass of molten slag and cobble.
Nightmare Moon roared in fury as she reared back and bucked the shield with her diamond-hard hooves. It buckled beneath the force of the dark alicorn, causing Twilight to scream as spikes of agony were driven into her skull from the backlash. She slid backward and narrowly escaped decapitation by Nightmare's magical mane with a quick plane of hard-light shielding.
"Impressive spellwork for a common filly of some backwater village." Nightmare Moon sneered as Twilight recovered.
"Yeah, well…" she panted while wiping off a smear of blood from her muzzle. "Maybe I'm not some 'common filly of some backwater village'."
Twilight slammed her hoof onto the ground. A rune ignited in lavender fire across the limb. It shot down her leg and onto the tile where the runic inscription flashed brightly before erupting in a blinding flash. Nightmare Moon reeled back and snarled as her eyes adjusted to the rapid changes in light. When her eyes stopped watering, Twilight was gone.
"Clever pony…" she snarled and whipped her head around the room. "But do you think simple illusions would wor—Aghh!" Nightmare was cut off as a blue fireball snapped at her flank.
"Don't you think I would know that?" Twilight said from the opposite side of the room, where she eyed Nightmare warily. "You are, after all, Mistress of the Night. It would only be natural that illusion and concealment magic would have no effect on you."
"Insolent child!" Nightmare thundered. The building shuddered at her voice.
Nightmare Moon launched herself at the unicorn, moving in a blur near incomprehensible to the pony eye. Twilight dove to the left while erecting a slanted shield. The alicorn's horn scraped against the shield – sending white and lavender sparks raining down onto the floor. Her eyes flashed with godly fury as several bolts of arcane lightning lashed out at Twilight from Nightmare's mane. Several magnetized energy plates materialized around Twilight and absorbed the lightning spears.
I need to figure out some way to get to the Elements… she thought to herself.
Twilight lifted another shifting barrier of cobblestone between her and Nightmare's next onslaught. The unicorn and alicorn traded several blows. Nightmare assaulted her with raw power and unnatural speed, and Twilight matched her with cunning and calculating precision. Star fire and unshackled waves of dark energy poured down upon her with divine wrath as stone boiled and shields sundered. Twilight's breath became more ragged and her knees wobbled beneath the unceasing blows.
I'm starting run out of stone to recycle… she thought between pants. If only the tiles would stop melting… Wait, that's it!
Twilight ignited her horn with new vigor, sending bright flares in all directions. Nightmare Moon snarled and lashed out at the flares with her mane, expecting an attack, only for Twilight to leap away and aim her horn at the ground beneath Nightmare moon.
"Hu-what?!" Nightmare Moon stared in confusion as the floor turned to sludge. She sunk to her knees before the ground solidified. "How dare you!" she boomed. "I am Nightmare Moon, God-Empress of Equestria and Mistress of the Night! Who are you to stand against ME?!"
Twilight grimaced as her horn glowed once more. She vanished with a flash of light and a pop only to appear in the center of the platform where Nightmare Moon once stood – in the midst of the Elements of Harmony. She shook her head and groaned from the vertigo before narrowing her eyes at Nightmare Moon.
"My name is Twilight Sparkle," she said triumphantly as she pointed her glowing horn at the dormant Elements. "… and as a citizen of Equestria, and personal student of Princess Celestia, it is my duty to end your reign of terror before it can begin!"
Nightmare Moon's eyes widened in horror as the Elements of Harmony were wrapped in Twilight's magical aura. She roared in fury as her body dematerialized into a maelstrom of cosmic energy and shot across the chamber. The tempest ripped through the air and landed beside the Elements.
Just one spark. Twilight silently pleaded. Come on. Come one. Ah!
Terror passed over Nightmare Moon's face while victorious elation passed over Twilight's as the Elements were engulfed in a white light and levitated into the air. The light intensified and a low hum filled the air and then…
Nothing.
The light faded. The Elements dropped the ground with a thud.
Twilight and Nightmare's faces made a gradual switch.
"But…" Twilight stammered, "… Where is the sixth element?!"
"Heehehehehe…" Nightmare began a slow cackle as she reared. A maniacal sneer spread across her muzzle before she brought her hooves onto the ground – shattering the Elements of Harmony. "Hehehehahahah… Haahaahahahaha! You little foal! Thinking you could defeat me?! ME! The Mistress of the Night! Now you will never see your pathetic upstart of a whorse princess, or your precious sun, ever again! Or perhaps I should reunite teacher and student by imprisoning both of you in the sun, and then the night will last forever! MUEHAHAHAHAHA!"
Twilight backpedaled from the hysterical tyrant and could only stare in shock at the shattered remains of her last hope for saving Equestria and her beloved Princess. Tears filled her eyes as despair gripped her breaking heart. Suddenly, the shadow over her soul was lifted as several familiar voices reached her ears from the nearby stairs.
Revelation ignited in Twilight's eyes as a brown Stetson emerged from the doorway, followed by the five other mares.
"You think you can destroy the Elements of Harmony just like that?" Twilight silenced the dark goddess as she climbed to her hooves. "Well, you're wrong… because the spirits of the Elements of Harmony are right here!"
"What?!" Nightmare Moon stared in confusion as Twilight was surrounded by the other mares.
"Applejack, who reassured me when I was in doubt, represents the spirit of honesty!"
"Aww, shucks, Twilight." Applejack tipped her hat.
"Fluttershy, who tamed the manticore with her compassion, represents the spirit of kindness!"
"Oh, umm… I do? Umm, okay…" the yellow pegasus zipped behind Rainbow Dash. "I-i-if you want me to, that is…"
"Pinkie Pie, who banished fear by giggling in the face of danger, represents the spirit of laughter!" Pinkie replied with an impossibly wide grin and a wave of her hoof.
"Rarity, who calmed a sorrowful serpent with a meaningful gift represents the spirit of... generosity!"
"Oh, pish posh, darling." Rarity waved her hoof dismissively. "It was nothing!"
"And Rainbow Dash, who could not abandon her friends for her own heart's desire represents the spirit of... loyalty!"
"You know you guys couldn't get along without me." She wore a smug grin.
"You still don't have the sixth Element!" Nightmare grit her teeth. "The spark didn't work!"
"But it did!" Twilight retorted. "A different kind of spark. I felt it the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear them, to see them, how much I cared about them. The spark ignited inside me when I realized that they all... are my friends! You see, Nightmare Moon, when those Elements are ignited by the... the spark, that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the sixth element: the element of... magic!"
As one, the fragments of the Elements of Harmony were illuminated with a chromatic light as they hovered beside their respective bearers. The shards slammed together and solidified – forming five radiant golden necklaces that clung to the necks of Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash. They shone with all colors of the rainbow. Finally, a flash of light appeared above Twilight. A golden tiara adorned with a purple star materialized upon her brow.
The colors of each Element raged like fire from their jewels as they concentrated above Twilight's tiara like a chromatic maelstrom of cosmic energy. She opened her eyes and they illuminated pure white like two windows into the soul of the universe – exposing its life-force and raw primal Power in a plane of existence that had not seen its majesty in a thousand years.
"Noo! Noo!" Nightmare Moon cried in both terror and agony as the Power of Harmony enveloped her being. "NOOOO!"
The Shadow had retreated a safe distance when the Elements activated, and had returned to find the ponies stirring from unconsciousness.
"Ugh, my head…" Rainbow groaned.
"Everypony okay?" Applejack inquired as she stood.
"OH! Thank goodness!" Rarity beamed as she presented her newly repaired tail. It bounced lightly as she swayed it back and forth.
"Why Rarity," Fluttershy crossed one hoof over the other, "it's so lovely…"
"I know!" Rarity replied while nuzzling her tail. "I'll never part with it again!"
"Nooo, I mean your necklace." Fluttershy corrected. "It looks just like your cutie mark."
"What?" Rarity gawked at the new accessory that hung from her neck. It was a golden necklace with a large diamond-shaped sapphire at the center. "Ooooooh… Well, so does yours!"
Fluttershy gasped and looked at her own necklace, which was emblazoned with a pink butterfly.
"Look at mine! Look at mine!" Pinkie jumped between them, showing off her balloon-shaped gem.
"Awww yeah!" Rainbow puffed out her chest, drawing attention to the red lightning bolt that rested on her neck.
"Gee, Twilight," Applejack mused while inspecting her apple-shaped gem. "I thought yah were just spoutin' a lot of hooey, but Ah reckon we really do represent the elements of friendship."
"Indeed you do."
A warm light sprung from the windows and flooded the room. The ponies peered through the window to see a brilliant yellow orb ascend from the east and bathe the land in its soothing golden aura. Its radiance chased away the stars and transformed the sky from a perilous blackness to a stunning bright blue. The light in the room strengthened to a near blinding white as it coalesced and solidified.
A tall equine figure stood before the six ponies. Her coat was white as the freshest snowcaps and nearly shone like the sun that illuminated behind her. Two great white wings spread out from her back like billowing clouds while a chromatic mane of pastel colors cascaded down her head and flowed upon the unseen solar winds. Her long white horn glistened like a regal scepter. Periwinkle eyes gazed down upon the ponies as they fell into a bow. A warm motherly smile spread across her muzzle.
"Princess Celestia!" Twilight gasped as she galloped to the white alicorn.
"Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student." Celestia nuzzled her affectionately. "I knew you could do it."
"But…" Twilight looked up at her with confusion. "You told me it was all an old pony's tale."
Celestia adorned a knowing look. "I told you that you needed to make some friends – nothing more." She said before gazing out the window towards a castle on a distant mountain. "I saw the signs of Nightmare Moon's return and I knew it was you who had the magic inside to defeat her, but you could not unleash it until you let true friendship into your heart."
"And now there's only one order of business to attend to…" Twilight's eyes softened.
"Yes…" Celestia looked away from the ponies. "… there is."
The ponies followed Celestia's gaze and noticed the docile and shivering form of a small blue alicorn for the first time. She was little bigger than Twilight and bore the temperament of Fluttershy with half of her midnight blue mane covering her face and her one exposed eye watering with childlike fear. She whimpered and curled into a fetal position as Celestia and Twilight approached.
"It's an honor to finally meet you, Princess Luna." Twilight spoke softly.
"It has been a thousand years since I've seen you like this…" Celestia's neutral grimace gradually switched to a warm smile. "It's time to put our differences aside. We were meant to rule together, little sister – as two diarchs keeping the Balance, with neither overshadowing the other."
"C-celestia…?" Luna muttered softly as her eyes focused on her older sister. "Is… Is it really you?"
"Sister?!" the ponies gawked at the revelation while Twilight wore a knowing grin.
"Yes, it is really me, Luna." Celestia sat on her haunches and met Luna in the eye.
Luna hesitantly drew closer as a single tear fell down her cheek. "Does that mean… The Nightmare… Is it… over?"
"Yes, Luna." Celestia smiled warmly as she placed a hoof on Luna's fetlock. "It's over… You're free. You're safe now."
A trace of a smile graced Luna's face as the tears fell in full force. She dove into Celestia's embrace and wept as a white wing enveloped her like a warm blanket. "I'm… I'm so sorry, Tia." Luna sobbed. "I never wanted it to happen that way… All those ponies who suffered because of my… my… tantrum. Will you please forgive me?"
"I forgive you, Lulu." Celestia replied softly, tears streaming down her own face. "And I am sorry as well - for neglecting you all those years ago."
SSSNNNNOOORRRTT!
Pinkie Pie blew heavily into a handkerchief as she bawled uncontrollably at the tender moment. She stopped suddenly and replaced her frown with a massive anticipatory grin. "Hey, do you know what this calls for?! … A PARTY!"
"I quite agree." Celestia snickered. "Pinkie Pie, was it? Very well, let us depart from this ruin. My sister has much to catch up on in the centuries she's been away."
Princess Celestia craned her head high and illuminated her horn. The room was bathed in a bright light. When it dissipated, she, Luna, and the six Bearers were gone.
Honesty…
Kindness…
A corporeal shadow descended upon the tower, smothering all light in a suffocating blanket of despair.
Laughter…
Generosity…
The tower groaned as a layer of frost materialized across the floor and walls. Sheets of ice crawled across the ground and sucked away all traces of comforting warmth – replacing it with cold debilitating sorrow.
Loyalty…
Friendship.
Masks. Falsehoods. Tools of deception and greed. Honesty was merely an instrument of building trust – a false trust built upon a foundation of half-truths that were what your words created them to be. Kindness was a mask to hide treachery and to leave one vulnerable to a poisoned dagger. Laughter was the sound that accompanied mockery and disdain. Generosity was a façade that drew attention away from the accumulation of debt to fuel the fire of greed. Loyalty… Loyalty was ever-shifting and flexible – able to be diverted, switched, and justified to another cause at a moment's notice. Loyalty was a lie.
Friendship. Is. A. Lie.
Two ghostly blue eyes manifested in the darkness. They resonated with fiery rage, dark hatred, cold sorrow, and endless suffering. The living darkness clung to the eyes like a lifeline as it churned and solidified like sludge. It formed a tall equine figure with long gaunt legs and slick black wings that spread out several feet from either side of its emaciated barrel. A horn, black as obsidian, slid out from a bony forehead and ignited with an eerie blue flame. When the shadow finally coagulated, the darkness dissipated to reveal a coat covered with red mangy sores. It was white as aged bone.
"Nightgaunt," the being spoke. Its voice spoke with a deep baritone and carried an aura of terrible malice and indomitable will. "Come forth."
A pillar of darkness and smoke immediately formed at the being's hooves. It sprouted long gangly arms that ended in razor sharp dagger-like claws. A round bulb solidified for a head where a sadistic bestial grin spread across its face. Several rows of teeth dripped with black sludge. Two fiery red eyes materialized above the mouth and seeped a crimson smoke like an endless stream of vaporous, bloody tears.
"You called?" Nightgaunt's voice whispered like a breeze drifting through an abandoned graveyard.
"Their happiness, their contentment... their friendship..." As the Pale Alicorn spoke, his voice took on an ominous echo, as if immeasurable other voices joined with him. Outside, countless oily black birds gathered around the ruined castle and joined with their deafening and dark chorus of cawing. "It sickens me. They cannot lie to me. I can see into the most secluded corners of their hearts, souls, and minds. Darkness lurks in all beings – and they are no exception. At their dark and rotten cores, they are all murderers, traitors, liars, and cut-throats. It is time they learned their potential. It is time that they learned that no one is safe from the cruel curse that is Life. It is time that they learned the peaceful and liberating embrace of Death. Go forth, and collect souls for our crusade. We need laborers and foot soldiers if this ruin is to be our base of operation. Recruit those who would not be minded if absent for an extended length of time. I will descend into the nearby township and discover what I can of this time and place."
"Your will be done," Nightgaunt bowed low and flourished his hand. "… Lord Deathweaver."
Several hours earlier…
"It's almost time!"
Far away to the east of Ponyville and the Everfree Forest, near the coastal city of Fillydelphia, a lonely wagon was perched atop a hill in the middle of a wide grassy field. The rustling of papers and clunking of metal mimicked the flickering of candlelight that peered through the window drapes. It was a simple wooden wagon with midnight blue trim. A silver crescent moon overlapped with a magic wand was painted on the side.
The wagon's door abruptly burst open with an exhale of powdery blue smoke. Two doves darted out from the blackness and soared into the starry night sky. A set of four hooves emerged from the smoke, followed a pair of pleading violet eyes.
"Noooo!" the mare whined. "Come baahahack! Ugh! Stupid minotaur… 'Fully trained' my blue flank! What a load of manure… I bet they weren't even doves. Probably pigeons or something."
She released an exasperated sigh and stepped down from the wagon. Her mane was a long silvery white that fell loosely down her shoulders like a mist. The mare's frame was slender and elegant, yet bore a sturdiness and a thin layer of dust that clung to her coat. A cerulean blue horn protruded from her hair and was illuminated in a faint glow. Several objects floated behind her, wrapped in a light blue aura, as she trotted into the grass.
"But no matter…" she said while placing a telescope and small table at her side. Several pieces of parchment, quills, and an ink well were placed gently on the table. "I can always go into town in the morning and pick up some more. Isn't that right, Rupert?"
A high pitched yapping replied to her as a small white and brown beagle nuzzled her foreleg. Its floppy ears swayed slightly as the vibrations of its tail shook its whole body. Rupert looked up at the blue unicorn with wide eyes filled with childlike wonder.
"Now then!" she adjusted the telescope with a telekinetic grip. "Let's see what we can find tonight…"
Beatrix craned her head and squinted her eye through the viewing hole of the telescope. The image of the Mare in the Moon gradually came into focus at the center of the instrument's lens with the stars twinkling merrily in the background.
"Pattern seems to be the same." Beatrix mused aloud as she scribbles notes on a piece of parchment. "Celestial paths suggest some sort of convergence. Judging by the acceleration, it should be happening…"
Her words were cut short as four stars surrounding the moon ignited with an unnatural intensity. They burned so brightly that Beatrix jumped back with a yelp and landed on her flank. Rupert barked and whined with worry, but he went unnoticed in preference to the events transpiring in the heavens.
She clambered to her hooves and gawked as the four stars converged behind the moon. The Mare in the Moon, the arrangement of craters that formed the image of a unicorn mare by happenstance, was illuminated with the same intense cosmic light. Then it vanished.
"… What?!" Beatrix shrieked as all her knowledge of astronomy failed her with an explanation. Another glint caught her sharp eye. She jumped to her hooves and darted to her telescope. Her magical grip refocused its gaze to just to the left of the moon where an azure light darted out from behind the celestial body.
"By Luna's starry mane…" Beatrix scribbled furiously as she charted the course of the meteorite. "By my calculations, Rupert, it looks like that strange meteor is going to land somewhere in the west about…"
She mumbled incomprehensibly as she rolled up her parchments and packed up her telescope. Beatrix galloped to her wagon and thrust the door open. The inside was cramped, yet organized for efficiency. Its walls were covered in shelves filled with various reference books, magical tomes, and arcane knickknacks while the ceiling was adorned with an assortment of star charts and diagrams. A combination of a dresser and vanity mirror sat in the corner with a pointed purple hat and cape resting on a hook. Tucked away in another corner was a simple wooden bed with a straw mattress.
Beatrix carefully stowed her telescope away before pulling a roll of paper out from behind one of the bookshelves. She rolled it out on the floor. It depicted the entirety of Equestria from the uncharted and vaguely sketched Frozen North to the equally accuracy-lacking Badlands – and from the west coast of Vanhoover to the bustling metropolis of Manehattan.
"… Two hundred miles away." She finished. "Right around the Everfree Forest."
"Well, Rupert." Beatrix looked at her beagle. "We just witnessed something extraordinary tonight, and if my hunch is correct, then that meteor will give us some answers on what happened. Come on, the sun should be rising soon. We best get started!"
"Next stop…" Beatrix illuminated her horn and her wagon began rolling at a steady pace toward the road. "… Ponyville!"