Rhythm of the Ancients
Prologue
Birth and corruption
“Starlight! I HATE YOU!” screamed Luna, the midnight blue alicorn mare drenched in sweat, her normally well-kept mane ruined. There were bags under her eyes from days without sleep, and a blanket covered the lower half of her body. “The pain is unbearable! Why did you have to get me pregnant!?”
“Honey, it will be okay, but you need to push.” The unicorn by her side murmured. He looked stressed and tired, and his eyes were tinged with worry. He stroked his wifes mane to try and calm her, and spoke soft words of comfort.
“Princess.” Spoke the urgent voice of the nurse, whose ear tips could be seen beneath the blanket. “Your husband is correct, just push a little more, I can almost see the head.” Luna gave a cry of pain, and wiggled around. “Take a deep breath!” the Nurse ordered. “hold it and--”
A foal crying pierced the air. Luna was huffing, exhausted, but her eyes twinkled when the nurse stood, and walked towards the couple. In her hooves was a foal, a small pink alicorn.
“It’s beautiful.” Her husband said, bending over Luna so he could take a look at the face of his new daughter. The pink alicorn stopped crying, and stretched her hoof out to him, touching his nose. She gurgled happily.
Luna glance at her husband, sweat drenching her brow, and for a moment, she thought she saw a shadow crossed his face; a look of rage and jealousy. But she blinked, and it was gone. It worried her, but as exhaustion began to swamp her, it was shoved to the back of her mind. Her eyes grew heavy, and she yawned. Her husband gently took the foal from her hooves. “You get some sleep honey,” he said, planting a kiss on her forehead, and levitating blankets over her body. “I’ll be outside if you need anything.” He placed the happy foal into a crib to their left. “I love you.” he murmured to Luna.
“I love you too.” Luna murmured in return, snuggling up in her blankets. Her eyes closed, and she submerged into her dreamscape.
✦✦✦
For Princess Luna, being the Alicorn Goddess of the night and dreams, Lucid dreaming was quite easy for her. She opened her eyes to find herself on a meadow. It was a calm place, the wind blowing over the large expanse of green. She was seated under a large willow, and laying atop a picnic blanket. She blinked. Something felt off to Luna. Like.. this wasn’t her dream.
She sensed movement beside her, and turned her head to see a bright pink Alicron sitting beside her. Her dark purple eyes bore into Luna’s cyan blue ones in wonder.
“Hello mo- Princess Luna.” the pony corrected herself. Luna eyed her quizzically.
“Who are you?” She asked. As far as she knew, she and Celestia where the only true Alicorns within this universe. And yet, here one was. And with a little crystal heart as a cutie mark.
The pink alicorn blinked at us, “Look, I’m really sorry princess, but there isn’t enough time. You’ve got to listen to me. There is danger about.” Luna quickly looked around the meadow, and the Alicron scowled. “No, there is trouble in your life, Luna. With your foal.” The lunar princess’ head snapped back to the pink mare. “An Ancient has come with hopes of destroying your life.”
Luna gapped. “What are you talking about! What Ancient!? What is an Ancient!? Who are you!?” A sudden cold gripping wind raced over her body, and the meadow began to disappear into a great black rolling cloud.
“I said I can’t explain!” the pink alicron yelled. “This is vitally important: Be Unwavering! Do better than it! And protect you daughter! She’s important! Remember that when the darkness takes you!” The cloud whooshed over the the two. Luna could hear crackling laughter as the darkness snaked it’s way around her. Then... nothing
✦✦✦
Luna’s head shot up as she awoke from the nightmare. Something was wrong. The window to her left was wide open, allowing frigid air to wrap around her body. Funny, Luna thought, teeth chattering as her eyes began to adapt to the darkness, It’s the middle of summer.
Then a scream pierced the air. Not a mares high pitched scream of terror, but a foal’s scream of fear. Luna’s head whipped to the crib in which the child she had given birth to lay, and her eyes fell upon her husband. at first she was relieved. Starlight would take care of her baby. His kind glowing red eyes, those black tendrils scooping her pink daughter up and applying some evil malicious dark power to her--
Wait, what?
“Starlight!” Luna cried, stumbling out of her bed. her husband turned around slowly, an insane grin plastered on his face. His eyes were wide, glowing with an ominous red glow that froze Luna to the bone. There was no way this was her dear lover, the one who had cradled her body so carefully in her sleep. This was something else... wearing his body.
Luna was filled with rage as she rose to her hooves. Her voice shaking with vengeance, she slipped into her Royal Canterlot Voice. “WHO ART THOU!?” she roared, her horn aglow with power, “HOW DARE THY TAKES OUR HUSBANDS BODY! WHO DOST THOU BELIEVE THOU ARE, STIRRING OUR RAGE!?”
Whatever it was tried to respond, but Luna could hear none of it through her rage. In a blinding flash, Luna blasted the twisted form of her husband, driving a bolt of heavy magic through his chest, and blasting him into the opposite wall. her foal dropped to the floor, but Luna’s motherly instincts were submerged in a pool of violence. “WE ASK THOU AGAIN,” she slammed a hoof onto his chest, pinning the unicorn to the wall, feet dangling several inches from the floor. “WHO ART THOU!?”
In response, the twisted thing coughed blood into Luna’s face, then laughed maniacally. “What am I?” Starlight responded, his voice carrying undertones of... something else. Something old, and powerful, and undeterred by Luna breathing down it’s muzzle. “That’s a good question. A very good question. I wonder what I am.” The creature laughed again, enraging Luna.
The Alicorn princess brought a hoof back, and slammed it into her husbands form. There was a sickening crack, and warm liquid dribbled down Luna’s hoof. Warm, sticky, and red. The Moon goddess didn’t look away from Starlight’s face, which was now wearing a look. “Aww, what’s wrong princess? Afraid to look at your handiwork?” The thing sighed. “Well, this host isn’t going to be around for much longer. Better find a new one.” Suddenly, Luna’s lovers fur returned to it’s normal coloration. His eyes lost it’s red luminescence, and adopted a look of extreme pain.
Her fury completely vanished as Luna dropped him to the floor, horrified. His blood was covering her hooves, and leaking over the floor. Her husband coughed weakly as Luna leaned down and nudged his face with her own. “Starlight?” she murmured.
The unicorn gave a cough, and looked up at Luna with his beautiful blue eyes, sparkling despite the pain. Trembling, he reached out a hoof, and pushed Luna’s nose. “Boop.” He whispered hoarsely. Tears arose in Luna’s eyes as she remembered the greeting they used to share. She moved her hoof back, and prodded his nose. The Alicorn choked on the words, so her husband spoke for her. “Bee... doop.” He coughed again, sprinkling her hoof with more blood.
“Please...” Luna said, hot tears sprinkling the floor.
Thu-thump. Thu-thump. Thu-thump. she could hear his heartbeat.
“I-- I can heal you!” Luna said desperately.
Thu-thump... Thu-thump... Thu-thump...
“You know it’s too late for that.” He rasped in response. “Just promise--”
Thu-thump... Thu-thump...
“Please.... don’t do this... Please, I love you!”
Thu- thump...
“Love again. Protect our daughter. Stay in the Moonlight. We’ll see each other again someday....”
Thu....
He died. With a smile on his face, In Luna’s arms. A single tear trickled from the side of his face, as he stared up with blank eyes into Luna’s face. The Alicorn's body shook; rage, sorrow, and pain coursed through her body. She watched as the last light leached from his eyes... and then returned, glowing red. “Ugh, such a drama Queen.” said the creature using Starlight’s body. It had a feminine voice now, silky and smooth, speaking as if from multiple entities. Luna shoved the body away as black tendrils of magic wrapped around it.
“Who are you?’ Luna asked again, her voice shaking with grief. “Why did you... make me do that...”
The spirit/demon/ black thing using Starlight’s body chuckled in response. “Oh, you know, I was in the neighborhood, and decided to ruin your life.” It paused, thinking. Starlight’s muzzle broke into a grin as she looked at the crying pink alicron foal. “Well now... interesting.”
As if reading the creatures thoughts, Luna jumped in front of the crib. “Please!” the alicron begged. “Please...you took my husband... but leave my child alone! I’ll do anything!”
Starlight’s glowing blood red eyes sparked. “Anything?” it asked, the malicious grin on his muzzle growing wider.
“Anything.” Luna replied firmly.
“Submit to me.” The creature hissed. “You shall be my new body! And in return, your child shall be spared.”
The words of the young Alicorn from her dream echoed in her mind. Luna stepped forwards. “I accept.” she said immediately. Anything for her daughter. anything.
Starlight’s mouth opened wide. Dark shadowy mist spilled from his lungs, burning when it touched her floor. As Starlight collapsed to the ground, The darkmist faded from sight. For a moment, Luna was confused. Then, she collapsed to the floor as her vision turned dark.
There was a malicious cackle of laughter as the Alicorn rose from the floor. It was not Luna however. It’s coat was midnight black, and dark armor was beginning to piece itself together around her.”Hmmm.” said a content voice, very much like the one possessing Starlight, but more feminine. “Muuuch better. Better a mare than a stallion.” The Alicorn glanced over at the crib. Dark blue magic spilled from her horn as the pink foal was levitated in the air before the dark figure. “Hmmmm. Killing you now would bring me such joy... lucky for you, messing with your timeline before it was time was not in the agreement.” The tiny foal began to squirm and ply as odd runic circles began to spin around her body. “Soon though... in a few hundred years, we shall meet... and I will have my revenge!” The foals scream pierced the air as the dark magic silled through her tiny body. The black alicron tossed her into the crib, silencing her. “Now then... what was it I was suposed to say... ah yes, ‘The Night shall last... FOREVER!”