The Burning Void

by shadeofthenight

Rating: teen
Tags: Other, Princess Luna, Princess Cadance, Adventure, Shining Armor, Main 6, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark
Length: 3408

What is worse than dying? Dissolving, body and soul, into absolutely nothing.

Chaos reigns over Canterlot as a mysterious unicorn named Dark Secrets arrives to assist the beleaguered Cadence and Shining Armor, who have their hooves full running two empires, searching for Celestia, and trying to deal with the growing shadow spawn attacks. In Ponyville, Twilight has fallen into a depression at the loss of her mentor Celestia, and will not talk to anypony except for Spike and her friends. While time goes on, and Lucid Dream gains strength, an awakened Princess Luna reveals to these ponies a shocking secret, one that asks the question: Is Lucid Dream really the enemy here?

Published 2013-09-19 03:30:02 UTC
Last updated 2013-09-27 02:15:13 UTC

Dark Secrets

A lone hooded stallion strode through the empty streets of Canterlot, ignoring some of the smoking wreckage where the recent attacks had been directed at. Nervous heads occasionally would peak out of windows to stare at the pony passing by, then would fade back into their houses. As the stallion neared the castle, he began to notice the number of guards patrolling outside of the castle. The ten stationed outside the gate took notice of him and frisked him for anything before the captain asked him,

"What is your business here?" She asked, her eyes narrowed in suspicion
The stallion replied in a raspy voice that tinged with a bit of impatience, “I am here on your Princess Celestia’s direct orders. “

The captain rolled her eyes,” Yea, you and everyone else. Unfortunately Princess Celestia is not…”

“Here?” The stallion finished for her.

The captain nodded, ”Yes…So you know that we can’t let you in then.”

The stallion chuckled,” Then may I pass so I may inform whoever is in charge of the situation?”

The captain snorted,” Like I said, you can’t, and even if Princess Cadence or Shining Armor were here, why would they listen to you right now?”

The stallion replied with a small smile,” Why would they listen to me? Well, because my name is Dark Secrets.”

The captain paled and quickly turned to the guards,” Let him in, and inform Shining Armor about this.” The guards exchanged looks then did as she asked, although they were slightly confused as to why. Dark Secret nodded his thanks to the captain and trotted in, making his way to the castle door.

One of the rookies, a young pegasus of the patrol asked the captain,” Um ma’am? Why did you let him in?”

The captain turned to the rookie,” Because, Dark Secrets is the best expert on dark magic and unknown forces that we have in Equestria. He sometimes is on call to any of the cities and even to the changelings. Now, he only shows up when nobody knows what is going on or something really bad has happened. Since he’s here now in Canterlot, that means the worst has happened.”

The pegasus’s eyes widened,” Does that mean..?”

The captain nodded,” Yes. That means something has happened to Celestia, and no one knows where she is.”

Cadence and Shining Armor were both in the guest tower in the Canterlot castle. Cadence was resting because the weight of the sun and moon were something new to her while Shining Armor was pacing around trying to figure out what to do next. Unfortunately, he had to run two kingdoms at once at the moment, so this was one of those rare moments where he could actually plan. While he was thinking, there was a loud knock on the door.

“I told you Far Sight, no one is to disturb me when-.” He began.

“Apologies Shining Armor, I will bring you information concerning the threats you face when it is most convenient for you.” Interrupted the pony behind the door with mock servility. Shining Armor opened the door to find a hooded stallion standing there.

“Who are you exactly?” Shining Armor asked.

The stallion bowed a little, then replied,” I am Dark Secrets.”

Shining Armor’s eyes widened,” You’re Dark Secrets?”

The stallion nodded, walking into the room and removing his hood, revealing his gray face and wolfish yellow eyes. Cadence lifted her head from where she had been resting,

“Um honey, who is Dark Secrets?” She asked wearily.

Shining Armor closed the door and turned back to his wife,” Dark Secrets is the foremost authority on the supernatural or the unexplained in Equestria. Usually whenever he arrives it is because Celestia requires his assistance in identifying threats.”

“To a certain extent yes.” Dark Secrets added, taking off his hooded robes. His Cutie Mark was a black book with a skull emblem on the cover with some weird language written underneath it.
“Now, I understand that Celestia has disappeared?” He asked, but already knew the answer. Shining Armor and Cadence nodded. “Did you see what it looked like?” Dark Secrets asked.

Cadence replied, shaking her head,” No, we were both unconscious at the time. Although…” She hesitated.

“Although what?” Dark Secrets asked.

Cadence hesitated a couple more seconds before replying,” Well…originally Celestia had sent us to the Everfree to see if a high security prisoner had broken out.”

“A prisoner in the Everfree you say? Was this prison underground?” Dark Secrets asked.

“Well…yes, but…” Cadence started.

“Tell me this prisoner’s name. Now.” Dark Secrets demanded, whirling around to face Cadence.

Cadence was surprised at his outburst, but she stammered out,” Lucid Dream!”

Dark Secrets sighed and closed his eyes. Shining Armor and Cadence exchanged looks.
“ You know what he is don’t you?” Shining Armor said. Dark Secrets nodded glumly.

“Not only do I know what he is, I know where he draws his power from.” Dark Secrets said finally.

“Wait, what do you mean ‘draws his power from?’” Shining Armor demanded. Instead of answering Dark Secrets instead trotted forward toward the center of the room. His horn and eyes began to glow white and a mist encircled the two other ponies. Images began to flash throughout the mist.

“It would be far better for me to show you what I know instead.” Dark Secrets said, his voice multiplied and deepened. Then Cadence and Shining Armor began to hear his voice in their minds as images would flash before them.

Before LaurFaustia came and created the world as we know it today, there was the Void. An image of a black swirling mass appeared in front of them. As you can imagine, there was nothing but darkness. The Void was happy for it to be this way. However, when LaurFaustia arrived and began to create our world, it was less than pleased. Light began to flow into the image, pushing back the swirling darkness. When the darkness faded completely, the world of Equestria appeared. Around it however, the swirling darkness began to creep along the edge. The Void despised all that LaurFaustia had created, which ignited its fury. The swirling darkness, began to ignite with some form of fire that flared around it. That’s when LaurFaustia herself combated the Void. However, the problem is, that there is no way to actually destroy the Void. You can only keep it at bay. Light began to clash with the Burning Void, but neither seemed to be able to gain any advantages. After what seemed to be a century of fighting, LaurFaustia eventually realized that she could not completely destroy the Void. So she devised a plan to trap it. She began to create a magic that would replicate everything that the Void hated. Now the hardest part was to actually trap the Void. She realized that in order to trap it, she would have to destroy the world that she created and build around the Void as it began to devour her world. She wove an incredibly dangerous magic that would bind the Void in a prison, a prison that we are standing on. The first Equestria began to slowly be consumed by the burning darkness, however an outline began to appear around it. The Void’s power was reduced as LaurFaustia’s magic drew it into the now forming planet. However, it still waits, very much there. It could still influence the world partially, though not completely consume it. That’s where certain landforms come from. It could also create a species of its own by corrupting those who found it’s prison. The planet began to zoom in until they were in a dark passageway leading up to an enormous rotating door that pulsed with bright magic. Both Cadence and Shining Armor had no idea where this door was, but judging from the magic keeping the door shut, the Void was probably trapped in there. They saw a large group of about twenty ponies standing in a circle debating about something. While they couldn’t make out what they were saying, Shining Armor and Cadence could make out the sliver of darkness slithering out towards the group. The group didn’t notice until the darkness began igniting around them. Their screams were unheard as it covered them. They writhed in agony as their eyes and mane changing to fire along with their bodies becoming jet black. Eventually, a group of full fledged nightmares stood in a circle, not moving. The newly formed nightmares looked at their new bodies and turned towards the door, as if listening. The Void gave instructions to its creations. Instructions that probably involved eliminating all of LaurFaustia’s creations. Unfortunately for them, LaurFaustia caught them and twisted them from their original purpose. Instead of destroying them outright, LaurFaustia gave them their own home underneath a mountain and tasked them with keeping the Underworld safe for her other creations. However when Laurfaustia departed from her creations, the purposed nightmares were shunned from the rest of ponykind. They were hunted and caged like monsters, albeit only briefly. Despite all of the bad things that circulated about the nightmares, they did have a purpose. They kept the changelings away from them. Changelings and nightmares absolutely hated each other as nightmares were impossible to siphon off love from and shapeshift into. For the nightmares, the changelings were a parasite to be exterminated. That’s when the Hidden Wars started up, between the nightmares and the changelings. The image flashed to the deep underground caverns that could be found throughout Equestria. Shining Armor and Cadence could see different colored lights flashing in the darkness; green, blue, and what appeared to be fire. The wars at first were stalemates, as the nightmares were unwilling to attack as they were unsure of their offensive abilities. and the changelings were unable to take a single inch of ground. After the fifth war, that’s when the Void began to whisper to the nightmares, telling them of the power they possess. At first the nightmares were unsure, but when the sixth war broke out and the changelings managed to take a small section of the caverns underneath Ponyville, they had no choice. The lights began flashing again, except this time bolts of fire raced towards the green and blue flashes and consumed them. They took back the Ponyville caverns and pushed the changelings far back from their territory. The changelings could not understand the onslaught of new magic, so they went into hiding, far out of reach of the paths the nightmares were willing to take. The green and blue lights faded completely, leaving only the red to remain. The nightmares were quite pleased with their new powers and began to wonder if they could use it out of the underground. After several hundred years, they would have their answer. The War of Day and Night was what the Void had been waiting for. Your Princess Luna was at first far too weak to be able to battle Celestia in a straight fight. As you know, the first part of the war was completely one sided, with the Army of the Night being almost completely crushed in its battles with Princess Celestia herself. As Dark Secrets said this, two walls of force appeared, one dark blue, the other a bright yellow. Almost immediately, the bright yellow quickly overtook much of the dark blue. At first, this war would have seemed to have ended with the defeat of Princess Luna, not Nightmare Moon, at the hooves of Princess Celestia alone. That was when the Roar of the Beast Massacre happened. The images faded, which left Princess Cadence and Shining Armor to stare at Dark Secrets in shock, and a little confusion.
“So….Aren’t you going to show us the fight?” Shining Armor asked, his tail twitching nervously.
Dark Secrets sighed,” Unfortunately I have not uncovered anything relating to the battle, so I cannot show you. The only things that I know is that it was when Lucid Dream first showed himself. If you want to know, then I suppose you’ll have to ask him or Princess Luna.”
Cadence and Shining Armor exchanged looks and seemed to have a silent conversation before Cadence turned to Dark Secrets,
“Do you know how to break a hibernation spell cast by Celestia?” She asked.
Dark Secrets thought for a moment before he replied, “I suppose I do, but who is under one in the first place?” he asked.
Cadence smiled, ”Why Luna of course.”

Author's Note

I finally got around to finishing this. I have tried to make it better than Blazing Darkness in terms of details and such. Please let me know what you think of it. Sorry if the paragraphs are all over the place.

Luna

Luna was having a rather good day. Well not “day” so to speak, but more like she was enjoying herself while under the hibernation spell. Her rule over the dream world allowed her to detach herself mentally and fly through it. Currently, she was watching over the young pegasus, Scootaloo, just trying to make sure that she was coping well. Mainly these were periodic checks, but it was becoming a habit. Luna was about to leave when Scootaloo waved to somepony in the distance. Luna squinted, trying to make out the pony in the distance. Her eyes widened as certain features were revealed. Blue mane made of fire to match the eyes and a jet black body that rippled as if made of darkness itself. Luna gave a small gasp as she recognized the nightmare striding over to Scootaloo. That’s when a voice behind Luna said something, making her jump.
“Did you miss me?” It said. Luna whirled around to find the very same nightmare standing behind her. She used her magic quickly to scan him, trying to see if this was some elaborate illusion or cruel prank by her sister. The scan came back up negative, and tears began to fill her eyes.
“L-Lucid?” She stammered, at a loss for words. The nightmare smiled and nodded, trotting forward until they were almost muzzle to muzzle. A small smile grew on his features, one that was filled with the joy of finding a lost sibling, but it also contained a deep sadness as well. Luna moved forward, hugging the nightmare tightly. In the material world this would have been hard to do, as his shifting nature made him partially ethereal. This was the dream world though, so she could do whatever she did so desire. Lucid Dream stepped back, but quickly welcomed her embrace with his own.
“I thought about you a lot since we last saw each other.” Lucid Dream whispered. Luna gently moved herself to where she was facing him.
“As have I, but… Celestia told me that you and the others faded after I was banished…Yet here you are! Unless…You’re just a memory?” Luna replied.
Lucid Dream gave a hearty laugh before saying, “No, I’m as real as anything in the material plane. Currently I’m residing near Ponyville. Since we are both here, why don’t we talk about where we have been over the past thousand years?”
Luna looked down, a bit of guilt welling up inside, before responding, “Alright, I’ll go first.” Lucid Dream nodded and lay down on his stomach, with Luna following his example.
“As you know I was banished to the moon a thousand years ago for trying to bring everlasting night to ponykind. It was absolute torture up there, I had no one to talk to, I didn’t know what was going on, and the only comfort I had was resting to dull the pain. When I was freed, I was still under the grip of the power I received, Nightmare Moon. I was defeated by six ponies wielding the Elements of Harmony who freed me from its corrupting influence, but I still retained the power. Ever since then, it has been….difficult to fit in. “Luna took a deep breathe, the next part being the hardest. “I had no idea that you were still alive, despite seeing traces of nightmaric power in the land. I was too busy with trying to fit in that I…” Tears welled up again in her eyes as the pain of losing her comrades, and friends finally rushed in. Lucid Dream scooted close to her and put a hoof around her shoulder, not saying anything, but comforting her all the same.
“I know how you are feeling right now Luna.” He whispered in her ear as she cried.
“You do?” She sniffled, a little disbelief creeping in.
Lucid Dream nodded, “Yes… I was imprisoned soon after you were banished, along with the others of my kind. We were thrown into the dungeon below the old capitol and left there to rot, along with most of the nightguards.”
“What happened to them?” Luna asked softly.
“Dead, from either starvation or suicide. With the nightmares they were subjected to tortures that ate away at their very being, eventually being dissolved into nothing but a pile of bones and ash. I can still hear the screams…” He said, hanging his head low. Luna was shocked at the brutal treatment of the ponies that had served under her and the nightmares who had joined in her cause.
“I-I’m sorry, I did not know…” Luna replied, unsure of how to respond effectively.
“It’s fine…It’s an old wound, it will take time, but it will heal eventually. Still…I did at times wonder if you felt just like me. “ Luna noticed his mane, eyes, and hooves flicker to a brighter red, one with a more menacing aura. She also felt something pulling at her, like it wanted her, but not in a romantic way. This was a much more rage filled pull, like there was something that wanted her absolutely gone, that everything about her was an abomination that must be exterminated. Before she could do anything about it though, Lucid Dream went back to the usual blue fire.
“What was that?” Luna asked, worry coming in to her voice.
He sighed, before replying reluctantly,” Remember when we journeyed to the heart of Equestria and we received powers from the great door there?” She nodded. “Well I’ve been noticing these things a lot lately. It’s like…I can’t even control myself anymore and these power spikes spring up at the worst possible times. I-I don’t know what’s happening to me.”
Luna pursed her lips, then was about to respond when everything began to fade and dissolve. She tried to hold her place in the dream world, but whatever was pulling her out, it was not going to relent. Before she had been pulled out completely she heard Lucid Dream start to say something,
“Sister, plea-!”
Luna awoke to see three ponies standing over her. One of them was a deep gray unicorn stallion with yellow eyes and looked visibly exhausted, while the other two were much more familiar. Cadence and Shining Armor looked happy to see her, but the lines under their eyes portrayed something else. Before Luna could decide, Cadence spoke,
“Are you alright?” She asked, stepping back a little.
“I am….How did you break the hibernation spell? Tia herself cast it!” Luna asked, standing up. Shining Armor and Cadence gestured to the tired unicorn nearby.
“You did this?” How?” Luna asked, before noting his cutie mark.
The unicorn stallion chuckled dryly, “Simple, I unraveled it using much more of my magic than I had anticipated. Admittedly, if the hibernation spell that Celestia had cast had been any stronger I would not have been able to do it on my own, as I would have had to call on darker powers to do so, and that always gets a little messy for everypony else. It also has a disturbing effect on anypony watching me. “
Luna sighed,”Your name is Dark Secrets isn’t it?” He nodded and made a small mocking bow. “Well, I thank you for waking me, I want to know as to why.”
Shining Armor sighed, ”Well, you better get comfortable. This may take a while. However, I have already sent a detachment of guards to Ponyville along with a letter to the Element Bearers, informing them of the situation.”

Author's Note

Sorry if this chapter was a little too short. Also, I will shorten the flavor text down a bit,its a little too long.