Prologue: Once in a Blue Moon
Hello my faithful readers and newcomers. Most of you have either, followed my many books from my largest tomes to my smallest novellas, my informational works, to those of pure fiction or, have read the bare minimum of my tales. Whether that is from you just now knowing of I or you just don't like them is up to you. But it is you that have kept me alive all these years with your purchases. And now, I'd like to give back. So here, I would like to present to you, the greatest tale I have ever heard. Scarcely anypony knows this story anymore, and those who do likely miss most of the important details. And it would give me the utmost pleasure to sincerely tell you it in full detail.
But be warned. Those of you who are familiar with my works know that some of my stories end with everyone happy and the 'stallion getting the mare' as you like to call it. This is not, I repeat NOT, one of those stories. This contains a fair amount of blood and gore and therefore is not for the faint of heart. Now I begin my tale thousands of years ago. Barely after Celestia's coronation as Princess of Equestria and only a few measly years after Luna's. There is no Ponyville, where I currently reside. Only Canterlot and smaller towns here and there.
P.S.. Most of you know that nowadays, Nightmare Night is a celebration that revolves around Nightmare Moon. This has not always been the case. Nightmare Night was once a night to feast and celebrate. Sure even then it was night for fear and terror, but it was mainly the one night of the celestial year that fillies and colts of Canterlot (as it was unfortunately restricted to only Canterlot until Nightmare Moon) could stay out late. A night where they could eat all the candy they want and as it was a Royal Celebration (founded by Luna at her coronation) the parents, for the most part, could not say anything about it. Now, enough with the History lesson. Allow me to begin our tale.
Prologue
Once in a Blue Moon
The streets of Canterlot were littered with preparations for what was supposed to be one of the biggest Nightmare Night's Canterlot had ever seen. Balloons and streamers were few among the decorations as the greatest of all the decor this year was snakes, snakes and more snakes. Even most ponies who were normally scared of snakes enjoyed the décor laughed. But what they did not know was that something was to happen that night. Something that might have changed the course of Equestrian history as we know it.
For on the edge of the town, a blue mare was in agony. With nopony else in the house, the Earth Pony was left to deliver her foal all on her own. But countless years without anypony else to help her had not left her useless. She had known this was coming, and was prepared. With plenty of warning with cramps and similar signs, she was granted plenty of time to get to her birthing station she had created.
However Blue Moon, named for her fascination with the night's beautiful orb and the hue of her coat, was not prepared for the agony that followed mere moments of getting herself settled. A ripple of pain shot through her stomach as she felt her son move around inside her, it's tiny body being driven toward the world outside his mother by her pushes. The pain was near unbearable, but she pressed on and did her best to deliver her son into the world. Driven by will and an image of her rocking her newborn colt, she delivered said colt with little casualties. True, she was still sore, but what few ponies she had conversed with had warned her about that. But it all seemed worth it as she heard the soft crying of the foal.
She slowly got up from her station and, on shaky legs, walked over to pick up her son. Wrapping him in a blanket, she slowly carried the small bundle over to her couch. After starting a small fire in the fireplace in front of her, Blue Moon gazed upon the colt with loving eyes, her green irises settling upon her son. The colt was white, and his horn stood proudly upon his brow and his black mane had a thin white stripe down it's center. All in all, he was beautiful and she would forever love him. Even if his coat was white. Blue Moon had been hoping that her son would have a blue coat like hers. She didn't want her son to be like his sire.
Just thinking back to that day made her shudder with terror. That was a cold, dark day and she never wanted to relive it. But looking down at the small white bundle in her hooves, it all seemed worth it. And she knew that this colt could never grow up to be like his father. Besides, she was happy with the way things turned out and wanted nothing more than to slowly rock the now crying foal to sleep.
And that's what she did. Her hooves swung gently back and forth as the cries slowly died down. After a few more short rocks the young colt was lulled into a deep sleep. Blue Moon smiled down at him, her green eyes glowing with warmth and affection for her son. Nothing could ruin the peace of this moment, she thought as she listened to the soft cracking of the fire.
But what she didn't hear, was the door to her home being unlocked, and the sound of claws scratching the wood floor or the soft clop of hooves as they walked down the hall to her living room.
“Awe, how touching.”
Blue Moon's eyes snapped up to her doorway and when her eyes gazed upon the figure leaning there, they widened in horror. “Y-y-you,” she stammered. She pointed a hoof at the creature in the entrance.
For it was not a pony that was currently invading her home. No, this creature a different breed altogether. His white head was covered in feathers and so was his golden body. He still walked on four legs like a pony and had wings like a pegasus. The major differences were his hooked beak and his razor-sharp talons. Unlike most others of his kind he wore clothing. Clothing that was unusual, even for ponies and were reserved for official businessponies.
A white dress shirt underneath a black tie and jacket adorned his body, and his black pants finished off the suit. He was a picture of professionalism. As one would expect from a monarch.
Once her initial shock has subsided, Blue Moon's eyes narrowed her eyes and her grip on her baby tightened as much as she dare without waking him. “Gideon. What are you doing here?” she demanded, trying her best to shield her son, as if a single look from the griffon would taint her son.
He chuckled. “My my, such ferocity. All I wanted to do was introduce you to an old friend of mine. But,” he chuckled, his voice was smooth and his words sure. The voice of a ruler. “I can see you've already been acquainted,” he finished, nodding to the colt in the blue mare's hooves.
“What do you mean?” she asked, her eyes widening once more, praying what she thought she had heard couldn't, could never, be true.
“Honestly Blue Moon, I thought you were smarter than that. But oh well, I guess you'll have to see for yourself.”
As if on cue, the clop of hooves could be heard and within moments, a unicorn stallion was standing in the doorway with Gideon. He wore a suit similar to his companions except his was white and it blended in with his similar colored coat. The black tie and grin on his face completed the arrangement. “Hello once again, Blue Moon,” he said, his voice similar to Gideon's. “Our last visit was such a pleasure, and I just couldn't wait to see the results.” His blue eyes shone in the moonlight.
She narrowed her eyes again and glared at the duo in her house. “You'll never take him. Never.” she promised, setting the colt down on the couch as she got into a stance to defend both him and herself.
“It always gets me right here to see a mother care so for her son.” The griffon said and he placed one of his claws over his heart. The unicorn mimicked his action mockingly at Blue Moon. “Too bad it will be your downfall. Celestial Dawn,” he said, speaking to the unicorn. “If you don't mind.”
The pony known as Celestial Dawn grinned and began to move forward. “With pleasure.”
But Blue Moon wouldn't be defeated so easily. Just as Dawn began to charge, she turned around at the last moment and kicked with all her force at the charging stallion. But he quickly saw it coming and dodged, just as he impaled his horn into her side. The blue mare choked up blood and splashed some of the crimson liquid onto the floor. Celestial Dawn removed his now red stained horn and began to levitate a cloth to clean it up.
“Pathetic. I honestly thought you would put up more of a fight Moon. Oh well,” he said, turning toward the couch and his son. “Ah, there you are my little protege, are you ready to meet your destiny?”
Blue Moon looked up at the stallion advancing toward their, no, her son. He would never be that evil stallion's child. He would forever and always be hers. And hers alone. Even if she didn't make it out of here alive, she had to make sure her son was safe. “Get. Away. From him!” she shouted as she got up and tackled the unsuspecting unicorn who hit the ground with an 'oof'. She got atop him and began to furiously pound her hooves into his face, his blood oozing from his face and matting her usually blue fur with the sticky scarlet liquid.
Gideon looked on with shock at the scene. Then he sighed with irritation and moved forward. Celestial Dawn had long since fallen unconscious, but that had not stopped Blue Moon's relentless assault on his face. By the time his claws brought him next to her, Dawn's face was no longer the pure, almost blinding white color it was previously, but a deep shade of red and his blood was running freely onto the wood and the rest of his body.
Gideon looked upon the scene with mild interest. Even after watching for a bit, Blue Moon was still oblivious to his presence. “Enough of this.” he said coldly. He raised his claw, but not before she did the most devastating thing of the night. She reared back her hoof and positioned it above his horn. Gideon saw what she was going to do but he was too late. She brought her hoof down and with a loud crunch, did the unthinkable. His horn crumbled to dust under her hoof and she glared triumphantly down at the stallion who impregnated her.
But in a flash of searing pain her victorious joy was gone as four metal claws ripped through her side. Gideon's talons had metal claws on them to enhance not only their sharpness, but their durability as well. And Blue Moon was just now noticing this the hard way as they tore strips of flesh from her flank.
But Gideon didn't stop with the first assault like Celestial Dawn had. He continued to rip and tear at the flesh of the blue mare, her blood forming a pool around her as the metal talons raked her sides, her haunches, and even her legs. Pretty soon, very little flesh had not fallen prey to the cold metal blades on the end of the griffon's fingers. Amazingly enough Blue Moon was not only alive, but still fighting back. Even with much of her pink muscle showing and even some white of bone showing itself, she continued to thrash her hooves, catching the griffon on more than one occasion.
But said griffon was tiring of this and with a final slash, he brought her claws down on her neck, the metal talons on either side of her neck. He brought his beak down right next to her ear and whispered quietly, “Any last words?”
“Y-Yes,” she gasped out, her lungs on the verge of collapse. “Y-y-you'll n-never take m-my son. And...and....” she whispered something inaudible. Gideon smiled thinking she was gonna beg for her life and plea for him to spare her. Wanting to hear her futile cries for mercy, he lowered his head. She whispered once more in his ear, “Rot in Tartarus!” She kicked upward violently and shoved the griffon off of her and knocked the wind from him in the process buying her precious seconds with her now wailing son.
Desperate to see her son one last time, she scrambled to the couch and looked at her baby. She was briefly shocked to see his eyes were opened and even more so at the color of his eyes. But she could not think about that. Gideon was already getting up.
Her horn began to glow. “It's okay my sweet. It's okay,” she soothed the crying child. “I'm going to send you somewhere safe now. It's okay. Mommy loves you. Remember that. Mommy will always love you.” The colt held out his hooves toward his mother, the blanket falling away from his tiny body. Blue Moon's eyes welled up in tears. “I'm sorry my child. But I have to do this.” And in a flash, the baby was gone and she turned to the griffon who had long since recovered from his surprise assault.
“That was very moving. But he can't hide from us forever. And you know that.” Gideon laughed in that creepy way that made what was left of Blue Moon's fur crawl. Her breathing was ragged and strips of fur and flesh hung from her maimed body like confetti and streamers at a party. “But no matter. Time to deal with you first.” And he lunged at the blue mare.
~~~
A loud knock rang through the house that had once belonged to Blue Moon.
“I don't think she's here.”
“I bet the witch skipped town. Probably scared someone was gonna egg her house.”
“Isn't that what we came to do though?”
“Yea, but not before we got some candy first. C'mon, I bet she has some inside.”
“I don't know....”
“Come on! You aren't chicken are you? Bawk! B-b-bawk!”
“Alright, Celestia fine! I'll go with you.”
The two colts entered the house of Blue Moon, expecting to find the place deserted and filled with candy. What they got, however, was something that would haunt them the rest of their lives.
~~~
“What happened here?!” the Royal Guard billowed at the two frightened colts.
“We...we...” the bigger of the two swallowed, trying to hold back tears of the memory frightening scene.
The five of them were currently outside the house of the mare formerly known as Blue Moon. Three Royal Guards and the two colts. There was also a small crowd gathered behind some tape meant to block off civilians.
The black and gray pegasi of the Royal Guard closed in on the two colts intimidating them further. Then a unicorn walked up and shoved them away, her coat the color of the sky as it borders dusk and night. “Stand down you two. No need to intimidate the poor children. They've been traumatized enough for one Nightmare Night don't you think?” she said to the two guards who lowered their heads respectively. She turned to the children. Who looked like the older one was dressed in what appeared to be toilet paper in a feeble and foalish attempt to look like a mummy while the other was dressed like a zombie. It too was foalish but what did she expect from foals.
She looked at them with calm amber eyes. “Now, tell me what happened.”
“We, we,” the elder colt took a deep breath. “Me and my little brother came to the witch's house to get some candy,” he stopped when she glared at them and nodded at the eggs sticking out of their saddle bags. “Yea, and that too. We knocked, but no answer came. And when we went inside to get it ourselves, we found...we found....this,” he choked out, pointing a hoof at the house.
She looked at the house. Nopony had gone in yet, and all they had managed to get from the colts who had ran into Canterlot screaming was that someone had been murdered. She told the other two guards to wait there and then the unicorn went inside.
She knew the stories of this house. She didn't know the exact reason they called her a witch, but she did know that their fears were unfounded. The mare in this house was kind, gentle, and sweet. And she certainly didn't deserve the fate that the unicorn just came across.
She had to use a spell just to keep from slipping on the still fresh and warm blood that was on the floor. And another not to gag from the smell. She gazed upon the room with a look of unadulterated horror. Words could not explain the carnage in the room. No wood could be seen anymore, just the crimson color of blood. And a fresh corpse although it looked like many corpses. But she would deal with the remains later. Right now, she had bigger problems. Like the strong feel of magic in the air.
Like the scent of blood, the power from a freshly cast spell, teleportation if she were to harbor a guess, lingered in the air. But why? She asked herself. If she's still dead, then who was teleported? She continued to survey the room, finding any and all traces of any other ponies who had been in the room.
After what felt like an eternity of searching, she finally found something. A feather. A single, golden feather, that had one side of it covered in the crimson liquid that covered the room like a second floor. But it was undeniably a griffon feather. But what a griffon was doing this far south was beyond her. The griffons normally didn't socialize with ponies and stayed in their cold mountains, content with their monarchy. The eagle-lion hybrid race rarely was found in Equestria unless it was a diplomatic matter. The thought of a diplomatic matter sparked something in her brain but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't think of what.
Taking a deep breath she recollected herself and continued searching. The stench of death was now stronger and a small swarm of flies had gathered above the body. The unicorn tried to keep them off of her, but she soon gave up as she realized it was pointless. Sighing heavily she resumed her scouring of the room for clues to the mare's killer.
She walked over by the couch were the feeling of magic was strongest. She closed her eyes and concentrated, using a spell taught to most investigators of the Royal Guard. It was a magic detection spell, designed to not only identify a spell recently cast, but also the target, if any, and how long ago it was cast. She was about to cast the spell when her hoof hit something crunchy under her foot. She lifted her hoof close to her face and examined it.
The bottom of her hoof was covered in blood as she expected, but there was also a small amount of white dust and pebbles of what looked to be a white stone on it. She levitated the dust and pebbles off of her blood-stained hoof and looked closer at it. She squinted in the poor light as she tried to identify the mineral on the floor.
With a startled gasp, she dropped the items she was levitating and took a horrified step back and raised a hoof to her horn, touching it gently and leaving a red hoof print in it's wake. She breathed heavily for a few moments before regaining her composure and gathered up all the pieces of the broken horn. Whoever had done this had to be a truly evil pony to destroy a unicorn's horn. The horn had more nerves in it than almost any part of the body on a pony. Just bumping it against something was almost agony. But to destroy it completely? It's almost unheard of. She had heard rumors about horn torture being a viable method of extracting information but she dismissed them as what they are, rumors or gossip. But until today she didn't even think it was possible to destroy or even permanently damage a horn.
Yet, here was the shattered fragment of none other than a unicorn horn. The unicorn looking upon the scene had to swallow back vomit. She shook her head. She had to continue her investigation of this murder. By now, she had decided that it was a griffon that had killed her but he also had an accomplice. A unicorn. And by the difference in the scents of the blood here she could also tell that the victim had brutally beaten said pony's face in before smashing his horn. Then the griffon attacked her. By the pattern of the blood splatter she could tell that even as she was bleeding out she had put up one hay of a fight. She turned her attention back to the couch where the feeling of magic was strongest. She couldn't identify who or what had been teleported or where it was teleported to, but she was confident she would soon find out.
Turning away from the blood soaked scene, she broadened her search to the rest of the house. Moving to the room adjacent to the ghastly scene, she stopped dead in her tracks as she came across something she never thought she'd see in this mare's house ever. A birthing station had been set up and it provided everything one might need to give birth on her own without assistance. But this shocked the unicorn. The last time she had visited the mare, she was not pregnant. Yet, she could not deny that this station had been recently used.
She gasped in realization. That must be what she had teleported! The pieces of the puzzle were beginning to fall into place. She must have been attacked. And right after she had given birth too. She was just beginning to run through scenarios in her head when a voice rang through the house.
“Captain! Come quick!”
She ran out of the room as fast as she could without slipping on the blood. Bursting through the doorway of the house, she saw the crowd had burst through the tape and her two guards were doing everything they could to keep them back.
“EVERYPONY STAY BACK!” she bellowed with authority in her voice. The crowed immediately ceased their actions and looked at the unicorn who was now glaring at the ponies gathered. “What in the name of Equestria are you all doing?” she asked them.
One of the ponies spoke up. “We heard the witch had been murdered! We want to see for ourselves!” A chorus of agreement arose from the crowd.
She caught sight of the two colts who had stumbled on the scene. She stared at them coldly and watched them cower in fear. Turning her attention back to the crowd she addressed them. “Okay, first of all, why do you keep calling her a witch?” she pointed a hoof at the pony who had spoken up. “You, front and center!” The purple Earth Pony stepped nervously forward. “Speak!”
He jumped and began to explain their town's fears. “Well, you see...Children occasionally go missing. They go play around here and we almost never see them again.”
“Almost?”
“Well, that's the strange thing. After two weeks exactly they show back up again. But they're not the same. They act...differently.”
“Differently how?”
“They act more, well behaved. It's strange.” he spoke nervously, as if he was scared he would say something wrong.
“And you're complaining? Seems like well behaved children would be a good thing.” she raised an eyebrow at the Earth Pony.
“Not when they're minds have been tampered with!” he defended.
“Our minds were not tampered with!”
Everypony's eyes turned toward a small yellow filly who had stepped from the crowd. Her small wings fluttered behind her as she stood her ground. “She reformed us!”
“Yea! She didn't use magic on us. She just told us not to play after dark and the she let us stay there for a couple weeks so that we could learn proper manners. She didn't even like to use magic!” Another filly had emerged from the crowd this time a unicorn.
“But why didn't any of you say anything?” somepony asked.
“We tried! But nopony would listen,” the yellow pegasus said.
The adults all bowed their heads in embarrassment. The dark blue unicorn of the Royal Guard looked at the two fillies with a smile. “Would you two come here please?” she asked. They both walked forward until the Guard was towering over them. “My name is Starry Dusk, but you can call me Dusk. Were you the last one 'taken'?”
The yellow filly nodded. “Yes ma'am. I was.”
“Tell me everything you remember about that mare.”
“Well, her name was Blue Moon. She loved children. She would often tell me stories about how she wanted to be a school teacher but couldn't for some reason. She loved to play games with us and enjoyed teaching us how to properly behave. She never used magic, not even once.”
“But she taught me a few spells!” the unicorn spoke up. She demonstrated this by levitating a rock and throwing it. It happened to catch the younger of the two colts who had planned on egging the house in the jaw. Dusk had to suppress a laugh.
“Did she look pregnant to you?” she asked.
The filly nodded. “Mhm. She said she was due any day now. By the way, where is she? Is she okay?”
Dusk winced. This was always the part of her job she hated. But it had to be done. And somepony had to do it. “Well, you see....” She bowed her head, unable to meet the fillies' expectant looks. But with a stone cold gaze, she raised her head and addressed the whole crowd. “Yes, the rumors are true. The mare known as Blue Moon has been murdered.” A gasp of shock emitted from the crowd and tears filled the eyes of the two fillies. “We are on the lookout for a unicorn who's horn has been,” she paused, not knowing whether or not the public could handle such grotesque information. “smashed.”
Every unicorn in the audience fought to not throw up at the thought of their horn being smashed. Dusk proceeded to fill them in on what she knew, leaving out the 'unnecessary' details, and what her theories and suspects are. Once she was done she caught sight of the relief team flying in the distance from the castle. They were here to clean up and bring the body back to the castle for further inspection.
Starry Dusk looked into the moonless night. Tonight was supposed to be a holiday filled with joy and mild fear for the children. But instead, it turned to a night of horror with no joy to be found. Dusk knew that whoever had caused the carnage in that house was nothing but a monster. And she prayed for his safety should he ever cross her path.
~~~
A bright blue flash shone around the Canterlot Castle entrance for a brief moment before it was replaced with the sound of a crying infant. The sound echoed around the courtyard, but nopony payed it any heed as it was drowned out by the sounds of a bustling Canterlot on Nightmare Night just outside. So the poor little colt was left alone in the castle courtyard crying and hungry. But there was one pony who did hear him. Looking down from her post at the top of the tallest spire an alicorn searched the courtyard for anypony who would dare disturb her glorious Nightmare Night, her entire coat practically a reflection of the night sky itself.
“Who goes there? Show yourself filly or colt so that I may take you to your mother!” she said in the Royal Canterlot voice to the courtyard. But still the crying continued, louder now. She enhanced her gaze with magic and once more analyzed the courtyard and pinpointed the origin of the sound. It was a colt and he was completely alone. Luna was so shocked her magic faltered for a brief moment. What was an infant colt doing here?
Spreading her majestic wings she glided down to the enclosure below, watching the Nightmare Night celebration forgotten. She stopped as she stood over the still crying colt. Cocking her head she looked at the colt with turquoise eyes. The colt stopped crying for a moment to look at her. He gazed up and locked eyes with Luna who promptly took a large step back. Once he realized he had scared the Princess, he began to cry again.
“Shh, shh. Be quiet little one,” the Princess of the Night tried to soothe the crying infant as she bent her head down. She didn't use the Royal Voice as she was not addressing a subject, but an abandoned child. She gently stroked the child's mane with her hoof and slowly the child began to stop crying. Once she had him calmed down once more, she gently picked him up in her hooves and locked eyes with him once more, this time prepared for their unusual color.
Luna smiled. It seemed strange, but holding this colt felt right. She didn't know why, or how, but she did know if nopony else wanted the small infant, she would take care of it herself. Holding the colt firmly but gently she flew into the castle and maneuvered through the vast building until she came to her destination. Knocking slightly on the door Luna heard no answer.
She opened the door with her magic, careful not to wake the now sleeping colt. The events of the day must have taken his toll on him. “Psst, Sister. Wake up.”
A small groan was heard and the room became alight with a magical glow as not only was her horn lit, but Celestia lighted all the torches in the room. Luna quickly shielded the colts eyes with her wing so as not to wake him. Due to the new lighting the Night Princess could see her sister's sheets moving around as the Princess of the Day arose.
“Sister, what have I told you? You rule the night now, meaning that I can finally get some much needed sleep. It's been three years now, you should have that figured out by now,” a sleepy Celestia said.
“Sister, this is far beyond my simple forgetfulness. Look,” Luna said to her.
Celestia groaned and got out of the bed and walked over to her sister who had dimmed the lights slightly so she could reveal the child without waking him. The white alicorn gasped. “Luna, where did you find this colt?”
“He was crying in the courtyard. Abandoned, I grabbed him to bring to thee for further instructions.”
Celestia took the child from her sister of the night and examined him. “Sister, this colt is not a normal one.”
“What does thou mean?”
“Look,” she said, pointing to a area on his flank.
Luna leaned in close and looked at his flank and gasped. On his pure white coat, was a cutie mark. A newborn colt with a cutie mark! It was unheard of. She looked closer at him, not wanting to believe it. But there it was, a scroll and quill glowing with green magic. “Sister, how can this be?”
“I'm not sure Luna. However, I do know one thing. We need to keep an eye on this colt.”
“Agreed, but how?”
“You will watch him, Little Sister?”
“Me? Why me?”
“Was it not thy who found him? Besides, it would be good for you to learn some responsibility.”
Luna looked skeptical at this suggestion. Buts she could not deny that the colt was cute. And she had always wanted a child but it was impossible for her to be impregnated by mere earth ponies or even unicorns and pegasi. So she was not destined to have offspring. But she would raise this colt. She would raise him as her own and once she felt he was old enough, she would tell him the truth.
Luna raised her head and met her sister's gaze with a determined look in her eyes. “Alright Sister. I shall watch over this colt and teach him the ways of the night. But there is one more thing you should know Celestia.”
“What is it?”
“It's his eyes. One is green and I could tell that's his normal eye color. But it's his left one that concerns me. It's not green. In fact, it's not even red. It's scarlet. The color of blood.”
