Chapters A Thousand Years of Eternity
Chapter 1 - Nightmare Moon
Jealousy and hatred seethed through Princess Luna. Ponies hated her night. Not one pony stayed awake to see her twinkling artwork in the midnight sky. Her sister never put much effort into her days. All Celestia ever did was raise the sun, yet everypony rejoiced in the daylight. This drove Luna nearly to madness; she was growing closer to the edge with every passing hour.
Luna passed through the halls to her bedroom. She had just lowered the moon, ending another of her beautiful, unappreciated nights. Her hoofsteps were heavy with drowsiness and her mane hung limply along her neck, its normal bounce gone with the morning breeze. The bright lavender walls of the castle slowly faded into a deep purple as she neared her room.
Two members of her personal night guard were waiting outside her midnight blue door. They stood alert as the princess of the night passed between them with her head low and her mane limp. Neither pegasus said a word, knowing almost exactly what was wrong with the dark princess. They often heard her throughout the day talking to herself and weeping, for she thought nopony loved her night.
The guards knew otherwise, but it was not their place to say anything. Instead they stayed silent as the door closed with a dark blue aura surrounding it. The crescent moon adorning the midnight-colored door pulsed a soft white, the light overpowered by the black glow from the background of the emblem that depicted the night princess' cutie mark. If the guards had taken notice of the pulsating glow, they would have looked in to see a frightening transformation occurring.
When it came time to raise the moon that night, Luna did so from the confines of her room. The guards that had been posted outside her room were relieved by two more pegasi in gleaming armor of deep purple. They bore Princess Luna's cutie mark as an emblem upon their chests. The two charcoal pegasi stood in silence as the hours dragged on through the dark night. Not a sound could be heard from within the suite as the dawn approached.
From inside her own room, Princess Celestia prepared to raise the sun and welcome the day. The time of sunrise rolled around and her horn glowed a light gold, yet she could not raise the sun. Though she told the sun to rise it did not, for the silver moon was still suspended among glittering stars. Darkness greeted the early birds of Canterlot who were rising for a long day's work, or maybe it was a long night's work? Not one pony knew the answer, including the princess of the day.
A confused and slightly unnerved Celestia made her way to Luna's room with a frown. Never before had her sister kept the moon so high during this time, and it frightened her. The halls darkened in color and her sister's guards simply nodded as the alicorn passed. She didn't even acknowledge their presence; she was on a mission and nothing would stop her.
Without knocking, Celestia opened the door to Luna's room with a flick of her horn. What she saw only made her anger flare. Her sister was standing on the balcony and watching the confused ponies on the streets below. A near-silent sound reached Celestia, and she flicked an ear towards her sister to hear laughing. She cleared her throat softly in an attempt to gain Luna's attention only to be ignored by her younger sister and fellow ruler of Equestria.
"Luna," she said calmly, "how dare thee steal away the day from thine own subjects?"
"'Tis we who should be asking of thou, dear sister. Dost thou not hold power over thy treasured sun? 'Tis not we who steal away the sun, but thy own self."
"My dear sister, thou art mistaken. The sun canst not be raised if thy moon still hangs in the sky."
"If thou can raise the sun, canst thou not lower our moon as well?"
Celestia reared up her head at this. There was no way that was her sister. "Surely thou dost not want thine moon stolen away from thee?"
"No, we dost not. Yet we have stolen away the sun from thee and thine subjects. The night shall reign eternal!"
"Surely thou dost not mean that sister."
"We shall rule, sister. We shall rule in darkness for eternity. There is naught thou canst do to stop us. We shall have nighttime eternal!"
Luna wheeled around on her heels with her turquoise cat-eyes glowing softly. Her light blue mane was turning a deep indigo and her coat was turning black. Her angelic midnight blue wings were darkening to match her coat and her feathers became pointed instead of rounded. She was becoming a monster, seething with pure hatred before her sister. "We shalt rule alone. Naught shall hinder us."
As she continued to speak, she took a few strong steps towards her sister until she was centimeters away from Celestia. "Thy precious sun shalt never return. Thine subjects art ours. They shant see the sun again. Nor shall they see thou ever again."
As Luna's horn began to glow a dark blue, Celestia was freed from her paralyzed state of fear. Sheer terror guided her actions as her instincts directed her to flee. With fear blazing unhidden in her eyes, she teleported to the one place she though was safe: the throne room. Laughter echoed through the halls and Celestia could hear approaching hoofsteps. How Luna had reached her so quickly was unknown, but the eldest of the regal sisters knew she had to hide. Now.
Celestia ducked behind the throne in a hasty retreat. Eyes wide and ears alert, she kicked open a secret passageway, turned and bolted. Once her soft pink tail had cleared the opening, a soft golden glow filled the passage. The door slid to a close as the alicorn ran for her life. With gold-shod hooves pounding against the stone floor, she steered her course towards the dark passage that led towards the Elements of Harmony.
Luna strode through the halls of the castle with purpose in her steps. Now that her transformation was complete she had donned a pale blue suit of armor. She walked slowly towards the throne room, for banishing her sister could wait a bit longer. Her older sister and previous co-ruler had fled, and had therefore surrendered the Equestrian throne. A smug smile drifted across her face, revealing her sharp, gleaming fangs to the nearby celestial guard and castle servants. The ponies fled from her as she walked towards the throne room. It was a good sign; already ponies feared her power.
With an echoing laugh and a flicker of midnight blue magic, Luna entered the throne room. She made her way to the throne with strong, steady hoofsteps. As she approached , the swirling cloud of purple that was her mane quickly discarded the gold and lavender silk banners that adorned the regal seat. Another brief flicker of magic later and the entire room's decor, including the gold accents of the throne, had been replaced with decorations of deep purple, midnight blue, black and a touch of white.
Luna stepped forward to take a seat on the throne. Its once golden accents were midnight blue and the banner draped across the back was a deep, almost black, purple with her cutiemark embroidered onto the thin fabric. Similar banners hung from the ceiling, both in the deep purple and in midnight blue. Tiny white dots meant to resemble stars also decorated the banners that hung from above, each banner depicting a different well-known constellation. The red carpet from the door to the throne was now a deep purple that was slightly lighter than the banners and was trimmed with midnight blue. Intricate swirls of black accompanied the solid blue to complete the dark and ominous look of the room.
"That is more suitable for us. Now, we need a new name. Luna will not do."
The new ruler of Equestria sat on her throne with a hoof to her chin in thought until she was approached by one of her night guard. The pegasus walked forward slowly with his head bowed in respect and bat wings folded to his sides.
"Yes? What dost thou wish to speak to thy queen about?"
The guard shied away slightly at her harsh tone and, after swallowing the lump in his throat, raised his head to meet the turquoise gaze of the queen. "Thy guard before thee couldst not help but overhear thy plight. Might I suggest a name for thee, o queen?"
He lowered his head slightly, but still held the dark alicorn's steady gaze as he awaited a reply. A long, drawn out silence followed as the alicorn seated upon the throne considered his request. Of course, this only made the guard even more nervous as the silence drew on longer and longer. His slit yellow eyes glinted with nervousness in the moonlight streaming through the windows on either side of the throne, but he could catch no clue as to what the mistress of the night was thinking for her eyes were closed in contemplation.
After a few more moments of tense silence, the dark alicorn before him spoke. "Yes. Please do give us thine suggestion."
The guard nodded and swallowed once again, trying to quickly piece together a reply. "As thou art now the sole ruler of Equestria and wish to rule in everlasting night, thy humble guard dost believe that Nightmare Moon is quite suitable for one so regal as thyself."
The alicorn sat silently on the throne with a thoughtful look upon her face. Her mane and tail rippled around the throne as an ominous cloud of purple smoke, only succeeding in making the the guard more nervous(he was reaching frightened/terrified at this point). No longer able to meet the queen's eyes, the pegasus averted his gaze to admire the new decor. A few seconds later, he found himself lost among the starry patterns.
"We wouldst not suggest admiring the decor for long: 'tis enchanted."
The guard shook himself from his daze and turned his yellow eyes back to the alicorn to see her gleaming white fangs. He gulped nervously and the dark queen chuckled lightly, though it did little to calm his racing heart. "Calm thyself. We art not angry with thee. Thy suggestion is perfect for us, and a declaration must be made to all of Equestria. Come."
The charcoal pegasus lowered his head respectfully as Nightmare Moon stepped down from her throne. Once she had passed, he followed hesitantly with his eyes on his hooves. They made their way to the balcony just off the throne room. As the pair came to a halt in the fresh night air, the guard remained a few paces behind the queen. Nightmare Moon cleared her throat and the guard braced himself for what was to come.
"CITIZENS OF EQUESTRIA, DO NOT BE FRIGHTENED. WE HAVE NEWS AS TO WHY THY SUN DOST NOT RISE THIS DAY!"
At these words everypony stopped what they were doing and turned their eyes toward the castle. There was a vast mix of emotions in the citizens' eyes. Some were sad, angry and confused while some of the more noble ponies wore expressions of worry and dismay. Nightmare Moon looked over the sea of her subjects and smirked, her fangs catching the moonlight. The guard at her side risked a glance from the balcony only to duck back behind the alicorn as each and every pony turned their heads to look at him with eyes alight in anger.
"THY DEAR PRINCESS CELESTIA HATH SURRENDERED THE THRONE TO US, YOUR NEW QUEEN."
Nervous glances passed between the ponies below before one brave soul dared to ask the question on everypony's mind. "What about Princess Luna!?"
A glare from the alicorn shut him up and froze him to the spot. "PRINCESS LUNA IS GONE! SHE WILL NEVER RETURN, FOR WE HAVE TAKEN HER PLACE. YOU ARE LOOKING AT THE NEW QUEEN OF EQUESTRIA, NIGHTMARE MOON. BOW BEFORE YOUR QUEEN!"
The ponies below fell to their knees, quivering like leaves ready to fall from the branches of autumn trees. Echos of her command rumbled throughout the city as the royal Canterlot voice slowly faded. Nightmare Moon turned back to face the guard. "What is thy name?"
"Darkwing, your majesty. Captain Darkwing."
"Thank you, Captain, for your help. As for the rest of my subjects..." she glanced over her shoulder with a sigh. "...I hope they will be as loyal as thee." With this she walked off the balcony with her mane and tail swirling around her and made her way to the throne to begin court.
Author's Note
Any guesses as to who Darkwing is? Maybe you have some and maybe not, but I have plans...
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A Thousand Years of Eternity
Chapter 2 - Darkness and Silence, Broken by Light
Princess Celestia's hooves pounded against the stone as she galloped through the never-ending passageway. Her sister's voice echoed through the tunnels, surrounding her with the royal declaration of her 'surrender' and chilling her to the bone with how cold her sister sounded. No, not her sister. The mare out there was an embodiment of dark magic that had taken advantage of the second most powerful being in Equestria during a state of weakness. Sadly, the dark spirit had locked onto Luna and turned her into a monster. The alicorn making the declaration was no longer the kind, innocent sister Celestia once knew. And apparently she was calling herself Nightmare Moon.
"How fitting. She is calling of herself a nightmare." mumbled Celestia, slowing to a trot as she grew closer to an intersection of tunnels. "Now, which way was it again?"
Captain Darkwing stood silently beside Nightmare Moon as court began. As of right now there was some random mare with a cream-colored coat and spring green mane droning on about how the moonlight wouldn't help the crops grow and then there wouldn't be enough food and so on. The fact that her cutiemark was an open packet of seeds and a seedling should have been a dead giveaway that she was a farmer, and the fact that she was an earth pony with her mane pulled into a braid confirmed it. One quick glance to his left and the Captain knew his queen was ready to snap.
Left eye twitching in annoyance, Nightmare Moon did her best to sit patiently. Dealing with these kinds of ponies was a constant part of being a ruler... "Enough!" she barked. The mare's jaw snapped shut and she fell to the floor in fear. "We have heard your argument and come to a conclusion."
The mare lifted her head, emerald eyes filled with hope. "Y-yes, my queen?"
A veil of silence fell over the throne room for a few precious moments. Darkwing used this time to make sure he had a good sense of balance on the polished floor and laying his ears back in preparation. He wanted to be able to hear when he when he got home, thank you. Nightmare Moon took a deep breath before casting her gaze downwards to stare at the cowering mare. "I WILL NEVER BRING BACK THE SUN! THE NIGHT SHALL REIGN ETERNAL! NOW LEAVE!"
The mare turned and high-tailed it out of the throne room. After the last traces of the yellow and green streak were gone, Nightmare Moon turned to Captain Darkwing. "Captain?"
"Yes, my queen?"
"See to it that no other," she paused for a moment and eyed the doorway, "farmers enter this room with pleas for the sun to be returned."
"Right away, my queen."
He dashed across the room and out the throne room doors to find a long line of ponies, mostly earth ponies, waiting to enter. He groaned and stepped forward. "Anypony who is a farmer seeking the sun must leave this instant!" he commanded, his hoof pounding against the floor authoritatively with the sound of iron against stone.
Darkwing watched as the majority of the line disappeared. As he turned to re-enter the throne room, he stretched out his wings slightly. A smug grin crossed his muzzle as the sound of retreating hoofsteps was heard coming from behind him.
Sound traveled quite well through the nearly silent stone tunnels. Celestia had slowed to a walk as she traversed the tunnels, cringing when Nightmare Moon's shouting reached her once again. Apparently, she had forgotten to mention the fact that night would reign eternal to the citizens of Equestria. Once the echo faded, all that was left to be heard were Celestia's hoofsteps. Each time her hoof struck the stone it would ring, thanks to her gold shoes. The sound would barely begin to fade before her hoof fell again, creating a chorus of delicate ringing through the tunnels.
She continued on through the dark, winding tunnels. The soft glow from her horn provided limited visibility, but she couldn't risk a more powerful illumination spell if she wanted to avoid detection. For all she knew, there were members of the night guard searching for her. Better safe than sorry. she thought, turning the corner to find a dead end. The stone wall showed little wear, though what was shown was rather recent. After quickly glancing over her shoulder, Celestia touched her horn to the center of the wall. A soft golden light similar to the first rays of the morning sun spidered towards the edges.
The light reached minuscule grooves in the stone invisible to the naked eye, filling them with light in the pattern of a six-pointed star. Celestia stepped back as the wall slid away revealing a great hall where the Elements of Harmony were kept. The ceilings were high, with stained glass windows on either wall. Most were simple, just randomly colored plates of glass, while others were slightly more intricate. One example of this was the most recent addition: the fall of Discord. Luna and Celestia had trapped him in stone with the Elements almost a year ago, but now Celestia had to wield them against her own sister.
She stepped out of the tunnel into the chilling, colored moonlight. Everything had a silvery, yet colored, hue instead of the light gold she was used to. At one end of the hall stood a pedestal where the Elements sat when they were not in use. Atop the center pedestal was a golden crown with a pink gem in it. Branching out from the pedestal were five arms, each with a gem resting on them. Red, purple, sky blue, light pink and orange; all six Elements were accounted for. She moved forward towards the pedestal, cringing when the door behind her slid closed with a hollow, yet surprisingly loud thud.
Almost immediately, an armored unicorn burst through the doors with a pegasus not far behind him. "Captain Shield?" Celestia called as the two white stallions neared her.
"Princess?" The unicorn ground to a halt, causing the pegasus behind him to bump into him as he skidded to a halt on the stone floor. Solar Shield glared briefly at the pegasus behind him before turning back to look at the white alicorn at least twice his height. "I thought you would have left the castle by now, since you've surrendered the throne to Nightmare Moon."
She hung her head slightly. "We did not surrender. Well, technically we did, but not exactly. We were headed here, for the Elements."
Silence fell over the hall and it seemed to grow, until the pegasus standing behind Captain Shield noticed something was amiss. "Y-your Highness, if I may, why is Princess Luna not with you? Has something happened to her?"
Looking back towards the Elements, Celestia answered her guard's harmless question. "In a sense, yes. We do not, however, wish to alarm you, so we will keep it brief. She has been..." she paused, glancing at her guards before turning back, "destroyed by the one known as Nightmare Moon."
Without another word, Celestia stepped further into the chilling moonlight and made her way towards the Elements. The sound of her hoofsteps and those of the two guards were all that was heard, only heightening Celestia's nerves. How could this have happened? Her sister had seemed so joyful mere days ago. What had changed within her and how had she not seen it? Was she so blind to her younger sister's feelings as to not sense she was being corrupted?
Her flowing mane of soft pink seemed to pause as she neared the pedestal. With great care, her golden magic surrounded the crown and gems. The crown floated over and landed gently atop her head, taking the place of her royal regalia. All that remained of her golden adornments were her shoes, for she was never seen without them. The gems she hid in her mane, to bring out later when she confronted Nightmare Moon.
Turning, she made her way to the main doors of the hall. She no longer cared for sneaking about, she just wished to bring her sister back from the clutches of that monster. Her guards followed silently, ready to stand by her until the end of the forthcoming battle. She was grateful for the support, but that fact that the only sounds that could now be heard were the three sets of hoofsteps disturbed her greatly. Why had everything grown so quiet all of a sudden, and why did she feel like she was being watched?
Celestia stopped suddenly, whipping around to find a cloud of dark smoke drifting behind her, just above the heads of her guards. "Nightmare Moon." she growled softly, only loud enough for herself and the drifting cloud of smoke to hear, as it was growing closer to her with every second.
A cold, hollow laughter flooded the corridor, causing even Princess Celestia herself to shudder slightly at just how chilling it was. The dark purple smoke drifted towards the ground, forming into the shape of an alicorn as tall as Celestia with pointed wings spread wide. The form solidified to reveal the pony in question with a grin upon her face, her fangs glinting in the bright moonlight that shone through the tall windows. Her eyes shone with amusement at the determined look on Celestia's face. "Thou really dost think thy can defeat us? How juvenile art thou really, Celestia?"
Celestia stood silently, her horn lighting up softly. "Thou knowest we dost not want to do this, Luna. Please, just lower the moon."
Another chorus of laughter filled the hall as Nightmare Moon's horn began to glow as well. "Thou cannot stop us. The night will last forever, and nopony can do anything about it. We make the rules now, or did thou forget that?"
With sadness gleaming in her eyes and a determined frown upon her face Celestia's horn began to glow brighter, as did the crown atop her head and, though hidden, the gems in her mane. But before she could pull out the Elements, Nightmare Moon shot a blast of magic at the ceiling and she felt herself being pulled up through it. "Thee dost not want to destroy our castle, does thou?"
As soon as they were surrounded by the shining stars and far from the castle, Celestia felt the magical hold on her be released. She immediately spread her wings, charging her horn once again to pull out the Elements of Harmony. As each gem emerged it started to spin in a circle around her neck, slowly at first but growing to dizzying speeds once the five were present. Once they had reached speeds no tornado could hope to match they began to travel upwards slowly until they reached her horn, closing in around the base in a blur of color similar to a ring.
Celestia closed her eyes against the pulse of magic as it coursed through her and merged with her own magical reserves. Suddenly, her eyes shot open to reveal that they were now glowing white orbs due to the sheer amount of power coursing through her. Her horn's glow turned from golden to a shimmering rainbow of color, while Nightmare Moon floated a short distance away, frozen in awe.
When the full force of the Elements' power reached her, Celestia released the energy in the form of a single blast of magic targeted at her opponent. From the tip of her horn came single rainbow colored beam that hit Nightmare Moon full-on in the chest. With a wail of terror and a flare of white, the dark alicorn vanished into thin air. In the moon above appeared a silhouette of a unicorn with a downcast expression. "Maybe someday thou shall be free, my dearest sister."
Captain Darkwing saw the blinding flash of light from his position just inside the throne room doors where he was told to wait until Nightmare Moon returned. Why she had left he was unsure, but it had seemed important so he said nothing. The light from the flash soon vanished, however, leaving him to wonder just what had happened. When sunlight replaced the softer moonlight, causing his pupils to shrink in response to the sudden change in brightness. Not long after, the full realization of what had just transpired hit him. Nightmare Moon had just been dethroned, putting Celestia in charge once more.
Darkwing did not want to think about what that meant for him and the rest of the night guard, especially those who had been explicitly devoted to Nightmare Moon. He soon had his answer when Princess Celestia appeared in the throne room. At first she went about like he was not even there, changing the decor back to the banners of day and the throne's accents back to their shining gold. Then, when she was done, she turned and looked right at him, glaring at him as if she could read his mind.
As he finished this thought, her horn began to glow. Amongst the light gold he thought he saw flickers of each color of the rainbow. The princess drew closer to him, her violet eyes seeming dark and menacing, a poorly concealed gleam of anger in them. He opened his mouth to call for help, but no sound came out. His body was encased in a bright golden glow, and he was soon joined by the two guards that had been positioned outside the throne room doors and the guard that had had the idea for their queen's name, though he himself had been too afraid to propose the suggestion.
Frosted Star, Night Stone and Moonblink. Those were their names. Frosted Star was a pegasus like himself, while Night Star and Moonblink were unicorns. All three shared the bright yellow dragon eyes that were common among the night guard thanks to their enchanted armor. They also had dark gray coats the color of charcoal and small, barely noticeable white fangs protruding from the corners of their mouths.
The four guards shared glances with each other, the last thing they were permitted to do before the three other guards vanished one by one into thin air. One last thought rolled through Darkwing's mind before he joined them amongst the stars. We will die serving our queen. And then he was gone.
Author's Note
Wow, writing in that olde English is quite difficult, if I must say so. I think for the sake of my sanity I will write the rest of my story in modern English instead of ye olde English. I hope you enjoy my take on the defeat of Nightmare Moon.
A Thousand Years of Eternity
It was cold and dark, but also light. Just very cold and rather odd to be honest. Who would have though that being imprisoned was so... confusing? Discord glanced around the half-dark, half-light expanse of freezing cold space that surrounded him. He would have preferred to be locked into the statue for all of eternity instead of drifting here, if one could believe that. Truly, being locked in that statue would have been torture, but this couldn't be any better. Could it?
Darkness. Light. That was what confused him the most. Those two forces were both present and nonexistent in the plane of nothingness. The only thing that truly was, was him. Even that was left to be determined. For, in reality, he was frozen in stone to sit idly by as the world moved and changed around him. But, if that was reality, then where was he? Was his mind locked in a dreamscape until he was freed, if that was to ever happen? Or was he simply dead? Is this what it felt like to no longer be a part of the world, a drifting soul gone from the body?
No, he couldn't be dead. He was the immortal Lord of Chaos. So, that left him as locked in a dreamscape. Unless there were other options he was too blind to see... But what could those be? His mind, for once, was completely blank. There were no thoughts, no half-finished plans he would later execute. There was only silence. So, what was he left with? An icy cold... something. Darkness. Light. Silence.
That last one hit him the most. He wasn't used to it. The silence seemed foreboding, leaving him in quite the uneasy state. What was waiting for him at the end of this nothingness? If he was to find out, he would have to find a way out of here. But how? The Elements of Harmony were the most powerful artifacts known to ponykind. And if he could break free, he would just be trapped again by Celestia and Luna. Oh, how the mere thought of them made his blood boil.
Another thing he was left with. Emotion, feelings, senses. He could see the nothingness around him, if one could call that seeing, and he could feel the icy cold tendrils of air sending shivers along his spine. His rage towards the two princesses grew with each passing moment, the sheer emptiness only serving to fan the flames of fury. But there was something else, something he couldn't quite put his claw on...
The light flared around her as she screamed in agony, the magic pulling her far away into the unknown. Then it suddenly vanished. Her hooves were once again on solid ground, though it was rockier than anything she had set hoof on before. She turned towards where she knew the place she once called home was and saw it grow further away from her. The moon. That must be where she was. So she was trapped here for now, but it wouldn't last. The magic would fade, for with only one pony wielding the Elements it would be weaker and could not rid Equestria of her permanently. She would be back, one day.
That was when it suddenly went black. The stars flickered out. All but four, shining brightly against the darkened sky. It was always night here, a giant rock shrouded in darkness. It was bleak, but Nightmare Moon did not mind as much as others would have. As the last remnants of the starlight faded, the alicorn was joined by two pegasi and two unicorns. When their hooves touched the moon, the four remaining stars faded out of existence.
"Our four most loyal guards, what hast brought you here?" Nightmare Moon asked, her voice hollow and cold.
Shaking in their armor, the guards all exchanged glances. They were unsure whether or not to fan the flames of their queen's anger, should she choose to harm them for what had been done. Shrouded in darkness, all that could be seen now were the glowing turquoise eyes of Nightmare Moon and the dimmer, yet still visible, yellow eyes of the four guards. Each of the four had learned one thing when they had departed from Equestria into the stars: They would all be trapped for a thousand years, and then only their queen would return. They certainly would be dying serving her, as Darkwing had presumed.
Captain Darkwing was the one who ended up speaking, his voice quivering with fear. "My queen, it seems that we have been... sent, by Celestia, to provide you the means of escape after a certain time has passed."
"We see some remain loyal to us," she paused and took note of the four pairs of eyes in front of her. "...but is this all you have amongst you?"
"Y-yes, my queen. We four are the only ones who remain loyal to you, and will remain loyal until the very end." Three of the four pairs of yellow eyes bobbed up and down in the darkness, as if the ponies they belonged to were nodding in agreement. Tense seconds passed, though it seemed more like minutes or even hours to the nervous guards.
Finally, Nightmare Moon spoke. "Very well. You shall always have a place by our side once we return to Equestria and the throne. Might we know the names of the others loyal to us, for Captain Darkwing was no surprise."
With quivering voices and shaking knees, each guard spoke in turn. First was Frosted Star, the one other pegasus among their numbers aside from their captain, Darkwing. Moonblink was next, the unicorn finding his voice before his same-species companion. And finally, Night Stone managed to introduce himself by stuttering out his name. All were thankful they could not be seen except for their eyes, for Nightmare Moon surely would not have been amused by their shaking forms.
As if just now remembering they were unicorns, Night Stone and Moonblink managed to tap into their magic and light up the small area around both them and their pegasus compadres. Nightmare Moon also found herself able to light her horn, revealing her unscathed armor and glistening fangs for her guards to see. "Mm, that's better."
If it had still been dark, it wouldn't have mattered much. You could hear the smile in Nightmare Moon's voice as she spoke. She now had four loyal guards that would help her escape once the magic of the Elements had weakened and the time came for her to return. Not that it would matter much to have them by her side, for she would easily be able to defeat Celestia. After all, it was only a matter of time before her connection with the Elements faded and the magic weakened.
The darkness, the cold. The silence. It surrounded him, closing in from all directions. He was trapped, unable to move from the spot where he stood. He was, for what it was worth, a statue. Frozen in time and space for what could easily be eternity. But he could feel. That was what made him different, kept him aware of just how empty the place around him was. Most of what he could feel was easily placed, such as the cold and the burning rage within, but there was one thing that was not. It haunted him.
Just how quiet it was should have set off warning bells, and it did in a sense, but he was still without true thoughts to keep him busy. So he was forced to stand still in the nothingness spread out before him, unable to even move to entertain himself. And after what seemed like years to the immortal being, he saw a light. Not just the seemingly present light that accompanied the darkness and the cold, but a true light off in the distance. And he was free.
As soon as he could move, Discord slowly stretched out each limb and his tail. Once he felt slightly more relaxed, he began to hear the voices in his head returning. They were soft at first, but grew louder with every step he took towards that one bluish light at the end of the tunnel of nothingness. Of course, their ramblings were speculations of what that light could be, but the sound was welcome nonetheless. Now, that unknown feeling had vanished and Discord couldn't feel happier.
As Nightmare Moon's magic, as well as that of the two unicorn guards, lit up the area around them on the moon, the stars began to reappear one by one. At first, the small lights went unnoticed by the group of ponies. Each one was engrossed in their own thoughts, Nightmare's ones of planning and the guards' ones of their families back on Equestria. But the guards had pledged their service to Princess Luna, and Nightmare Moon had simply take her place as Ruler of the Night. So, they served her now.
It was not until the glow from the magic seemed nearly non-existent that Darkwing noticed the stars surrounding them. More were joining the numbers of stars each second, surrounding them, calling to him. As he looked at the faces of his fellow guards he knew that they felt it too.
The twinkling of their light drew him to them, putting him in a trance. Without thinking, he spread his wings and lifted off into the night. Frosted Star soon followed suit, his own bat wings seeming to glow as he grew closer to the multitudes of stars. As one, Moonblink and Night Stone ceased the glowing of their horns and instead found themselves being lifted towards the ever brighter lights on trails of stardust.
All Nightmare Moon could do was watch as her guards vanished, leaving her alone as her own magic faded out of existence. There was no need for it with the stars surrounding her, and it seemed as if the stars themselves had shut it off. When her guards had faded completely into the velvet-like sky, the stars' glow seemed to intensify ten-fold until Nightmare Moon was forced to shut her eyes against the blinding light. When she opened them again, each star paled in comparison to the four shining in the distance, forming a diamond wide enough to encompass the moon on which she was trapped.
The blue light was gone, but so was the gray haze-like emptiness from before. Instead of these things, Discord found himself walking along a path of stars, guided by a trail of shimmering silver stardust. The black velvet sky was dotted with twinkling white lights. Off in the distance, Discord swore he saw the outline of the dark side of the moon, which in reality wasn't really any darker than the light side all the way out here. Not that it mattered much to him anyway.
So, in an attempt to stay away from the silence that had plagued him for months on end, Discord followed the silver stardust road. With every few steps, the moon seemed to be growing closer. He soon figured out that was his destination, but found his magic to be of little help. The most he could do out here was turn the stardust into sprinkles for a millisecond. "Well that's pointless." he mumbled, continuing on.
Eventually reaching the rock-covered surface of the moon, Discord was surprised to see another form silhouetted against the starlight. The stars around her were dimming, and he couldn't help but be disheartened at the fact that he had missed something, even if it was just stars. Quietly, he moved towards the shadowy figure in the hope that he could identify this mysterious creature. No, it was definitely a pony, he could make out the outline of a horn atop its head; a unicorn.
At least, he thought it was until he heard a quiet rustling of feathers. So, it had wings too. An alicorn then. But he knew of only two... He caught a movement out of the corner of his eye and noticed the flowing mane of the pony. "It can't be..." And he was right, it wasn't, for the pony had now turned her head and he could see the sharp fangs gleaming in the starlight. He shrunk into the shadows of a crater as she drew closer, holding his breath. When she turned away, he saw her horn light up with that same blue light he had seen earlier. So it was...
A Thousand Years of Eternity
Chapter 4 - A Discordant Meeting
"Luna! What brings you to the moon? Did you finally decide to visit the barren wasteland you have control over? Love the new look, by the way. It's much better than that old boring blue coat and light, unmoving mane."
"So this is where the Elements imprisoned thy soul after turning thee to stone. How original of them to send us here as well." said Nightmare, not even bothering to turn around.
Discord moved out of the crater he had taken refuge in, walking forward until he was directly beside Luna. "Oh, they didn't bring me here, Luna. You did." At least, I'm pretty sure it was you. That's the only possible explanation.
Nightmare Moon stood silently in the dim starlight. The glow of her magic helped add to the limited visibility around them, though there was nothing particularly special about where they stood. Discord was completely right; this was a barren wasteland home to craters and perhaps a small mountain or two. The two of them were easily the only living beings for many light years. "How did we bring thee here, Discord?" she seemed to growl. She would be better off with no company than that of the being beside her, and you could tell she thought so with her tone.
"Now Luna, that's no way for friends to treat each other. Lighten up a little. Seriously."
Another growl escaped Nightmare and she bared her gleaming fangs with an otherworldly hiss. "We have no patience for thy tricks, Discord." Her expression seemed to soften as she smiled. "So, we suggest thee tell us how we brought thee here."
"Oh I have no idea, Luna. But while we're on the subject of how we got here, I believe you mentioned something about the Elements of Harmony, yes? Why did they send you here of all places, or even need to imprison you in the first place? It wouldn't have anything to do with your fabulous new look, would it?"
Nightmare Moon found it hard to contain her growl and keep a smile, though slight, on her face at Discord's irritating attempt at conversation. All she really wanted at this moment was to be alone to plot her revenge, since she obviously wouldn't be in the company of her guards for some time. "That is of no concern to thee, Discord. " she couldn't help but growl as his name left her lips. Though they had the common goal of bringing down Celestia, his name still left a bitter taste on her tongue. They were enemies, and always would be.
"Oh but it is, dear Luna. For you see, if the Elements sent you here that means you're no longer connected to them. Their magic will weaken, and I will once again be able to rule over those pathetic ponies. If you had tried to do the same thing, I see no reason why we can't work out an agreement of so-"
She decided then and there she would find a way to rid herself of him for good, and cut him off. "There is naught thee can offer us. Thy powers are worthless, as are thee."
Discord pouted. "I'm insulted, Luna. Here I thought we could be friends. But no, you had to go and tear that down before it even started. Maybe that's why no one appreciated your nights. Celestia was kind and tried to make friends with her subjects. You, on the other hoof, don't really care about making friends." Nightmare's face fell and Discord smirked. "I'm right, aren't I?"
She steeled herself and cut off the glow from her horn, staring intently at the near darkness around them. "Thou know naught about us, Discord."
"That's not how I see it, dear Luna. For you see, though my body is trapped in stone and set up like an ornament in your gardens, I still know more about each pony than you ever will." He paused, waiting for it to sink in. "I was free to roam out here, Luna. I had complete control over my senses, my emotions, my powers. I could do whatever I pleased, learn whatever I wanted, and there was nothing those precious Elements of Harmony could do about it." He was flat out lying at this point, but Nightmare Moon was none the wiser. He was, after all, the master of trickery and manipulation. It was difficult for most to detect a lie from him. Only those who were trained to detect lies and had fallen victim to his lies would be able to recognize it, and still with difficulty. Luna met neither qualification, and would be easily tricked because of it.
Darkwing watched the stardust dance before him, unable to do a thing about what he was witnessing. He was sure he knew more than his fellow guards about the true reason they were here, and how they had been sent here at all. Trace magic from the Elements of Harmony - artifacts that would, without a doubt, be written off as legends in the years that would follow this occurrence - had remained mixed with Celestia's(he still downright refused to refer to her as a princess at this point). Thanks to this she was able to send him and three others into the stars to aid their queen in her escape after a millennium of endless darkness, something Nightmare Moon had wanted so greatly.
But that wasn't all, not even close. Not only were they sent to be among the stars, but they were each connected to a star themselves. They were bound to them and could only be free for short amounts of time, leaving their queen lonely for most of what would be day in Equestria and all through the night. If it wasn't for Discord. When the stardust allowing him to watch his queen had also moved to show the form of that creature, he had let out a low growl. It also didn't help that he could hear most of what they were saying.
From what he could tell, Discord was trying to figure out what had gotten her sent to the moon. He was also continuously referring to her as 'Luna', which only served to cause his anger to flare each time he heard that name. Darkwing truly preferred the name Nightmare Moon as it seemed to fit his queen far better than 'Luna' ever had, so to hear her not even bother correcting the monster beside her was infuriating.
And then there was that last statement. Free to do whatever he wanted? Oh, please. It had to be a lie! He had been imprisoned by the Elements, trapped in stone for all eternity. There was no way the Elements would have left him with his power, and Darkwing could clearly see that. Then again, Nightmare Moon had never had any first-hoof experience with Discord aside from when she had confronted him as Luna with Celestia by her side, and all she did then was use the Elements to shoot a rainbow at him and freeze him in stone forever. At least, he hoped it would be forever. He wasn't so sure, because when Discord had mentioned their power weakening he had definitely not been lying.
With a whirlwind of thoughts in his mind, he waved a hoof through the stardust images and laid on the cloud of it below him. It was surprisingly soft and, though he never would admit it, he was rather tired after being up through the night in its entirety. He felt his eyelids growing heavy as he lay on the bed of shimmering stardust, and soon gave in to sleep.
Nightmare Moon stood silently. Her eyes were closed and inviting true darkness, not the semi-darkness of the moon surrounded by starlight. Discord's words drifted through her mind on a loop, making themselves known over and over, until she had no choice but to re-open her eyes in an effort to stop them. It seemed to work, but she had a caught a flaw with his statement. "If what thou sayest is true, how is it that thou were brought only by us? Surely if thou had thy powers thee wouldst have been able to cometh here without the aid of one such as us."
Discord frowned. There had been a flaw in his lie?! Something like this had never happened to him before, and he was clueless as to how he could respond without digging himself a crater in the barren landscape surrounding them. So, he stayed quiet. A tense silence quickly grew between them, Discord thankful he still had the voices in his head to take the edge off the silence surrounding him.
As he stared at Nightmare Moon, she glared at him through narrowed eyes that glowed in the semi-darkness. She was waiting for him to reply, to dig himself deeper into what she now knew to be a lie. When no reply was forthcoming she smiled a dark, evil smile. "So ye do dareth lie to us. Well, now thee will learn what we do to those who deceive us." she said with a light, almost cheery tone.
She was smiling as she slowly moved closer to Discord, her horn beginning to glow a deep purple and her mane surrounding him in a flowing wave. Discord simply watched, paralyzed with fear. Any normal day he would have just teleported away from her mane's magical grip, but that was impossible without his powers. So he stood as still as a statue, watching and waiting for what would come next.
Nightmare soon vanished into the cloud of smoke that was her mane, flowing around Discord with ease. Her vaporous form now surrounded him and was moving in closer to his snake-like body. Specifically, near his head and neck. She wrapped herself tightly around his neck, some of her mane flowing upwards and covering his face. He gulped and tried to wiggle out of the ethereal grip, to no avail.
The mist had somehow solidified, taking on the form of a large serpent with scales the color of the night and a bright white crescent moon on its forehead. It wrapped around him even tighter, it's head behind his as it hissed in his ear. He began to choke, gasping for the strangely present, life-giving oxygen that filled the air around them. He was immortal, yes, and therefore unable to die from sickness or old age. Being strangled was, however, a different matter entirely. As this realization came to him, he suddenly became very frightened.
While not new to Discord, this emotion had been rarely felt in his nearly six thousand years of life, and never had it been felt to this extent. He had been in his fair share of fights when he was much, much younger, and even a few more recently (by an immortal's standards, anyway), but never before had he come so close to death. So, yeah, it scared him to be this close to the end when he had lived for so long and thought himself invincible.
Still, he managed to collect his thoughts rather quickly and choke out a plea. "Dear... Luna... why-"
The nightmarish serpent tightened its grip and hissed. "Itssss not Luna!" It snapped, its fangs coming close to taking the tip off his ear. "Our name issss Nightmare Moon!"
"Alright, alright!" he croaked, his breaths ragged as he tried to pull in as much oxygen as possible. "My dear... s-sweet Nightmare Moon.... Why is it... that you w-want to... hurt me?"
The serpent's grip loosened the slightest bit, allowing a bit more air to reach his lungs, though not nearly enough. It seemed to be in deep thought, staring at him with bright, glowing teal eyes that were the only indication that it was, without a doubt, Nightmare Moon that was strangling him. His lungs still burned for want of air, as the piercing stare seemed to burn into his soul, and he couldn't help letting out a quiet yelp as the serpent's grip tightened once more.
"We wish to harm thee sssimply becaussse thou annoy usss." Hissed the serpent Nightmare, and Discord pouted.
"Is that really... anything to s-say... to a friend?" he choked out, beginning to get dizzy and still struggling to get air.
The serpent paused and loosened its grip once more, to a point where he could breath easier but nowhere near the freedom her needed to escape. "Dost thou really think of ussss assss... friendssss?" the serpent hissed quietly, staring at him with that piercing gaze. Except this time, it seemed to burn more with longing and sadness than anger and Discord allowed himself a small, sincere smile.
"Well, I would have less trouble believing that if you were to, I don't know, let me go?" he suggested, and the serpent immediately set him down on the rocky surface of the moon, though it still sat almost uncomfortably close, watching him.
"Sssso, are we friendsss or not?"
"I would say that we are, wouldst thou not?"
The serpent smiled and disappeared into a cloud of purple smoke. Within seconds the mist took on the form of Nightmare Moon. Her fangs shone in the dim starlight and her eyes glowed just like the eyes of her serpent form. "Yes, we are friends." Her magic suddenly grabbed his throat and pulled him towards her until he was mere centimeters from her face, and gleaming fangs. "However, if ye so much as think about deceiving us again, it will be the last thing thou ever does."
"Understood, my dear Nightmare Moon." Discord said, his smile replaced with fear as he stared at her dazzling fangs only centimeters from his throat.
"Good. Now, what shall we do to pass the time 'til nightfall?"
"How about we have a little fun?"
"What dost thou propose we do for 'fun'? If thou hast not noticed, we are trapped in a 'barren wasteland', as thee put it."
"My dear Nightmare, there is still much you have to learn about friends, isn't there?"
Author's Note
About Darkwing recognizing the lie, and Discord being surprised that Luna/Nightmare Moon figured it out, my thoughts were that his lies are only unrecognizable from the truth when he's using his chaos magic. Being imprisoned in stone, he has barely anything left of his usual power, and his lies are not as solid as they would be normally.
A Thousand Years of Eternity
Princess Celestia landed heavily on the ground. Wielding the Elements of Harmony alone had taken its toll on her, and her legs felt like lead due to her exhaustion. Still, there were a few things she had to do before she could give in to her need for rest. She folded her wings loosely against her sides, heading for the chamber where the Elements were stored in order to keep them tucked away safely until they were needed again. Which, hopefully, would not be for a long while.
She trudged down the corridor, not acting like the regal being she was in that moment at all. She wasn't even sure she could keep up an act should anypony stumble upon her. Her passage into the Element Vault was thankfully uneventful and allowed her some time to sort through her thoughts and emotions in order to compose herself.
She had just placed the Elements back on their pedestal when she heard hoofsteps behind her. Celestia turned to find Captain Solar Shield a short distance away. "Yes, Captain? Do you have information for me?"
"Yes, your highness. We have identified four guards loyal to only Nightmare Moon, and we suspect they helped her get into the castle undetected."
I suppose I don't have to tell them exactly what happened. It would be best to just let them believe that Nightmare Moon defeated Luna... "Take them to the throne room. I have a few things to take care of, and then I will deal with them."
The captain nodded, turning and leaving her to her peace and quiet. Well, relative peace. She was horribly saddened by the loss of her sister, but she would have to bear the loss alone. No one else would understand her sacrifice.
With a sigh, Celestia replaced the Elements on their pedestal, seeming to consider something for a moment before sealing them in stone. She could easily break the enchantment, but with what just happened she wasn't taking any chances. She then looked up at the sky and lowered the moon, replacing it with her sun. It felt like a betrayal to do this, to take over Luna's job as the Princess of the Night.
Except Luna was gone and she was the sole ruler of Equestria now. This wouldn't be the only thing to change with that.
Celestia walked into the throne room to the lack of any guards of the night and bit back a sigh of disappointment. Solar Shield was a wonderful Captain, truly, but sometimes he tried her nerves. Her eyes looked over the new decor and she was nearly sick at the reminder of her sister over the back of the throne. Without looking she changed it all back to normal, and with a deep breath she turned to the Captain of the night guard.
Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly and her anger flared, as did her magic. She picked him up and brought in the other ponies guarding the throne room and one other whose name she found in the Captain's head with minimal prodding. So these are the ones loyal to my corrupted sister, she thought after a bit more probing that they didn't feel and that lasted mere seconds anyway.
Without a second thought, she banished them to the one place where no one would find them. The night sky.
Little did she know that the Elements had a plan for them, and that traces of the Elements' magic still lingered with her own until after that spell.
Author's Note
Every once in a while I'll return to the ground so we can see what's going on with some of the ponies there. Whether it be Celestia, or the family members of the four guards will vary.
Next intermission: the families of the guards.
Also: After over a year, I return! I have not died! Sorry for the long wait, everypony. Life sucks sometimes and it threw me for a major loop, but I'm back to continue this story and (hopefully) my others as well, in addition to all the ones I have posted on fanfiction.net. Yeah, I've been a busy bee.... Sorry again for the wait!
A Thousand Years of Eternity
Introduction (Completely Optional)
You don't have to read this to understand the story. You can read it if you want, but it's not required.
We know Princesses Celestia and Luna used the Elements of harmony to turn Discord to stone. We also know that Celestia used those same Elements to banish her own sister to the moon. But when Luna helped Celestia turn Discord to stone over a thousand years ago, before her own banishment, she did not have harmony with herself or her sister. A thousand years ago, there was nothing but hatred in her heart. Until someone changed that.
Author's Note
This is really a different version of the summary I had meant to be a prologue, but it's way to short for that. Instead, I made it an introductory paragraph that should help lay out what the story could be like without giving too much away. I hope you enjoy the rest of the story!
