Chapters Don't be afraid of the dark.
"The night eternal has been awakened dear sister! Now watch as your precious sun is extinguished by my beautiful moon!" came the cry that echoed across the ancient Canterlot Castle. Its stone foundations rumbled along with the voice.
"Stop this Luna!" came another cry, lighter in comparison, yet seemingly as powerful "This is not you, fight the darkness inside!"
"Oh this is not me Celestia, can you not see!? I am reborn, not fighting against the darkness I control, but embracing it, being molded by it until I became the figure that you see. No longer Luna, but now Nightmare Moon!"
"Please stop this sister! Everything will die without the sunlight! Please bring down the moon Lu..."
"DO NOT CALL ME THAT!" boomed the nightmare, "Luna is no longer, as soon shall you!" The glass dome was illuminated with a deep blue light then shattered with a magical shock wave. Out of this chaos flew a white form, with a nightmarish form pursuing only a couple hundred feet behind. Air battle between the sun and moon deity s commenced with beams of magic, explosions of sun magic and blast of icy moon energy. They met in a fierce embrace in the darkness of the night. Horn to horn, magic arcing across the battlefield.
"Please stop this Luna!, I know who you are and if you do not give up, I will have to bring you down myself."
The nightmare cackled at this thought. "Bring me down!? While the icon that gives me power hangs in the heavens? No Celestia, tonight you will perish, and I will rule Equestria with an iron hoof. Now for my final act of being the younger sister, I will send you into the very depths of the cosmos with the only spell father and mother withheld from us, Cosmic Rift!"
Nightmare Moon broke the contact between them and soared into the starry sky. Her horn crackled with malignant energy and circles spawned around her, one under her hooves so she could stand, with four others intersecting the main one with a space around the nightmare. Swirls of ancient lettering swirled around and began constricting until a light bubble of arcane words surrounded her.
"Sister no! Cosmic Rift was kept from us due to its unpredictably!" Celestia cried, as she flew back farther. "You could destroy the entirety of Equestria, but it could leave me unharmed!", yet the moon goddess would not listen as her spell required all of her energy. "I have to use them sister, the elements are to be used against you... I'm sorry..." A tear fell down Celestia's cheek as she flew back down to the castle ground where a large relic stood between the two thrones of the sisters. Five crystals stood on pedestals surrounding a large stone sphere. Celestia lit her horn and removed the crystals from their resting place levitating around her body as she flew up to the stone. Yellow light shone from the inside as the final element was extracted from the granite.
With elements in tow, Celestia retreated back into the sky where her sister's spell was nearly complete. Celestia held the Elements in front of her and began to charge them with magic. They sparked and formed a sphere of sun energy as the Elements rearranged themselves into their offensive position. Beams of multicolored light came form five of the elements and flowed into the last element. In that moment an explosion ripped through the air and a tear in the very fabric of the world opened up next to Nightmare Moon. Her arcane bubble dissolved save for one strand of words which she sent hurtling towards her sister. The words barely punched through Celestia's protection and was only able to wrap around the red element and fling it out of the circle, bursting the sphere and leaving the elements without a magical aura. "No!" cried Celestia as she tried to regain the elements, yet was stopped by the arcane whip focusing on her and wrapping around her barrel.
Bringing Celestia towards the tear, she could feel the energy of a spell gone rampant rippling across her skin, if that spell kept open for too long, the world would be ripped apart by the power of the cosmos, there was only one option.
"What is your response now sister? Your elements are gone, and you are powerless to stop me! Now prepare yourself against Cosmic Rift."
"Not today sister." Celestia growled as she sent a beam of magic aimed for the Nightmare's face. It hit her directly and she was flung out of her circle. The tear screeched and widened now that it had no caster to reel it in. It continued to widen until it was behind the ebony equine, yet she did not notice as she was still woozy from the initial hit. "I'm sorry Luna," she thought, "but there is one spell mother taught to me in case of anything such as this happening. A single yellow circle surrounded her and she cried out, "Solar Flare!" Her body erupted with fire and she was left blinding white with a mane of pure green, yellow, purple and pink plasma. She screamed and aimed her horn at her corrupted sister. A single shot of magic, burning with withheld fury and some fear, impacted Nightmare Moon and Celestia could hear the sound of fire burning unsuspecting flesh.
"NO!" Nightmare Moon cried once, then flew back into the tear which was Cosmic Rift.The spell, now satisfied for a sacrifice of flesh, whether it was its intended target or even its own castor, closed with a crack which echoed across of all Equestria. Celestia looked up at the moon and cried as she saw her sisters shadow imprinted on its face, and she did not stop crying even as she drifted and had long since impacted the ground.
The ocean was raging as it always was. The blue waves, nearly black in this dark light, the only light in this dark sea was the solid cone of light that was emanating from my lighthouse. The Cracked Rock Lighthouse was the only lighthouse, for the small island of Ceste, a somewhat recently found Island near the southern cost of Florida, world renowned for its exotic plants, animals, and weather, which was always a balmy seventy degree weather even in the winter. My little crop of land on the other hand, was a completely different matter. Severe cold, frequent storms, and flooding threatened me and Ace, my golden retriever. I had found him in a dinghy that had washed up on shore, surely from a trading ship that had wanted to travel into the island from a different direction than the Crete passage, probably to avoid the tax station.
The razor sharp rock surely had shredded the ship's hull, letting in hundreds of gallons of seawater, nearly sinking the boat instantly. Ace had probably sensed the danger and had jumped into one of the boats when the ship sank. Leaving him adrift until he came onto my island, a skinny, puppy nearly dying from thirst and hunger. Needless to say, when a report log came in telling of what I needed, I added dog food, a brush, and a leash.
Yet I was not sleeping in my bed as I normally would be at that point, but instead I was outside. Calm nights do not come around often on Cracked Rock, no when one arises I usually am outside on my favorite part of the tiny plot of land, other than the lighthouse. The cabin we would stay in was built out of solid spruce lumber not native to the island. My Triumph's engine rumbled and finally stopped as we rode up to the white walls. Ace dashed out of the side car and began to scratch against the door, his tail sweeping the dust off of the stone place mat. "Ok buddy, calm down." I chuckled as I ducked my hand into my coat pocket and fished out an iron key ring with several brass keys clinking together with one single key carved from wood, impossibly strong and very smooth.
It was this key that I slotted into the doors keyhole and turned, being rewarded with the familiar grinding of the mechanism I pushed the heavy door open. The inside of the cabin was well furbished with couches and pillows with two other guest rooms to the east and west. Ace dashed in and curled up on top of his favorite sofa. As I watched him start to snore, I went over to the kitchen area and filled a pot full of water. As it was filling, I flicked on the propane stove. I placed the pot on top of the flickering blue flames. As I waited for the pot to boil, I strolled over to the cold fireplace and piled wood into a crude tepee shape. I flicked out my lighter and lit a small piece of newspaper, sending it deep into the wooden bowels, it began to spark and filled the room with the sweet smell of burning redwood. As I was admiring the quiet fire. A small tremor passed through the floor into me, barely noticable, yet noticed all the same.
"What?" I said quietly, turning off the stove in case of another tremor. "Was..." I tried to say, yet was cut off by a stronger tremor. I opened the door to the cabin again and stepped outside. What I saw killed the words in my throat. A Giant tear was in the sky, with ragged edges and a bright blue inside that swirled like a miniature galaxy. As I continued to stare a third tremor larger than any of the other two shook through the island. The tear's inside was changing also. It was turning from the light and dark blues to a solid bright yellow with a large black dot in the middle. The tear seemed to be getting smaller as I watched, slowly constricting around the black dot until the dot was shot out of the tear like a cannon leaving a stream of yellow flame behind it. As it flew I feared for the worst. I had seen videos of jets breaking the sound barrier, and I was wondering if an object that was so small could possibly....
The cracking boom was all of the proof that I needed. A ring of air shattered as the thing broke through sound, leaving a echo in the dark night. Yet my real fear was revealed when I stared towards the lighthouse. My life's light, that cone of yellow safety for hundreds of sailors, shattered from the force of fractured sound. I could only stare at the desolation, yet I still followed the object. It was still travelling inland, moving exceptionally fast. I had to make a choice. Follow this thing to see what it was, or pick up Ace and move to the lighthouse to report the disaster. I mounted my Triumph and started the motor that came to attention with a mighty hum. I made my choice.
I sped off in the direction of the projectile, a decision I didn't know, that would change me, for better or for worse.
The wind rippled through my free hair and the rain pelted my face. I was pretty sure that this was the way to the foreign object if it wasn't I would have to head back and try in the morning. I scanned the dark trees their leaves whipping in the wind. Luckily the storm was behind me and only a small amount of rain was present. It was too late until I saw the figure. All I saw was white skin and a flash of dark blue, then the crunch of something hard impacting the front of the Triumph, thankfully not smashing the improvised light I had set up on the front years ago to prevent exactly what had happened. I braked suddenly ramming the handle bars into my gut, and dismounted.
I sprinted the short distance that the figure had fallen. I knelt down and looked at its face. It was defiantly human most likely female due to the soft complexion. An odd helmet was perched upon her head with some sort of armor covering her torso, now dented due to the scuffle with the Triumph Her eyes opened and stared at me, they were an iridescent teal color. I could only stare back until she opened her mouth to utter one word...
"Help..."
Her eyes rolled back into her head. "No wait!" I cried "Help you with what!" She didn't answer. I wrapped my arms around her then pulled back as I felt feathers and a viscous liquid "What the!" I pulled back and looked at my hands they were red with blood and covered in black feathers. I could only stare at her then my hands and back. I made up my mind. I picked her up again and felt the blood seep into my clothes. I placed her gently into the side buggy of the Triumph and folded her now visible raven wings under her body so the wind would not catch them. I revved the motor and swung an entire 180 degrees to face where I had come from into the ugly face of the storm. The Triumph roared with power and took of like a bolt from a lightning cloud.
Fifteen minutes later, I returned with the woman and I soaking wet and shivering. I dragged her gently out of the buggy and walked up to the door. I gently nudged it open and walked inside slowly. Ace barked at me at first, then ran to me and sniffed at the new person I had brought into his safe area. I entered the small guest room and placed the woman face down onto the unused sheets. Her wings were laid onto her back blood slowly seeping through her wings visible in the lamp's light. I ran to the storage closet, turning on the stove and replacing the pot of water as I passed. I rooted through the tubs of linen until I found the towels. I picked several of the up. I felt the water with my finger, it was hot, but not too hot. Perfect. I drizzled the water until it saturated all of the towels, then rushed back to the room with Ace barking at my heels.
He followed me into the room where she lay. I stood near her sides and slowly touched one of her wings, slowly extending it. As I touched the tip though the wing flared and slapped me in the face, leaving a bloody imprint. She moaned softly as I let the wing fall quickly. I got over my shock and picked up the wing again, making sure to not touch the tip again. I brought the towel to her back and wrapped the wing in the warm towel. She groaned yet again and I continued until both of her wings were wrapped. I stood back up and stretched letting my spine crack. As I went to leave the room, I looked at Ace. "Stay with her Ace." he whimpered. " Come on buddy, you know I can't sleep in the same bed as her, and you're the only dog I trust around here." He opened his maw and his tongue lolled out in happiness. He jumped onto the bed and curled into a furry ball next to the woman.
I shut off the light and closed the door behind me. I walked slowly into the bedroom, turning off the stove as I passed. "Now I'm talking to my dog more and more. This lady is having an effect on me." I would have to get bandages and report the lighthouse light in the morning. I flopped onto the bed and stared out of the rain streaked window. I had saved an angel. I had saved a Fallen Angel. My eyes closed slowly and I fell to sleep.
Introductions with a bit of magic.
Nightmare Moon groaned in pain.The agony in her wings was still there, she knew that. Yet it seemed dulled as if someone had treated the wounds. Her midsection was now throbbing from her collision, adding more agony to the already present burns. There was another thing next to her also, she could feel the heat coming off of its form. She was able to put her new appendages under her form and pushed herself up. Her torso cried in pain, yet she persevered, and was able to roll onto her left side. The form that was laying next to her was a dog, bigger than any dog she had seen in Equestria. Its fur was golden and was extremely shaggy. As she stared at the dog, it raised its head and looked at her. He appeared to be somewhat sleepy, yet managed to crawl over to her and wipe his tongue over her face.
She reared back, yet forgot that she was perched on the edge of something, and fell over landing on her already injured wings. She gasped at the pain, yet not as much as when the dog jumped out of the bed and resumed his licking of her face.
"Get off me insolent creature!" she cried as slobber covered her face. The dog did not stop though, so she was forced to push it off suddenly and rise to her feet. Nightmare's head buzzed with the sudden blood rush, and had to support herself on a frame of some sort. "Where am I" she gasped as she looked around the room where she was. A light tan covered all of the walls, while the ceiling was brown and the carpet beneath her feet was white and shaggy. Minimal artwork covered the walls, and a large four poster bed where she had been laying on occupied most of the room. One wall was entirely a window where sunlight steamed in through a forest of trees.
She saw a door and walked towards it, leaning herself against the walls. Heavy weights fell from her wings ans she walked, but Nightmare could care less as her hand wrapped around the cold metal of the doorknob and pulled. The dog was now at her legs, and bolted through the door before she could, causing Nightmare to almost fall yet again. Yet she kept herself upright and walked through the doorway into a room of epic proportions. Areas were separated by several chest high walls where one appeared to be a kitchen of some sort and another being a closet of some kind. Chairs and sofas were strewn wildly across the carpeted floor. She was distracted at the sound of scratching. The looked towards the sound and saw the dog clawing at another door that led to the outside.
She almost thought about looking at the dog and cackling wildly as he struggled, but she wasn't that evil, and opened the door. The dog bolted out and Nightmare Moon nearly cracked a smile as he went searching every tree. Smiling? I never smile! she thought to herself. Yet despite a lapse in cruelty, she would find a way home to finally rule the kingdom that she deserved. She went searching for something that might aid her in finding out where she was, yet only found a large cube like object in the kitchen area.
Interesting.... she thought.
The lighthouse was a wreck. I even had to stop my Triumph at lest fifty feet from the base due to shattered glass. I hoped that the antenna still worked. As I walked in I could see the destruction that had happened. Items had been thrown around into separate piles. I began to dig through them, until I finally found the radio which was buried under a mound of various canned and packaged goods. It was still plugged in and only required a little bit of a hit to finally remove the static. "Hello!" I called into the receiver. "Hello can anyone on the mainland hear me?"
"We read you Cracked Rock Lighthouse, this is control station Delta, what seems to be the problem?"
"The lighthouse is broken at the bulb, I'm calling to request a replacement and a team of..."
"Slow down there Lighthouse, how did the bulb break?"
"Lightning bolt blasted through the lightning rod and overpowered the circuit." I didn't want to tell the truth, of a woman crashing from the heavens, they would think that I was crazy. "I just need that maintenance crew and bulb stat."
"OK Lighthouse, you might need to wait there for a week or so. Storm wrecked up some of our delivery boats, and we're trying to repair them as quickly as possible. We'll try to stop the cruise ships from coming in anymore."
"Thanks Mainland. Lighthouse out." I turned off the radio and tried to re organize all the fallen items before giving up and walking back outside. The ground sparkled with fractured glass and rainwater. I mounted my Triumph again and drove back towards the cabin. Several things struck me as... odd. One of these things was that Ace was out. I didn't let him out, he was with the woman. The second thing was that there was an orange glow coming from the kitchen area.
"What..." I tried to say, then the scent of something burning caught my nostrils. I shot off of the cycle and burst through the unlocked door. Where the stove was, there was a pillar of fire. I ran to the utility closet and grabbed the fire extinguisher that was leaning on the wall. I pulled the pin and aimed the nozzle at the plume of fire. I pulled the trigger and white powder covered the stove and extinguished the fire. Ace barked as both of us were covered in powder. "Hello?" I called "Miss? Are you OK?" I looked and saw that my room's door had been closed, which was not how I had left it. I reached out and turned the knob, walking into my medium sized room. All I saw was the flash of metal and an outstretched pale hand and my chest erupted with cold. It felt like someone had impaled my chest with a pillar of ice. My heart began to slow down because of the cold and I felt myself start to crumple forward. My face hit the carpet first, but I was already unconscious. All I could see was a pair of dirty white bare feet before my body began to shut down.
I Can't Breathe
Nightmare Moon could only look at the figure that had been hit by her ice spell. After the cube had erupted, she had fled into this room in case that the fire was being used for summoning something. Now she had a good look at it. It was a couple inched taller than her with short black hair. She couldn't see its face, but it was dressed strangely. It had some dark fabric covering its lover torso with a green scrap of cloth covering his midsection up. She felt no remorse for this demon, but as she looked the dog she had seen earlier look at the soon to be corpse and licked its face lovingly.
"What are you doing!" a small voice screamed as loud as it could in Nightmare's head, "Save it, it is innocent!"
"You're still up there Luna? I thought you had receded far into my sub concise by now"
"Do you not care about it? It saved you from your own doing!"
"I care not about this thing's petty life!" The dog was barking at her, a look of sadness on its face.
"If you save it... I am willing to make a deal with you."
"What kind of deal, little princess?"
"Save it... and I will pose no resistance to your rule anymore. My body will become all yours for you to use as you wish."
"Hmmm..." Nightmare Moon stood there contemplating the deal. The barking increased is volume, then was reduced to simple whimpers. The creature's breaths were thinning out as his very vital organs were freezing. "I accept your offer Luna. I will save this creature.
She knelt down and slowly pushed the dog out of the way. He posed some resistance, but stopped as she gave it an icy glare. She flipped over the creature and she put her hand up to her mouth and gasped. Its face was beautiful, slightly rugged but none the less. The quickly got over her shock and reached out to where her magic. It was firmly set over its chest region. She reached out her hand and willed her magic back into her body. The magic was stubborn, yet relented its grip upon the creature and flowed out of him as a blue mist escaping through its mouth. It struck her hand and was absorbed into her skin. "Ahhhh" she sighed as she felt her nightmarish form regain itself.
The creature sighed and its breaths began to return to normality. She stood up from the floor and stretched. "I saved it dear princess. Now it is your turn, recede into the back into my mind and never come back.
"Yes Nightmare."
"Don't call me Nightmare Moon anymore young one, call me, Mistress."
"Yes Mistress..." Luna said, and Nightmare Moon felt her presence grow ever weaker until barely anything remained. As she stood admiring her victory the creatures eyes shot open and he went bolt upright, coughing horribly. With every cough, a light blue phlegm exploded from its mouth, covering the floor. That was not normal... He could only stare at her as phlegm dripped down its chin onto its cloth covering.
"Hello." she said as it stared at her, more specifically her body.
"Hi" it said with a deep male voice. The dog began to lick his face. "Down Ace, down." He picked himself slowly off the floor and stood up to face her. "Who are you?"
"My name is Nightmare Moon." she said "and I only will give you that demon, until thou tells me thy name."
Did she just call me a demon? "Jacob. My name is Jacob." is said, my chest still in pain. "What are you?"
"I am the conqueror of Equestria!" her voice suddenly booming. "I am the reigner of darkness and shadows, queen of stars and worlds! Now tell me mortal, where am I!"
"Calm down!" I cried, my chest suddenly constricting. "You are on The Cracked Rock Island, off the coast of Ceste, North America, Earth."
"Earth?" she said quizzically, "I have never seen or heard of this planet in my night sky. Are you the only one of your kind on this planet with your dog?"
"No." I said, "I'm not the only one. This here is Ace. "Can I just call you Moon? Nightmare Moon would be a mouthful for me."
"We will find this name... acceptable Jacob." Moon said, her voice softer now.
I noticed that the sun was beginning to stream a darker yellow through the window, signifying that it was noon. "Can I make you some lunch Moon? You look hungry." I said as I heard my stomach growl.
"We are quite famished" she said.
"We?" I asked.
"I mean I", she said, quickly correcting herself."
"Ok then." I said, "You can sit in the lounge while I see if the old stove still works."
"Fine." she said, walking out to the lounge area. I followed her and she sat in one of the overstuffed armchairs. Her wings extended before she sat and they rested against the arm rests. I looked at the blackened stove top. One burner was completely melted, but its brother fired up, sputtering from misuse. I began to cook.
In only a few minutes I walked over with two bowls with spaghetti with tomato sauce and one small plate with canned dog food. I balanced the two bowls on my arms and placed the plate on the floor. As Ace trotted to the plate, I sat on a chair alongside Moon. I handed her one of the bowls, which she grasped lightly. I pulled two forks out of my pocket and handed her one of them. I began to eat, not noticing that she was having difficulty. "Do you need help?" I asked politely.
"That would be most helpful." she said. I picked up my bowl and motioned to her.
"Watch me." I said, and began to spin the fork to capture the spaghetti. She watched and began to copy me. When I looked up again her face was beaming.
"HUZZAH!" she cried, suddenly standing up, her wings flaring out so I got another face full of feathers. As I tried to push down the feathers I began to notice that they smelled really nice... they smelled like lavender and fresh rain. She noticed my predicament and sat down again in the chair. I saw that she had a small mound of noodles on her fork. "This invention is most delightful! What is it called!?"
"It's a fork." I replied quietly
"Your species is one of the most advanced I have seen! From the fire box to this fork, this surpasses any technology that is seen in Equestria!" She giggled slightly and put the fork into her mouth. "Also you must be a cook of the generations!", she said, mumbling slightly due to the pasta, "This meal is better than anything served by our kingdoms chefs!"
"Um, thanks?" I said, slightly frightened.", we continued to eat in silence, Moon moaning slightly with every bite. As she finished, I took her bowl and stacked it in mine with the plate on the bottom. I walked over to the sink and began to wash the dishes. I felt Moon looking over my back at the flowing water. She only watched in awe at the water. I noticed that her feet and legs were covered in dirt and small flecks of blood.
"If, you want", I said as I scrubbed the bowls, "there is a shower in my room if you want to clean the dirt off yourself."
"I do not believe that I am familiar with the concept of a shower." she said, putting her hand on my shoulder.
"If you need any help, you can just ask me and I'll try to help you."
"Thank you Jacob." she said as she walked over to the room that I motioned towards.
She walked towards the small door inside the room that she had frozen Jacob in. She pushed open the door and walked inside . There was a small porcelain bowl and a concave area with shiny metal piping. She assumed that this 'shower' had the same basic concept of bathing. She pulled her dress over her head, pulling her wings towards her flesh as she stepped into the concave area. She looked at the small ivory knobs that were on the front. She twisted the knob that had a large red H on the front. A small gurgling came from the piping and super heated water blasted out of the nozzle at the top, impacting the red flesh on her torso. She gasped and suddenly twisted the knob with the C on it, while vigorously turning off the hot water. Now freezing water was striking her exposed body and feathers. She yelped and slipped on the wet floor. She impacted the hard surface of the shower area.
I was just finishing the dishes when I heard the yelp and the impact. I ran to the bathroom and what I saw... well almost gave me a bloody nose. Moon was lying down in the bath, her wings tucked behind her. Water was flowing over her, um, less than clothed body. Her legs were mercifully crossed, the water washing the dirt off of her slender legs. Her clothes and armor were laying in a pile on the floor, the reflection of the water soaking them through completely. I tried not to stare at her for too long as I reached out my hand and grasped hers. I pulled gently and she stood up regaining her foothold on the wet surface.
"Are these showers supposed to be as hot, cold, and painful as this one was?"
"No it isn't, you just slipped." I saw the red angry flesh under her chest.
"I believe that I am also clean." she said, slightly shivering.
"Your clothes are soaked." I said, assisting her out of the bathroom.
"Stay here for a second," I said as I rooted through my dresser in some clothes that would fit her. I handed her a towel and she began to dry herself off. When she finished, I handed her a pair of jeans, a Syacuse T-shirt, some socks and a pair of tennis shoes . As she put on the clothes I picked up the heavily armored cloth and walked around to the backside porch. I draped the clothes over one of the wooden beams that formed the porch . When I walked back inside the clothes fit perfectly fastening on her form. She was sitting on the bed, still shivering.
I sat down next to her and wrapped my arm around her body, sharing my body heat with her. "You ok?" I asked
"Yes, I am fine." she said, " Thank you Jacob."
"No problem," I said. I stood up and walked to the door. "I'm going to finish cleaning up. Can I get you anything?"
"No thank you. I'm fine." she mumbled.
"Ok then." I said, "Try to stay warm." She looked at me and nodded. I closed the door behind me.
Nightmare moon sat on the bed shivering slightly. "You like him don't you Nightmare?" Luna's voice saying through her thoughts.
"YOU ARE TO CALL ME MISTRESS!" Nightmare Moon yelled in her head, directing ice magic at the voice in her head. Luna screamed and became silent once more. Ignorant Princess... she sighed, shivering once more.
Celestia sat in her royal chambers writing a letter to her newest prodigee Twilight Sparkle. She was a promising student who had an extreme knack for knowledge and ancient tomes, as she was herself in her youth. As she finished her letter with an ink flourish she sent off the letter in a flash of fire. Celestia fell back into the cusions that were placed in the middle of her floor. She picked up a dusty leather bound book from the stack to her right and began to read it as she lay upside down. "With the patterns of moon and sun rays, various spells are muddled, reversed, or even destroyed immediatly. Due to this fact, our glorious ruler Celestia had managed the output levels of lunar and solar rays to make spell casting easy for all unicorns in the kingdom."
"Well except for that one exam..." she chuckled to herself, remembering the broken spell by her student and the dragon involved. Several thousand bits were needed for the repairs for the castles turret roof. As she still read further her thought froze in her head. "No... There was another time." All those decades ago... Luna.
She stood up quickly and went to the window and pulled out a silver mirror. She help it up and saw an image , one she had always wished to see. A desolate surface of the moon with dark imprints that showed the imprint of her sister's face. she began to focus the image until she saw something that she feared. The craters were only just craters. and she did not feel the malignant energy that should have been Nightmare Moon. A spear of fear stabbed through her heart as she dropped the mirror, the glass shattering on impact. Celestia went to a wall to the opposite of her bed and pulled out Starswirl the Bearded's Tome to Oceanology. The bookcase shuddered and moved slowly to the side. Inside sat a short table with a glass dome covering it. Inside was a large quartz like crystal.
She pulled off the glass and took the crystal. She moved the cusions and placed the crystal. Her horn lit up with dark purple and green magic and she shot the quartz. As it impacted, a voice resonated through her head.
"Why hello Celestia. Long time no see."
Shadows pooled out from the base of the crystal and took a form in front of Celestia. It was a dark stallion with jet black hair and green eyes with red pupils. Celestia shook her head, dispelling the darkness.
"Sombra, I know that we have never been on the best of terms.
"Oh just the fact that you blew me to Tartarus and then trapped my spirit in this damned crystal, you know it wouldn't kill you to redecorate my little home now would it?"
"Shut it with the sarcasm shadow."
"Lord Shadow if you want to mock me Celestia."
"Fine."
"So this is the second time you have called on me. What do you want now?"
"I fear that Nightmare Moon has not been put in the right prison. I also fear that her capturing spell has been growing weaker and I fear that she will escape, no doubt to wreck havoc on our world once again. I know that you were closer to Nightmare than anypony else. So I want you to try to find her natural magical energy and bring her back to this world so I can put her away forever."
"Fine." Sombra responded quickly.
Celestia seemed taked aback at his quick report.
"I'll need a new form though. I cannot operate from a shadowy crystal."
"A grin slowly overtook Celestias face and her horn lit up. Golden bands swirled around the shadowy king, lifting him into the air. After a few seconds, he floated down to the floor and noticed that he was... shorter that usual. He looked up at Celestia and saw her stifling a giggle. When he looked down he saw a belled collar and small paws where his hooves were. He glared up at Celestia with all his kitty fury and said with acid in his voice. "I HATE YOU."
"Aw," she chuckled, "you make a cute cat. Now go on and find my sister."
He meowed, then turned around and tried to take off his collar. A sharp shock went through him, sending his fur on edge.
"I wouldn't take that off. It is the only thing that allows me to keep track of you. So stay safe."
Sombra's tail waved as he walked out of her chambers and into the corridor. She chuckled again and returned to her Starswirl book again. "I hope Luna is still somehow alive. Stay strong Luna, I will save you. No matter who I need to help me."
Sombra padded down the granite hallway of Canterlot castle on velvet padded paws. He turned a sharp corner and walked slowly down the open air passage to the roof of Celestia's throne room. He should of hated this new body, yet he liked the fact that he did not have to disguise to sneak, (also the meals from that Yellow Pegasus mare in the tree house were exquisite.) Sombra stopped as he spotted a ruby sarchwez perched on a balcony ledge. Sombra chittered and grew tense, his legs building power. He leaped and snatched the bird by its breast, sinking his teeth, killing the bird quickly. He continued walking until he saw the tall ledge that lead to the roof of the throne room. He walked lightly on the stained glass and looked until he saw her. She was sitting, working through a stack of papers, spectacles perched on her nose. Sombra took out his claws and began to cut a clean hole in the glass. He forced the circle up by forcing some crystals into the gap and pushing . His collar gave a small shock, yet he still stood up and rubbed his paws in evil glee. He picked up the bird again and dropped it into the newly created hole. He watched the red body fall and jumped in the hole after it. He landed on the floor as the scream echoed. He rolled on his back and chuckled. He looked up and Celestia's face sent him laughing all over again.
She was red faced and the papers were everywhere. "If I did not change you myself," she began, "I would have sworn that you were Discord."
"Oh, I'm nothing like that chaotic fool." Sombra said, standing up, still trying to hold back a chuckle. He padded up to her and jumped onto a little padded stool that held a ink well and several quills. Needless to say, all of them found a new home on the floor.
"I hope that you have something on my sister, and not just your deadly pranks." she said, teleporting the body away. Sombra opened one green eye and stared at her.
"Oh, I do. She is on a planet exactly 154.67 light years from the moon that you "sent" her to. I believe that it is populated, but I do not know by what. I am sending myself and you included into this world with one of my friends."
"Knowing your friends," Celestia said," I will need your word that my sister that will not be hurt."
"I promise that no harm will befall your sister. To whoever if anything is guarding her, I cannot say the same."
"Very well," she said. "Collect your friend, we leave in two days, and trust me Sombra, if you betray me nothing will be able to save you from my wrath."
"Yeah, yeah you will blow me up again won't you." Goodbye, we will meet soon." He walked to one of the windows and changed to shadow and phased through the glass, when he appeared on the other side, Celestia could see a bright blue shock behind the glass. She smirked and began reorganizing her papers.
Sombra altered his collar and felt the burned fur. "Stupid collar..." he scowled as he made his way into the wine cellar. He did not have access to blood at this time, so wine had to work. He passed the outside of the circle and felt the malevolent energy built up inside. In the center was a tear inside the air, where only blackness could be seen. "Hey boy." Sombra said sweetly to the tear. A screeching sound followed by several clicks. "I know, I miss you too. Trust me though, we have a job soon. I want you to be on your best behavior." Several more clicks followed. "Yes we are working with the sisters, but only for now. If all goes well, nothing will stand in our way. Sleep tight Kirdir. Daddy loves you." One click.
Sea Dogs
I sat in the lantern room of the lighthouse, wiping the sweat off of my brow and admiring my handiwork. I had left the cabin, leaving Moon with a note of where I was and some pancakes from some mix I found in one of the cabinets. I had reached the bulb's cage just asr the sun had risen from the horizon. The cage was badly beaten and glass coated the floor. I swept the glass out of the lantern room, and with the help of some tools I was able to mould the metal back to its basic shape. Now the bulb port was easily accessible. I reached in carefully to the fractured glass and metal remains of the previous bulb. In its unbroken form it was about the size of a melon and weighed about a pound. I slowly unscrewed the metal part and disposed of it out the empty windows. I breathed out loudly and laid on the now clean ground and looked through the empty metal cage of the lantern housing. All I needed now was the bulb, and the lighthouse would be working again. I lay down on the now clean floor and closed my eyes slightly, the sun bearing down upon me. Yet my mind kept coming back to Moon. I didn't know who she was or why she was here, hell I knew she wasn't human, that much was for sure. I just didn't know. I felt the warmth slowly leak into my body and was starting to relax until I heard a strange sound. It sounded like... flapping? Yet, it was deeper like a large bird was coming towards me. Wait... didn't Moon have...? "Jacob!" I heard a cry. I stood up quickly to see a dark form hurtling towards the lighthouse with large raven wings, jeans,$ tennis shoe with mismatching socks, and a large Syracuse sweatshirt.
"Holy crap, those wings actually work?!" I said in my mind as she zoomed closer. She seemed a bit wobbly though... "Yes Moon?" I called back.
"Can you c...."
The wing blew and blocked my hearing for a second. "What! Speak up!"
She was getting closer now and looked more off balance than ever. "CATCH ME!" she cried. It was at this moment I knew either two things would happen. One, I would get hit by a human/bird projectile and be thrown out of the opposite side of the cage, or two, by some will some higher power, I would catch Moon.
I braced for impact.
I woke up and realized two things. One, I was not dead, so option two of the plan worked, and two, Moon was laying on top of me, her head on my chest, dark hair strewn everywhere, and with her wings surrounding both of our bodies. "Are thoust injured?" she asked, with a sleight air of pity in it.
"No I'm fine." I said, laying my head down on the floor again. "How about you?"
"My wings seem to be working again, yet I could use a little bit more practice. What do you think?"
"I agree." I said, chuckling a little.
"What is this place?" she asked, staring around the room. "It looks interesting..."
"This is my lighthouse," I replied, It's sort of like a beacon for ships in the ocean, so they know where the rocks surrounding the island and the straight are."
"Has it ever saved lives before?" she asked.
"Oh yeah, tons of ships have to pass through here every year, if this lighthouse wasn't here, they would only travel by day, reducing how much cargo they can ship."
"Interesting..." she said quietly.
"What's up?"
"Where I come from," she said, "The only wield able light I know of is in the hands of a tyrant, one who calls upon it to destroy her enemies, and against family.
"That is horrible." I replied, sitting up onto my elbows, "How do you know of this attack on the tyrant's family?"
"Because I am part of it, the only one in our family she dared use the power of the sun against." she pulled up the sweatshirt slowly, and I felt a flush go across my face. I knew that she wasn't wearing anything underneath. Yet she stopped at her midsection where I could see her clearly. Dark marks showed where some sort of fire had burned her.
"Are you ok?" I asked, staring at the marks
"Yes, I am fine" she replied, my body heals from wounds quickly, so this is no setback to me."
As we both lay in silence. A loud horn sound came thundering through the air. Moon was instantly alert, on her feet she leaned on the railing and peered to where the sound came from. "What is that?" she asked. I stood up slowly and walked over to where she was and looked. Out in the distance was a black trail of smoke which was coming from the smokestacks from an old junker boat. I smiled as I saw the beat up hull and cracked wooden siding. I knew that ship. I scrambled down, not saying, and Moon followed closely, her wings tucked back in the sweatshirt. "What is that?" she asked again.
"That is the Captain of the Salty Sinker." I said with the grin still plastered on my face. "The only ship to sail these rocks without my light, the one and only Captain Jeremiah Gutwald, and my friend. "You'll like him. I said, laughing all the way down the steps.
Celestia stood inside of the Canterlot Armory, A large underground bunker that no civilian had ever seen or heard rumors of. Built of enchanted stone, the walls were impervious to damage as long as the seals held. She was flanked by two guards, and she was burdened with a certain shadowy cat resting between her wings. Celestia dismissed her guards, telling them to wait at the doorway for her, then she turned her head to the Sombra. "Wake up." she said, and when Sombra continued to sleep peacefully, with an evil snicker on his maw. Celestia then, navigated her wing so that he rested on her feathers. With a dull poomph she flicked her wings into an outstretched position, like she was about to take flight. Sombra yowled as he was launched unexpectedly into a cobble wall. He peeled off the stone, and flattened against the floor. He spoke, muffled, yet with obvious irritation. "I was sleeping you know."
"We are here." was Celestia's curt response as she returned her attention back onto the armory. Alighting the magical seals with the sun's warmth, they melted away into a puddle of colored paint. The doors swung gracefully on well oiled hinges. There stood on an armor rack a glistening set of golden armor, a mighty sun emblazoned of the front of the breastplate. Perched close by stood a staff, with a dark pole piece, four gracefully sharp golden prongs stood from then silver crystal shard at the top of the staff. On the side stood the emblem of the sun and moon, gracefully in sync yet it gave off a disturbing ambiance of something forgotten, whether by choice, or accidentally.
Sombra meowed as he wandered into the niche. "So you absorbed your sister's weapon into the Sol staff now did you?"
"It was the only way to truly make the guards forget about Luna." was Celestia's only reply.
"Oh I understand completely." Sombra said, "When I overthrew my family, including my brothers for the crown of the Crystal Empire, I made sure to destroy anything that contained their presence. Lest they tried a relocation spell to a latched object, they would find themselves at the epicenter of a dormant, yet very volatile volcano."
Celestia huffed at his murderous comment and slammed the staff onto the ground. Its combined solar and hesitant lunar energy spread across the floor towards Sombra. As it engulfed him, Celestia heard a faint meow of terror. She released the energy and it shattered around him like glass. What stood there looked like a mouse's worst nightmare.
Armor pressed comfortably on Sombra's fur spanning from a helm an his feline head to the very tip of his tail while light leather straps latching everything together. A small blade was in a sheath on his back, just enough for him to reach with his mouth due to his magic being disabled.
"Snazzy." Sombra cooed, "Yet not really my color, could you make it a nice dark color with a cape in back... maybe red?"
Celestia sighed and quickly changed the color of his armor.
Just as she did, her guards galloped into the quarters. "My princess!"
Sombra ducked behind Celestia as she spoke. "What is it?"
"Captain Shining Armor has spotted something behind Canterlot mountain. He doesn't know what it is, yet I assumed you had heard about it and are going to deal with the threat correct?" he said, glancing quickly at her armor.
"Yes." she replied, adjusting her armor and grabbing the staff with yellow magic, "I will deal with this threat myself. Return to the armory and tell the other guards to protect the citizens. DO NOT engage this threat. That is an order."
"Yes my Princess!" they both replied. "We serve and obey the sun!" the pegasus guard flew out of the armory while the unicorn teleported away with a small pop.
Sombra clambered onto Celestia's back and anchored himself safely on her body. "Is this friend of yours the one threatening my citizens?" she said, staring back at the armored cat.
"Yes," he replied, "but don't worry. I have put several seals on him to ensure that he is under full control. He won't attack anything until I tell him too. In fact", he said, rubbing his feline chin, "you could probably anchor and teleport to him from all the raw magic he is exhuming."
Celestia concentrated and indeed she did feel a large influx of dark magic. She focused on it and teleported away, landing on a small hill leading down into a basin of some sort.
What she saw there was terrifying. A huge scorpion nestled in the basin, its black chitinous skin gleaming in the light. Where the grass had been lush and alive, now it was dead and brown. The scorpion had apparently been thrashing around, because there were large gouges carved from the mountain and its stinger was coated in debris. "Hes been getting a bit anxious due to being out of the Shadowland for too long." said Sombra "I would recommend that we leave this instant. My seals may control him, but nothing can match the true strength of a Scorpio Guardian."
"One of Chrysalis' Guardians? How did you get him!?"
"I found him as an egg." Sombra said, "I raised him up and trained him to serve me. Now if we may, could we leave? Khirdir is getting a tad bit restless and I want to take him for a walk, per say. Take me close to his head realy quick."
Celestia flew until she was level to the six brown eyes.
"Hey boy!" Sombra cried, climbing onto Celestia's head. Khirdir clicked several times and some gelatinous fluid came out of its mouth. "Yes I know, we are a bit ahead of schedule, are you ready?" Khirdir clicked, almost happily and more fluid spilled onto the ground, burning a hole into the dirt. Celestia sat down onto the chitinous sofa, setting Sombra beside her.
"Now we will arrive where your sister is approximately 12 hours from now, but to us it will seem like minutes." Sombra pressed a red seal in front of them, its unknown material glowing a bright red. A large rift opened up into the mountain, just enough for Khirdir to pass through. Celestia looked over at Sombra and saw him wielding a small pair or leather reigns that traveled down the front of Khirdir. "Mush!" he cried, Khirdir lunging forward into the unknown portal. As soon as they left, the air behind them snapped, and the portal shut with a bang. Leaving only a desolated plain of dead grass in his wake.
Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter. Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter. All that Nightmare Moon could feel was pain. Burning pain in her barrel region, twinging pain in her wings and throbbing pain everywhere else. She began to pick herself out of the dirt which was soft beneath her... things. She did not recognize them at first because the appendages were bright white with long attachments at their ends which were painted blue. As she stared at them a small drop of rain fell onto her face and rolled down. She was startled, but then looked around at where she was. A forest with trees of unfamiliar bark with thick bushy leaves obscured her vision of the sky. She stood in a crater approximately eight feet wide and three feet deep. She struggled with her new form as she climbed. Her legs were still muscular and powerful yet her midsection was thin and a pair of very bouncy lumps were affixed to her chest. She finally crawled from her dirt prison and began to stumble through the unfamiliar trees. The dark blue short dress she wore constantly was being caught by the twigs from these branches and the armor she wore over her chest was gradually getting heavier.
" Merhaba!" she called out, shocked at her own voice. "Is er iemand hier uit?" a tear ran down her eye as a branch whipped across her face. She clasped her face with one arm while moving the branch with her free arm. The rain began to pour down heavier and it plinked off of her armor and helmet. "Kāds?" She stumbled for one last time, and her bare feet hit against a different terrain. It was hard and somewhat warm, she liked the warmth and stood there absorbing its loving embrace on her feet.
Until a set of two lights emerging from the rainfall blinded her suddenly. She felt a hard impact in her gut, and felt the armor there crumple slightly as it was pushed past its integrity. Nightmare Moon flew through the air and landed hard against the hard ground, its embrace turning from love to hate as her wings were caught under her and was ground into the surface. As she rolled over one last time she was staring at her starry night. A faint voice was heard and a lone figure stood over her, its face invisible by the darkness. As she took one last ragged breath one word was breathed out, one word she thought that she would never say.
"Help"
View Online
Mainland to Cracked Rock..... Respond Cracked Rock
The evening sun was begining to dip down under the horizon, allowing the night to begin. At the Cracked Rock Lighthouse, the radio began to spark and whine as a voice began to force its way through the speakers. "Cracke-ed R-o-ock, respond, respond. We have an anomoly coming in from Meterology and from Oceanology. Something is coming, we don't know what. and the only thing we know is that is coming for the island.. Be prepared, we have tried and pinpointed it to only a few days from now. Be prepared, Pier 4 sounding off."
The moon shone above as the lights in the cabin flickered. I sat across from Moon as we both finished off the rest of the pasta. She stretched her arms and her wings. She yawned and slouched down farther in her chair. I stood up and took the dishes to the sink. I began to wash them until I heard Moon speak up again.
"Jacob." she began.
"Yes Moon?"
"Have you ever been in love?"
"Can't say I have Moon. I've been caring for this lighthouse for a pretty long time, and no one usually visits unless it is to drop off supplies. I just haven't had enough time to actually spend time on the Mainland and spend time with someone. So no, I haven't ever been in love. Why do you ask?"
"No reason." she said as I saw her out of the corner of my eye walk into her room and close the door.
"Good Night..." I said quietly as I finished up on the dishes and let Ace follow me into my room. I pulled the covers over me and allowed the warmpth seep into my body and sleep was welcomed.
Nightmare Moon lay in her bed and she felt a single tear flow slowly down her cheek. She allowed a bolt of magic to attack the tear and froze it on her skin. She did not cry. She did not and would not have feelings for this creature. Her spiteful thoughts followed her into sleep.
