The Reformation of the Shades
Roughly 1,000 years ago...
The Princess of the Night was curled up in her bed, teeth clenched and panting, rolling around and shivering, her face the clear image of fear, as her eyes were closed...
"No! No, Celestia, speak to me!" She cried, cradling the weakening head of her sister within her hooves, sobbing as Celestia looked up at her "...Luna..." She croaked, as Luna's tear filled eyes moved down to meet hers "...This... Is all your fault... It always will be..." Celestia struggled to say, before doing the impossible. Dying. Something unheard of for an Alicorn... Something an Alicorn could not do, no matter the resources they were given.
Luna's hooves squeezed her tightly, as tears flowed from her eyes freely, her sobs breaking into the air "No... No, nonono... D-Don't leave me 'Tia..." She squeaked, before freezing in fear, raising her tear-stained face as she heard footsteps.
Quickly, she backed away, tripping and falling onto her flank, causing a squeal to come from her as tears streamed down her face... The door to her room opened, and in it's center stood Chrysalis, grinning and holding an orb of pulsating green energy. The orb whipped tendrils around her, each burning as if they were made of Lava "Oh, Luna~" She cooed happily with a grin, sending a blast of magic into Luna's skull, with a force that could break anything... But, Luna's skull was that of an Alicorn's, so she merely felt pain, screaming and feeling her face knocked back, her neck impossibly taking the strain and converting it into agony as flames began to lap at her hooves, causing all too real pain, as the tendrils held her still.
"You put up a good fight." Chrysalis said with an evil grin, walking ahead, towards her, as Luna struggled in her bindings "Nearly beat me a few times... But now, you're finished. Equestria... Is mine. Your useless species is finally in it's rightful place, and now I must simply..." She licked her lips "...Behead the competition." She said, a tendril wrapping around Luna's throat, and squeezing. Luna started to choke, tears flooding from her eyes, as Chrysalis smirked, creating a flame and setting her room on fire "Without you, there is nothing to stop me. I will take Equestria, then, the world... Of course, we both know that's not very ambitious..." Chrysalis said, grinning and moving down, her face inches from Luna's as she listened to her asphyxiate, knowing full well that she could not die this way. Luna's eyes were, instead, locked on the orb, as it approached her chest "No, once I have Equestria, it's no secret that Tartarus, Heaven, nay, the MULTIVERSE will be at my mercy... I'll be sure to give you a VISIT!" Chrysalis said with a grin, ramming the orb into Luna's chest, causing an explosion of pain as she went blind for a few moments, before suddenly, she felt... Conscious... In a way...
Luna tried to widen her eyes as she felt her body get up, she tried to scream as it stretched on it's own. But, there was nothing "At lAst I haVE yOu.." a VERY disturbing voice said within her mind, as her body bit it's tongue with the intention of causing pain. Luna tried to scream out, as her body chuckled "Soo helplesss... Finally, my host... I have you, and, we will never be apart again..." The voice spoke within her mind, as her body stroked her own face, causing Luna to want to just... Run away. Of course, her body did not respond. "Yes, we will have some fun..." The voice said in her mind, chuckling "But, for now, we have a job to do." It said simply, getting up and walking to her door "There can only be one princess in Equestria, after all... And how better to celebrate my rightful ownership of you, than to defeat Celestia?" The voice said in her mind, as Luna paled and struggled within the body, trying to scream out, to fight, but everything was useless.
...She should have seen it coming, should have fought it. They would think that she did this willingly... But no, no. She fell victim to one of the very creatures which she loathes deeply. Loathes so deeply, that her name was spoken in hushed whispers between them. A species... Of which, she was their bane. She was overpowered by her Type 1 Nightmare, born with her instead of merely forming in the void...
...And, it would control her, until such a time that it was defeated...
"Please forgive me, 'Tia... I was too arrogant to defend myself..." She thought within her mind, and had she been in control of her body, tears would be streaming from her eyes. She was in deep fear for what was to come, and was rooting for Celestia, but... It could not show. It would not let her show. And, in time, she would get her wish.
Banished to the moon for 1,000 years... She quietly sobbed within her mind. Alone... Alone with this monster, having no contact with the outside world... She could not let it break her spirit.
And, despite the hundreds of years the Nightmare had spent trying to break her, going from torture to words, to even threats of what it would do upon it's return... It failed. She remained strong. She would not become this thing's willing puppet.
A group of ponies in black cloaks, with black fur, looked up at the sky, witnessing the sealing of Luna. They exhaled, looking down mournfully. Most, if not all of them sobbed quietly, before one of them stepped forwards and turned to them, lowering her hood. Her mane and coat black, and her eyes blue, she spoke, holding back the stream of emotions.
"...Our lady may be gone." She said, voice wavering before she stomped and reaffirmed herself "But our duty remains. It is up to us to uphold her virtues, to be sure that Equestria is safe." She said in a determined voice, eyes looking over the figures one by one "Keep her in your hearts and minds, do not let her memory fade..." She continued, voice softening as she went on "...And make her proud." She said, a tear trailing down from one eye. "...Our patron may be gone... But we will not die." She stated, before she disappeared in a pulse of darkness. The various other ponies noded, before bowing in respect to the moon and teleporting away, those without horns being teleported by their kin.
The Reformation of the Shades
Roughly 1,000 year later...
"I'm so sorry!" Luna cried, leaping to Celestia, nuzzling up against her neck. "I missed you so much, big sister." She said, tears leaking from her eyes, as Celestia sighed happily, nuzzling her in return "I missed you too."
Pinkie Pie sobbed for a moment, before instantly changing her mood, becoming joyful "Hey? You know what this calls for? A party!"
Celestia and Luna smiled silently to her for a moment, before Celestia spoke: "...Yes, that is a truly wonderful idea!" She said, horn glowing as she summoned a parchment, writing a short description of events before teleporting it away. "It should be ready by the time we return..." Celestia said, causing Luna to nod.
Luna then smiled, looking up at the group "So, who are our saviors?" She questioned, to which Twilight smiled, even if she was a bit... Confused by the wording. They had saved her? From what? Herself?
"I'm Twilight Sparkle. This is Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie--" She began, pointing to each in turn before Dash cut her off "Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Applejack." Dash finished, smiling pridefully.
Luna smiled, nodding, before bowing respectfully to them, much to their own surprise "Thank thee. All of Thee. Through thy acts of bravery, thou hast saved Equestria, saved us, and reunited us with our beloved sister. Words cannot describe the depth of our appreciation. Hast thou been knighted in the past?" Luna questioned, to which each pony shook their heads.
Luna smiled, nodding. "Then, when our power returns to us, we shall grant thee each a knighthood, on behalf of all creatures of the Night." She said, before grinning. The Mane Six each smiled, apart from Fluttershy, who yelped, blushing heavily and lowering down.
Celestia smiled "Yes... I suppose this does warrant one... Or two. On the day that she knights you, I shall do the same. Now, let us go towards the exit to the Everfree. There is no reason to bring undue risk to our guards, when we can handle the forest ourselves."
Luna nodded, and the rest of the mane 6 nodded after that, beginning to walk out, Celestia and Luna in the lead.
"Princess Luna, if you don't mind me asking, you said that we saved... You? The way you said it, it sounds like there was more than just you at work..." Twilight questioned, to which Luna's eyes widened. Yes, they thought she was to blame!
"There was. Much more. We suppose a lesson on those beasts would not go amiss to pass the time on the way... Heed our words well, Twilight Sparkle, and all those that are interested."
"There exist creatures, of which we were personally tasked with eradicating before our banishment." Luna started, Celestia nodding "...We could only just hold them at bay without you, sister." She said, before blinking and coughing, realizing her use of the Royal We "Ah, yes, a lot has changed, even our language. But, that can be explained later."
Luna nodded with a frown and a sigh, before continuing "...They prey upon ponies during their sleep. They have no physical form, usually, instead preferring to move around within a particular magical spectrum, of which even I do not know the prerequisites to access. They attack the pony through their dreams, infecting their mind like a virus. Each night, they produce more and more graphic, and horrific nightmares. As they cause the pony emotional distress, they feed on those feelings like a Changeling, infecting more and more corners of a pony's mind. Until, eventually, they have consumed the pony's mind to the point where the pony is helpless."
"The pony's form will shift, and the pony will lose all control of their muscles, which will be taken control of by the Nightmare. All nightmares love to torment their hosts during this final phase, doing all in their power to cause them physical, or psychological harm, without actually killing them, or permanently damaging them. In all cases, the pony becomes incredibly powerful at this point, which does not mix well with the Nightmare's total opposite morality to ours."
"At this point, only the Elements can save the pony. Theoretically, we could enter their mind and try to destroy the Nightmare itself, but that would be nearly impossible at this point. Instead, our duty is to defeat a Nightmare within a pony's mind before it can dominate them. The unfortunate part is that these beings cannot actually be destroyed. Upon being defeated, they are banished to... A void of sorts. Where they regain their powers over the years, before returning."
"Now, there are two types of Nightmare, which I have come to call Type 1 and Type 2. Type 1 nightmares are born as any creature is born. we all have one. They are extremely possessive of their counterparts, feeling a right to dominate and own them. They are obsessed with their other half to a downright creepy degree, and will stop at nothing to claim them. Other hosts, however, they care little for."
Luna looked at the reactions of the mane 6. Twilight was interested, Rainbow was feeling the 'awesome', Rarity was in shock, Fluttershy... Was terrified. Applejack was a bit uncaring, but appreciative, and Pinkie Pie was just bouncing along happily.
"Of course, the chances of any Nightmare taking you over is minute, even more now that we have returned. we are what is called a Dreamwalker. In fact, to our knowledge, we are the only Dreamwalker. We are their bane, and we will not let them touch you."
She smiled as she saw the fearful ponies relax.
"Now, type 2 Nightmares. Thousands of them exist, but they are generally extremely weak. It takes them a long time to build up power within a host, but they can become powerful, as all Nightmares can. They feel none of the possessiveness that their counterparts do, though. They are the majority of those that break into a pony's mind. A Type 1 is usually repressed, but once it gets strong enough, it is the most dangerous." Luna explained
"Now, if we look into the state of pony's minds..." Luna began, closing her eyes and visibly relaxing as her horn glowed lightly "...We can see many white orbs. Our statement that 'ponies' are born with type one's and infected, is... Incorrect. ANYTHING can be infected. Now, a Nightmare is visible if one of these orbs has a bit of discoloration to it. We can already see a few, stronger than in our time, but... You were right, Sister, you were holding them off." She said with a smile, to which Celestia smiled and sighed in relief.
"Later tonight, I will deal with them." Luna said, opening her eyes "So, how close are we now?" She questioned.
"Only a few minutes away." Twilight responded with a smile, before Luna's eyes widened "Actually... We should take a detour." Luna said, to which the group looked at her curiously "I feel a Lunar Glade nearby. Infected by a Nightmare." She explained, to which Celestia nodded "Lead the way, sister."
Luna smiled, nodding and turning a sharp ninety degrees, as the rest followed behind her, Twilight approaching and yet staying behind Celestia "Lunar Glade?"
"Why yes, you know of the Lunar and Solar corruption that pervades the world?" Luna questioned, to which Twilight nodded, and the rest of the Element Bearers tilted their heads in confusion.
Luna sighed, horn suddenly lighting up and blasting a tree to splinters, a screech filling the air from the tree, as it's roots whipped around, before it went limp. "Stay near to us, ponies. There are dark beings nearby."
The Pegasi, Unicorns and Earth Ponies nodded, gathering up closer to her worriedly as she blasted three more trees, and even levitated a giant spider out of a tree with ease.
Fluttershy gasped, eyes widening, as she saw an amazing creature, a giant version of a spider! It would want to eat her, no doubt, but still...
And then, Rarity squealed, hopping around "Uuuugh! It's so... CREEPY! GET IT AWAY!" She squeaked, to which Luna winced at the volume before rolling her eyes, catching some of the web it sent at her with ease, before blasting it with a spell, making it go limp. She then simply tossed it aside.
"Do not fear, ponies. You are safe here, as an Alicorn can weather all things within this forest." Luna explained "...Even one as exhausted as me." She noted
Twilight nodded in awe and understanding, as the rest of the Mane Six simply nodded worriedly.
"If we increase the levels of shadow in the area, don't look at it. If you see a tall, white pony? Really, way too tall? Don't look at it, and tell me." Luna stated calmly, if a little cautiously, eyes going all around "Worst case scenario, the Glades always have a protective circle."
The Mane six nodded, trembling a little and staying close to her. Apart from Pinkie. She was just giggling and hopping along next to Luna.
"So, Lunar corruption?" Luna stated "It's simple, really. There are five axis of magic. Solar, and Lunar. Pure, and corrupt. And finally, dark. Pure and Corrupt are determined by Nightmare Corruption, and Dark is a unique type of magic created by an old tyrant of a unicorn king."
"To explain, I am the embodiment of the Moon, and Celestia is the embodiment of the sun. We are both... The patron deities, if you will, of our specific corruption. There are three types of magic, Solar, Lunar and Neutral. The more you use or learn, Solar or Lunar techniques, spells or flight tactics, the more corruption you gain of that specific type. To get back to neutral again, you need to learn some of the conflicting corruption's spells." Luna explained, continuing to walk, blasting a few more trees.
"Corruption will warp your body and soul to more efficiently use what you have learned. It's a totally positive thing. The only reason that somepony would be unable to be corrupted, would be if they signified the Element of Magic. If they did, it'd be impossible for any corruption to affect them in any way." Luna said, to which Twilight smiled, the other Elements glancing at her.
"Now, this corruption is also filling the planet. These... Glades... They are hotspots of it. They are focal points, where power is stored, and in some instances, gifted, or used." Luna stated, to which everypony but Celestia nodded in understanding. "A Nightmare corrupted individual or object can sometimes get close to a crystal, and overpower it's defenses, resulting in a Corrupted glade." Luna finished, all of them nodding again, Pinkie grinning "Sounds fun!" She said, before gasping "Cool! Look at that!" She said, before sprinting off towards the Glade. Luna smiled "Stay away from the center if you don't want to be corrupted!"
The rest of the mane six looked over, and into the glade. There was a large dark purple circle surrounding a small, beautiful clearing. A natural pool in a 'C' shape was in the center, a bridge of land connecting to the center of the C. The water was crystal clear, though some... Black magic was seen seeping into it.
Luna sighed happily, walking in, and towards the Land bridge, as Pinkie hopped around the outside of the pool. "This Glade is corrupted by Nightmare Moon, so it shall display her will." She explained simply, walking towards the start of the land bridge.
"Shade Recruits used to go on pilgrimages to all of these Glades, to boost their corruption." She sighed happily "I wonder how they are right now..." She said, forming a shield in front of her and stepping onto the land bridge. As soon as she did, a
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strange sound came, as a black line shot out in a circular motion, many images of Celestia in chains appearing near the lines, Nightmare Moon standing near to her in glory. There were also images of Eclipses. Twilight and Rarity gasped, and everyone else jumped lightly. Pinkie Pie fell onto her back and started laughing hysterically, as Fluttershy crouched down for a moment.
A black core of magic appeared, before quickly being surrounded by a black crystal, spinning quickly as a black aura gathered inwards. Luna grit her teeth, moving faster as a ray of magic fired at her, being blocked by her shield "No! You are not hers... This... Is my glade!" She growled, as Celestia watched. Luna burst towards the center of the Glade, easily pushing the magic back as the crystal began to throb red, firing bursts of magic at her which even Twilight was impressed by.
Luna growled up at the Crystal, before giving a war cry of sorts, a beam firing from her horn into the Crystal.
A dark being started to get torn from the crystal, equine in shape and with glowing red eyes as it screeched, causing for Fluttershy to whimper and crouch down, covering her ears. Twilight looked on in awe as the Nightmare was forced out of the Crystal, which slowly had it's black sheen replaced by a dark blue. Eventually, the Nightmare was torn out, and landed on the floor, looking up at Luna after a split second and getting up, trying to pounce her before a sword seemingly appeared out of thin air, diving into it's chest, covered in her magic. It twitched, and hissed for a few seconds, before dissolving into a black mist and dissipating, Luna withdrawing her blade and smiling, exhaling.
"...It is done." She said, smiling and looking over the many patterns underwater now. Images of the moon cycles, of Luna and Celestia together, the water reflecting non-existent stars. It was all extremely beautiful.
Fluttershy slowly raised, smiling and looking over everything, as Pinkie grinned, shooting around. Twilight's jaw dropped as she took it all in, applying it all to memory. Rarity's jaw was also loose, as she slowly walked around, taking it all in "...It's beautiful... It's... It's... Perfect..." She said with a grin, before placing a hoof to her forehead and over-dramatically fainting, smiling. Applejack smiled, looking over everything, as Rainbow Dash grinned, looking at Luna from the end of the land bridge "...That. Was. AWESOME!" She yelled, grinning and flying a little into the air, causing Luna to blush and smile, walking back.
Luna's eyes fell on Applejack, before they widened and she jumped, landing near to her and looking deeply into her eyes, before over her face and sides for a moment, Applejack smiling awkwardly "...Uuuhh..." She began, before Luna grinned "YES! Who would've thought of the chances! Applejack, we believe you were? You have some natural Lunar Corruption!" She said happily, as Celestia's eyes widened and she smiled, the rest of the Mane Six blinking in surprise, eyes widening too "...Uuuh, okay?" Applejack said, to which Luna shook her head "It's incredibly, incredibly rare! In fact, it's one of the prerequisites to being chosen as a Shade! As tradition dictates, I hereby extend an invitation for you to join their order."
Applejack blinked, eyes widening in surprise, as Luna went on "Now, given your importance, we wouldn't put you in harm's way... In fact, your only objective would be to defend your friends. What do thou say? Take thy time." Luna said.
Applejack hummed as she thought for a moment, before smiling and bowing "Ah'd be honored to join your... Shades, Princess." She said, as her friends' eyes widened in surprise, Pinkie gasping, eyes widening "Two parties! Double-party! Yes!" She exclaimed, to which Luna chuckled "No need to yell it out, Pinkie. Just make it private, if you can." Luna said, to which Pinkie nodded "Okie Dokie Loki!"
Luna smiled, gesturing to applejack to move towards the Crystal. She nodded, walking over slowly, eyes wide as she looked over the reforming runes and images in the water in awe. As she approached, the magical core formed, now blue, followed by the crystal, which slowly spun faster the closer she got. As she finally got to the central island, a glow of dark blue magic covered her, as she felt it. Her strength... In some ways, increased. She felt overall healthier, and... Different. She sighed happily, smiling and returning to them. "That sure does feel fine, princess!" Applejack said, grinning, to which Luna smiled, nodding. "Now, this appears to be over... Let's get back to town. If there are any Agents left, i'll make a local one become your mentor once you return. I look forward to seeing your powers increase, Applejack." Luna said happily, before turning towards the town, walking to it, gesturing for everypony to follow her using a wing. Celestia smiled, walking to her side, before they both looked at each other and moved close, enjoying each other's company.