The Year of the Nightmare – 2673 PD (Post Discord)
-Omnipresent Narrator-
Smoke filled the sky, coming from a city besieged. The ancient fortress-city of Stars Hope was burning. Why is this, one may ask. The answer is a mistake. The mistake of a single guard captain has led to one of the greatest horrors the land of Equestria has ever faced, The Nightmare, formerly Princess Luna Solaris, Co-Ruler of Equestria.
The earlier statement of the captain making a singular mistake is somewhat untrue. It was a mistake and his continuing spiral to madness that led him to this. Not all may be blamed on the captain however, as both parties of this war were to blame.
On the side of the Goddess of the Sun, Princess Celestia Solaris, was ignorance. Not the ignorance one may find in an uneducated fool, but rather the ignorance that comes from utter assurity in peace and one’s own strength and foresight. She failed to see the growing problem under her rule, and the increasing corruption of those around her.
When you turn the tables however, and look at the Moon Goddess, the formerly mentioned Princess Luna, you will also find fault. In her rage-clouded mind she allowed her anger to control and cause the greatest catastrophe in the history of Post-Discordian Equestria.
Now, it is important to note that the Post-Discordian Equestria was quite different then the Post-Nightmare Equestria of the modern world. In the past, there were two ‘Factions’ of ponies, The Night-Aligned and the Day-Aligned. There was a stark difference in the two, the Night-Aligned were generally darker of coat and had night related jobs. Their numbers were far fewer than the day aligned, but made up for it in the amount diversity available to them. For while Night-Aligned received cutie marks, and it did tell them of their talents, most Night-Aligned would tell you that they had no wish to constrict themselves to one trade and generally applied themselves in many different fields. In contrast, lay the Day-Aligned ponies; of lighter coat they too received cutie marks. But unlike the Night-Aligned focused entirely on their field, believing it to be their place in the world and it made them happy.
For many ages this system worked, and the nation of Equestria flourished,
Then one Day-Aligned Pony, a Captain in the Suns Militant, driven mad by his own hatred and discrimination, set the world aflame with the torch of war.
-Six Months Prior-
An alicorn by the name of Silent Night laughed happily, rolling across the moonlight bathed grass with his two foals, Summers Wind and Blissful Starlight. This hill was near their well sized estate, where Silent Night administrated the Night-Aligned village of Stars Shadow for the Crown.
His family had been the first to settle this area in the name of Princess Luna, claiming it and the surrounding forest as a province of the Crown. Most nobles and many ponies knew of his family, the Noble House of Stars Sparkle and their offshoot houses of the Sparkle and Blueblood Clans, both of which resided in the capital, Everfree.
Silent Night himself had been a loyal servant of Luna since the founding of this city, laying the first brick himself as a younger lad in 873 PD, and while he was an excellent administrator and truly helped this town flourish by expertly selling their supplies of various gems, his true passion lied in music. Born deaf and mute, he had been the shame of his house, saved from exposure only by his merciful uncle, a masterful healer and scholar. As time went on he continued to bring shame to his house, his lack of hearing and the ability to speak made him near worthless in the eyes of most, but his uncle never lost faith in him. By using objects around the manor, he taught Silent Night to read, igniting a passion within him to learn and gather knowledge to better the lives of others. But sadly, despite his growing knowledge he was the ultimate shame in his father eyes, who would regularly beat him and starve him when he had to stay with him when his uncle was forced to go out on important business. It also didn’t help that even at the age of 60 he lacked a cutie mark. While that age may seem old for many ponies, it was barely into adolescence for an alicorn. It was only his uncles’ genius that freed him from the silent world he lived in, for in his twilight years he had worked ever harder on a project that he refused to speak of. Now, a healthy Alicorn would not need to worry of old age, but his uncle was anything but healthy. As one of the survivors of Discords reign he was not only emotionally scarred, but one of the survivors of the insane gods ‘pranks’, leaving him with a worsening illness. But his Uncle worked in his last years to bring his adopted son happiness and freedom from his disability. So he crafted a spell, one that would repair Silent Nights hearing and voice, but at great cost, his own life.
His uncle called him in late one night, and told him he loved him, and hugged him as if he would never see him again, shedding several tears before ordering Silent Night to bed. He had been confused, as he was little more than a child.
The next morning his uncle did not come down for breakfast, or lunch, or dinner. When Silent went to make sure his uncle was ok, he found a cooling corpse, a bloody knife carelessly tossed on the ground next to a ritual circle, a trail of blood led to his uncles’ corpse, lying on the bed with his throat slit open and various runes carved into his own flesh.
After that, he had been forced to move in with his father. But something was different, he began experiencing strange sensations, which he later found out to be his hearing restored. This led to his discovery of his voice, and his love for music.
Silent was torn from his thoughts by his young foal, Summer Wind, barreling into his side with a high pitched roar, calling to his brother for aid.
“Come Sir Starlight! The Ice Titan has come for our chocolate bars!”
Silent allowed himself to fall to his side, letting out a half-laughing roar of false anger. “You meddlesome warriors, you will never defeat me!”
Silent began grabbed his son, holding him closer as he began to furiously tickle his sides while pretending to gnaw on his side.
“I will eat you and your chocolate bars!” Yelled Silent, giving a mock evil laugh as his son descended into a fit of giggles and laughter.
His older son, Blissful Starlight, let out a battle cry before charging.
“Not if I can help it foul Ice Titan!”
As his son pretended to stab him with his toy sword, Silent let out a cry of defeat and dropped Summer onto his chest and let out one mighty roar before falling onto his side, defeated.
His two children cheered, high fiving each other before a melodic voice rung out,
“Come in children, it’s time for dinner”
Silent raised his head, looking at the beautiful visage of his wife, looking pointedly at him with a small grin and a mischievous glint about her eyes.
“What have my two brave warriors been doing?” She spoke as the children ran over to her excitedly,
“We slayed the foul Ice Titan and protected the chocolate bars mum!” They exclaim happily, causing a smile to come over his face as he approaches.
Silent leans over his children and pecks his wife on the lips, causing his children to let out adorable ‘Ewwws’ and run inside to the table.
As Silent Night followed his lovely wife, into his love filled home, in the town that he loved he couldn’t help but think
‘Life is perfect.’
-Later That Morning-
Captain Shining Light of the Suns Militant scowled as he observed the Night-Aligned town of Stars Shadow, filled to the brim with Night Ponies, foul creatures who failed to embrace Celestias glorious sun. ‘But do not worry’ he thought to himself, ‘This stain on Equestria will soon be gone, and when Celestia hears of my cause and what I have done she will also take up the crusade!’
Around him was the Suns Militant, an order that was promoted by Celestia, until recently. They had fallen out of her favor due to their increasingly xenophobic tendencies and less than scrupulous activities.
Of course, Shining Light passed it off in his head as her telling the order to go and spread their wings on their own. That they were ready to exterminate the Ponies- No! Beasts that dared sleep in the day and live under the moon.
As the sun creeped over the horizon in the distance, and the town was silent, Shining Light called out to his men.
“Burn it! Burn it all, do as you wish to the monsters here. They are not ponies worthy of Celestias Sun!”
As his men ran down the hill, yelling war cries his own guard remained, four loyal earth ponies. They turned and marched down a different path, to the Lord Governors Estate. His pace was determined, his own mind assured in the glory of his actions.
-The Manor-
Silent Nights eyes slowly opened, having always been a light sleeper he was awakened when something seemed off, and something definitely felt off, or rather smelled off. He could swear he smelled smoke, the scent of burning wood, hay, and food.
His eyes widen as he jumps out of bed, startling his wife alertness. She takes a few moments to regain her senses, looking at him before speaking,
“Dear, what is wrong?”
Silent looks over at her, his face grim
“There is a fire, I must go and help, get the children and go to the cellar in case the fire spreads.”
She goes to protest but is cut off by a sharp look,
“I promise I will come back to you, we have no time to argue. Get the children.”
After a few more moments she nods, quickly getting out of bed to go and get the children.
Silent takes a breath before drawing his concentration and his magic, going over various water spells in his head before teleporting to the town center to offer his aid.
-Town Square-
What greeted him was far from a fire run amuck. It was a slaughter.
Piles of defiled dead Night Ponies, some stacks lit on fire. Around the square sat and stood cheering Day Aligned as they watched the town burn.
As his sharp eyes pick out the insignia of the Suns Militant on their armor, he feels a cold rage come over him.
The various day ponies blink in surprise at his appearance, and go to act but are far too late to save their own lives.
With a roar of “For Luna” Silent braces his hooves on the ground before charging his horn and calling forth his families ancestral armor. The pitch black plating covered his body, moonlight runes were carved over its surface, glowing eerie white as if the moon itself shone from them.
By this time the more elite Suns Militant had regained their senses and began charging him, this was perhaps ten of the thirty.
Silent quickly cast another spell, causing a whip of molten rock to launch out of his horn, at least 6 meters in length, quickly using small magical pushes around the length of the whip and movements of his own head to direct the magma. The results were beyond gruesome, only one of the Suns Militant was left alive after a few swings of the whip and well placed teleportation’s. The others blackened bodies were charred and their faces in a permanent expression of pain, having spotted no captain among the dead, Silent moves to the downed Militant member, who was attempting to crawl away and flips him onto his back, revealing the face of the terrified member.
“Where is your Captain, tell me and you shall be released.”
Silent’s voice rings out, cold as ice and strong as iron.
The Militant member shudders, but stays silent. A scowl comes over Silent’s face, he pours some magic into his horn and watches as the members hind legs begin to bend at unnatural angles, causing him to scream and begin sobbing, after 10 seconds of this the Suns Militant member chokes out through the sobs,
“He’s at the manor! He’s at the manor! Oh goddess, make it stop!”
Silent immediately stops and begins walking away, his horn lighting up once more. There is a sickening crack as the members’ neck snaps, immediately killing him.
After taking a few moments to gather himself, Silent teleports to the cellar of his manor, and he is greeted by a sight that fills him with dread, that cellar is empty.
He feels panic come over him as he rushes up the stairs, taking note of the broken in cellar door. Rushing into the living room, he comes across a sight that had only existed previously in his darkest nightmares. In the center of the room lay his wife, covered in bruises and cuts, a magic suppresser on her horn. What brought him even more sorrow was her abused state, one of her wings was clearly broken and the other seems to have been sliced up, a white liquid runs out of her abused rear.
Just as the sadness within him was about to turn to rage, he heard a small gurgle. He turned his head to behind the couch to find the body of one of his children, while the near dead form of his youngest, Summer Wind. Silent lets out a cry of despair and banishes his helmet, running over, wrapping the form in his hooves and sobbing out some strangled sentences,
“Don’t leave me, please don’t leave me” He sobbed out.
The tiny voice of his son responds weakly,
“Daddy . . . I tried to fight them, like you talked about . . . Why does it hurt so much daddy . . .” Were his sons last words as the form goes limp in his arms.
A few minutes pass as Silent sobs for all he has lost before something changes inside him, no longer did he feel helpless, but rather a cold rage came over him. As if the very foundation of his being cried out for vengeance. Slowly standing he looks around, taking note of a few blood marks, he takes note of a few pieces of cloth scattered everywhere.
Slowly as he regains control of this though process, he realizes that Luna must know of this travesty that her sister has allowed to be committed. Quickly he teleports to the main square, grabbing the body of the Militant he interrogating and charging his horn for a long distance teleportation spell, after a few seconds he releases it and is teleported to the front gate of the palace at Stars Hope, the Palace of the Night for when Princess Luna was not busy at the capital.
The gate guards look at him, shocked at his sudden appearance, and the body. Silent takes almost no note of them, moving past them with dread purpose, his gait showed rage, and any pony that was unfortunate enough to get in his way was redirected with a few shockwaves. After several minutes of walking he reaches the entrance to the throne room, these guards had been alerted to his presence by a messenger from the gate and were prepared to stop him. But nothing stands in the way of a man who has lost everything.
“Lord Governor Night, we need you to sto-“
The night guards words are lost as a particularly strong blast sends them both careening through the entrance to the throne room, throwing the gates open as the guards are thrown into the crowd. The mass of nobles and commoners alike quickly stumble over themselves moving out of Silent’s way, the Militant member he killed was now dragging on the ground behind him, the noise of the armor scratching on the ground fills the dead silent room.
Upon a throne of obsidian sits Princess Luna, Goddess of the Moon and Co-Ruler of Equestria, one of the most powerful beings alive. She seems quite shocked at the arrival of Silent, and in such a manner.
“Lord Governor Night, what is the meaning of this?”
Silent looks at her, his tear streaked face and broken appearance worries her greatly, but at those words he seems to break down, falling to the ground and sobbing silently. The body of the militant member falls to the ground.
Luna worriedly steps off her throne and approaches Silent, one of her rather close friends and sits next to him, taking careful note of the family armor he is wearing, she wraps a wing around him and asks quietly,
“What has happened Silent? Why is one of the Suns Militant dead?”
While quiet, the words are clearly heard throughout the room, as everyone is silent as a grave.
After a few moments Silent manages to speak,
“They killed them Luna, all of them . . .”
Luna looks at him, her worry only increasing as does her dread.
“The villagers, the innocent people . . . My . . . my wife –“he lets out an audible sob at this “My children” Silent whispers, but the words carry over the crowd, the outrage and anger grows on everyone’s faces. The most outraged of them all was Luna, she knew Silents family. Little Summers Wind, he had just turned 11, and delicate Blissful Starlight who was 22. She had attended their birthday parties and given them presents, played with them. They were like family.
Slowly Luna stood, moving over to the window and gazing over the city. After a few minutes of silence, she turns back to her dear friend, who had raised his head and was watching her. When Luna turned back she was far different, her eyes harder and a slight tint different, and she was enraged. Not like the normal calm and empathetic Luna. The first words out of her mouth came in a dark, distorted voice.
“Celestia will pay.”
