Chapters Twilight looked up from her book.
Unnoticed to them, the book she'd left behind stirred, and opened up to the relevant page. For a couple of seconds, an observer would have seen a tall, bipedal figure, with a five-fingered hand turned to the relevant page. The temperature in the area lowered considerably. A wide grin broke out on its face and the book slammed shut.
Back at her house, Twilight quickly slammed the door open, prompting the purple dragon who was on top of a rather percarious ladder to fall down.
Unseen to either of the two on this plane, the figure watched the writing of the letter with a raised eyebrow.
Spike suddenly shivered. "Brr."
The figure rolled out of the ashes and gripped onto the majority of them, riding them.
Spike belched up a new scroll. "Huh, this one's a bit odd..." He'd breathed up a great deal of scrolls in his time, and they'd never been this cold. Sometimes they were hotter, but never colder. Locking this fact away, he opened it.
Jumping out of the scroll, the figure chuckled at Celestia's conceit as he heard the rest of the letter.
Once he got there, he smiled. Throwing up the black hood of his knee-length jacket, he walked into the kitchen. Thankfully, nopony was in there. Breaking out in a vicious grin, he exercised some of his powers. Being a ghost, and a rather angry ghost at that, meant that he had considerable power, certainly more than enough to effortlessly trash this kitchen with naught but a few commands.
Eggs on the counter popped open and were poked into specific shapes, hissing as if they were being cooked on a stove. Flour was thrown into the sinks and the drains were plugged, the taps turning on to turn into a white paste. While that was happening, several vegetables were torn apart in a frenzy and smeared on the walls. To complete it all, several huge baskets of blueberries were pulped, forming a crude mural on the wall.
Twilight looked at Shining Armour. He grinned widely.
Spike shivered again. "Wow, it just got creepy cold in here." Twilight spared a glance.
Celestia stared at the sheer devastation in the kitchen. Cooker eggs on the counter had been twisted into hands and just lay about the counters. Smeared on the wall was a rather crude image of the moon, with the face of Nightmare Moon superimposed on it in smashed blueberries. And written below that, in what appeared to be smashed tomatoes, were the words:
It was unfortunate that the cook who'd opened the entire room had had a panic attack at the thought of failure.
The figure walked in front of the pair as they disembarked from the chariot. The dragon had been looking for him, not that he would ever be found by mortal eyes unless he allowed himself to be seen. Hood up, he stood on top of the nearest building and watched events unfold with an amused half-smile.Nopony would ever think about looking for him on top of the building, after all. When ponies think that they're being watched, then they just look to the sides, or around a corner. Only rarely did they ever think about looking up.
Twilight Sparkle's neck itched. It was the feeling that she was being watched. She looked around covertly, but nopony was staring at her. Beside her, Spike seemed to feel the same way, itching the back of his neck seemingly absent-mindedly.
And that was when she saw it. A tall, bipedal figure, standing on top of a house. Clad in a long black coat with a hood up, no visible features could be made out. Apart from that, it wore what seemed to be a simple white shirt and black jeans. She turned to Spike.
It was at this point that a pink mare came up.
The figure brushed a piece of imaginary dirt off of his jacket. He'd been careless. She'd seen him, if only for a couple of seconds. Hopefully, she'd forgotten about it-
Twilight looked out on it. "Wow, it's certainly huge."
The figure glared at the dog and started trying to get it to shut up unobtrusively. He didn't want to harm the dog, but he did want it to stop acting odd around him. Still, he was having a lot of fun watching a socially awkward unicorn who didn't know how to say 'no' to ponies despite the food being forced on her.
Twilight walked through the streets, stomach distended. "Ugh, I ate too much pie." Spike snickered.
The figure wandered around Ponyville, enjoying the feeling of freedom that ensued. When he'd been dead, the feeling that he'd been restrained in so many ways had been incredibly restrictive. Now that he was free of the realm of the dead, he enjoyed how... unrestricted everything was. No chains holding him back. He snorted. Like any chain could hold a ghost for long.
Meanwhile in Canterlot, Celestia was quickly burrowing through the library, eventually digging out a small, battered tome. She flicked the pages open, looking at the first picture that greeted her.
His face appeared in front of hers suddenly, in that small half-smile that he'd often worn on the battlefield. Implying that I am a coward, Celestia? I was hardly a coward, even when I died.
He rubbed his eyes as he continued speaking. Celestia, you must understand... Subterfuge is never the cowards' way out. If anything, it takes an extremely brave being, to deceive all those around them in order to accomplish their own goals. And mine was to limit the pointless bloodshed of the battlefield.
Celestia sighed. "I know."NO PROMISES. Understand?
Celestia sighed. The Mourning wouldn't stop, no matter how much she asked. She could just force him to give up, but that wouldn't do much good- he was a stubborn person when he'd been alive, and he wasn't likely to give up when he was dead either. He'd always been a loner, never really engaging with anybody. Yet, for all his prowess and fame, he'd never really wanted much out of life except to be left alone. How ironic that he'd finally gotten his wish to be left alone, just when he was killed.
The tale of how they'd met was an interesting one. One thousand and three years ago, he'd crashed into their world like a meteor. Some guards had found him stumbling about, talking in a mysterious dialect that only now did she understand was what Equestrian would evolve into. Back then, his peculiar speech had been the wonder of the court. Other things about him- like his peculiar black coat that he always wore, the white undershirt and black trousers, and the simple, hardworn white shoes he wore had also been a matter of intense debate over what materials they were made up of.
He'd introduced himself as John. Just John, he'd say, and chuckled a bit over that. It had always amused her slightly. It didn't when she'd discovered his powers. He'd first used them in secret, to find out about the history. John had been a medium- a technical grey art that no pony except those of the blackest hearts had the ability to master. With a simple word, John would talk to the undead on equal footing, requiring none of the complicated rituals that other mediums did. He would almost put them on an equal or higher level than his own, something that had never really occurred to other practitioners of the art.
Truth be told, John's power was incredibly useful. But when she'd seen him communing with the spirits of the dead as naturally as a living pony, she'd interrogated him. He'd always possessed the gift, she found, though it hadn't been as powerful back in his home world as it was in Equestria. He'd described his 'country,' to the court, and they'd found the idea laughable. A civilisation of apparent apes with no magic having somehow eclipsed the achievements of ponykind? Ridiculous.
Then, Luna had turned to darkness, and Nightmare Moon had been born. John himself had witnessed her transformation, and she'd escaped in the general confusion. Over the next six months, Celestia's Solar Guard and Nightmare Moon's own corrupted forces clashed in brutal conflicts that often caused heavy amounts of collateral. John had fought with Celestia, and adopted the nickname 'the Mourning.' He was always the first one on the battlefield, and the last one to leave.
The Solar Guard had nicknamed him 'the Mourning' because he was the one who buried the bodies. And because he often sympathised with the enemy side, having pity for Luna for being taken over. He cried over every single innocent who'd gotten caught up in the war, which made soldiers think that he wasn't of a strong character or spirit. And yet, on the battlefield he was a highly critical target, due to the nature of his magic. As soon as he encountered a dead soldier, he would interrogate that soldier about the entire battleplan. He would then use his other unique ability, absorbing the souls in order to gain their combat knowledge. As a result of that, he'd become proficient in a large variety of weapons, mostly using a sword or a dagger if he really needed to kill. Many victories had been won because of him, and many wise retreats from an aerial bombing had been enabled, all thanks to The Mourning.
One day, he'd proposed a plan to her to end the war quicker. He would infiltrate the ranks of the Nightmare, and pretend to betray Celestia, when in fact he would be feeding her information on the Nightmare's attack strategy. It was a risky plan, but it succeeded. He reported on the Nightmare's strength weekly, as well as directing the Solar Guard to critical areas that the Nightmare's forces were going to attack. The Solar Guard didn't like his sneaky, underhanded methods, calling them 'the work of a coward.' One time, the then captain of the guard flat-out accused him of aiding the enemy. John had neither confirmed or denied the accusation, and steadily ignored the captain until the stallion was at the breaking point.
He'd challenged The Mourning to a duel. The Mourning had accepted, and in the fight he'd completely annihilated the captain. He'd whispered something to the Captain, got up, donned his clothing and stalked out. When she'd questioned him later, he'd just smiled bitterly and said, "A war is not something you fight for honour or glory. War is horrible, and something I don't like to take part in."
Soon, the final battle had occurred, on the longest night of the year. Celestia and Nightmare Moon had clashed in the final battle, when The Mourning revealed his true strategy- to play this entire war so that both sides were far away from any settlements for the final clash. He'd played both sides like a fiddle, ordering a strike here, a defence there. And when a guard acted up, or suspected something, he would... deal with them.
She still remembered his reasons. "War is horrible. Don't bring untrained civilians into this." She remembered the spirits of the dead surrounding him, lending their aid as he stormed through both sides, annihilating both sides. In rage, the Nightmare had blasted a neat hole through his chest. Even as he lay dying, he still saw his killer, and spoke his final words.
And now, The Mourning was back, a revenge-driven poltergeist that had no barrier between him and his revenge.
She quickly started writing a letter to Twilight, to warn her of the dangers of trying to stop The Mourning. Who knew what he would do if he was ever stopped in his revenge? He might break his one rule: not to harm an innocent.
John simply sat and watched Twilight from a distance. He could feel the magical power rolling off of her. If she wasn't the Element of Magic, he'd eat his metaphorical hat. The five she'd interacted with had also demonstrated that they had the potential to be the new Elements, all they needed were trials to form a proper friendship. Trials that Celestia had undoubtedly pre-ordained. Trust Celestia to plan for each and every single little detail that might come the way of her student and her new friends. Just like her to do that. Her battle plans had always been mindful of the civilian lives it would undoubtedly effect. Too bad her generals and that captain of the Royal Guard had... disagreed and made their own.
He chuckled. Well, who am I do deny them a little... fun? He followed the pink earth pony to the library, in order to watch. Celestia wanted them to get together, right? Well, might as well speed up the process. He sank into the walls and lay dormant. Being quiet and untraceable was how he'd managed to sabotage many of the battle plans of the past and prevented many senseless deaths. A movement of a soldier to this particular place rather than that, organising this defence in that city rather than this... he'd known that he couldn't stop civilian deaths entirely, but at least he'd cut the innocent death toll to about a third of what it would have been had both sides been allowed to have their way. Genetic diversity in the future was important, after all, even if those who lived weren't the strongest of the time.
He watched the party with a mild look of amusement. Only a couple of ponies really noticed that he switched the wine and the hot sauce for comedic effect. Those who did assumed that it was merely a trick of their eyes and got back to partying. He drifted away from the inquisitive Pinkie Pie as she tried to see him, an admirable feat in a mortal who didn't possess his medium abilities. Upstairs, he absently decided to send Twilight a message. Without many materials, he had to resort to more... terrifying ways to pass his message on.
The party was in full swing when Twilight Sparkle shot downstairs, in a panic. Pinkie PIe came up to her, but the unicorn grabbed her. "Pinkie Pie, what have you done with my room, because it isn't funny!"
Dripping down the wall in a curiously red liquid was an image of The Mare in the Moon, with the letters below stating DON'T BELIEVE THE PRINCESS.
A tall, bipedal figure watched them reconciling with a smile on its face. Hopefully, Twilight would take the message as it was intended. He hadn't had enough time to use less objectionable materials. Now, on to waiting for the Nightmare. He couldn't know when she would come, but given her theatricality, he assumed that she would appear here, in the townhall, at midnight. Why here wasn't surprising- it was common knowledge that Celestia was going to be here.
He smirked. How obvious, only the Nightmare would fall for it. For somebody all about dreams, Luna could be devastatingly unsubtle when it came to battle tactics. He remembered having to advise her against a charge that would have cost her about half of her force... he would have allowed it, had several towns not been in the way. Too much collateral for too little reward. His face hardened.
Later, the ponies were in the town hall. He waited, floating above them all. He couldn't feel Celestia nearby, but given how the Aether in the area was reacting... he grinned. The Nightmare had shown her face at last. With that, he tuned the rest of what was happening out. He genuinely couldn't be bothered with this, besides, he could always track the Nightmare down later. He had things to do to irk her. First, he slightly shifted the Aether's balance, so that she would have to come out facing backwards. Then, he put a banana peel down. HIs grin widened. Let's see how you'll react to this, Nightmare Moon...
With that, he disappeared from mortal eyes and decided to watch the show.
When the curtains were opened, and Celestia wasn't there, he didn't particularly care. All he had to do was watch a show. When the Nightmare appeared the wrong way around, there was a confused hush.
Nightmare Moon was secretly fuming. FIrst she was facing the wrong way, then this, this, this TRAP was placed down... this honestly couldn't get worse.
Twilight Sparkle looked at the book that had just fallen off the shelves and sighed. "Great, not even the shelves are in order." Weird things had been happening all night. First, Nightmare Moon had just appeared, seeming to have foalnapped Princess Celestia, only to be facing entirely the wrong way. Then, she'd apparently seen something in front of her and had a conversation with it. Whatever had happened in an imaginary conversation had caused her to flee, barely shouting out that "The Night shall last FOREVER!" as she went. And now, the books were falling off the shelves. Tonight was just getting better and better.
She checked the space behind it. Strange, it didn't seem to be abnormal. Not greasy or slanted or anything.The Elements of Harmony Agate in Wonderland. It fits the whole 'things happening tonight with absolutely no rhyme or reason-"
Spike pulled out a letter and ran over. "Um, Twi? You're going to want to read this."
She opened it up and started to read.
Dear Twilight Sparkle, I'm sorry for the abruptness of this message, but this is important.
About a thousand years ago, a part of history was erased. It concerned the only being of a particular species- human. The human who came through was named John, but during the war against the Nightmare he was referred to as The Mourning. He was a powerful medium, and he was a mole for my side. Little did we know that he was deliberately steering the war to limit the loss of innocent lives.
In a fit of rage over being betrayed, Nightmare Moon killed him. Yet he swore revenge.
Tonight, he is seeking his revenge. Twilight, I beg of you, don't step in his way. A thousand years of rage may result in him breaking his rule if he is stopped, even for a second. Be wary, Twilight. He is a violent poltergeist who may have already appeared in front of Nightmare Moon. Though he has sworn not to kill her in her current state, as soon as the NIghtmare is vanquished he'll make his move.
Be careful, Twilight. Don't act rashly.
-Princess Celestia.
Twilight looked over the letter in shock. Spike looked at her. "Yeah, that's pretty much what I thought too- not possible. But then, all this weird stuff happens. It's not unlikely that this is what has happened. Is it?"
Twilight stopped and looked at Spike, who was horrified. "...he's standing right behind me, isn't he?" Spike nodded. Slowly, surely, she turned around. The tall figure which she'd seen smiled at her.
Applejack nodded. "So, you're helpin' us, somehow?"
And with that, he faded from view. Pinkie Pie frowned at the space where he'd been a few seconds prior. "Wow, what a huge meanie meanie-pants. I wouldn't invite him to a party at all." Twilight nodded distractedly.
With that, he disappeared from sight. Twilight looked through the book. "Right... moving on. We have to go into..." she gulped.
"The Everfree Forest!"
From a distance, The Mourning watched with a small smile. Take the NIghtmare and lead her to me, Elements of Harmony. Lead her to me.