Remnants of an Empire

by Sketchwrites

Rating: teen
Tags: Alternate Universe, Adventure, Dark
Length: 2591

In a world where the night is eternal, followers of Celestia fight back.

What would have happened if Twilight Sparkle had never been born?
Nightmare Moon took over Equestria. The land is encased in a never-ending night. But, alas, some embraced the darkness and become her loyal subjects. But some, led by the weakened Princess Celestia, have the will to fight the darkness. But there are two sides to every story…..
(Pictures by ChingKittyCat)

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2014-07-14 03:30:05 UTC

2: Bat of the Night

Chapter 2- Bat of the Night

-Noir-

I sighed, watching a light yellow pegasus carrying her newly fallen companion away. I would have shot both of them, but the magic cannon was empty.

I marveled the weapon before for a minute. The magic cannon was a Lunar Republic technological advancement, it allowed a pegasus or earth pony to use magic attacks. First, a unicorn (or Nightmare Moon, depending on how busy the Princess was at the time) would charge the cannon's 'battery'. Secondly, the charged weapon would be give to a solider. From then on, the cannon could be used the fire big, hot beams of magic, most of the time resulting in a one-hit kill.

Gritting sharp teeth, I turned to the tree behind him, glaring at the knife imbedded in the trunk. That Solar Empire delinquent tried to knife me, I thought.

I swayed with exhaustion. I had barely slept for a few days, and my family was starting to get worried. Commander Elegance had me slaving away doing soldier work.

I packed up the magic canon, slinging it on my back and prepared for flight.

It flew silently through the darkness, thankful that my Bat-Pony wings were swift and quiet. I traveled to the castle, coming to the ground on the pegasus landing port.

"Glad you're back, Noir!" An energetic voice called to me, Rainbow Dash trotting across the smooth floor. She was wearing her Shadowbolt uniform, as custom for the pegasus general of Nightmare Moon's army. I had heard that she was one of the early ones to side with the Princess, as she had been promised great power. And power did she get.

I was one of the early ones to join Nightmare Moon, too. As a Bat-Pony, it was hard to find a proper job due to my looks and habits. But Nightmare Moon welcomed me into her court, giving me a job as a soldier and a good pay. From then on, I was loyal to the new Princess.

Now with the 'Solar Empire' on the rise, I was glad about my job. I had to know how to fight, or those terrorists would kill me and my family. They had to be eradicated. Can't these ponies accept change? Nightmare Moon defeated Celestia in a fight. She won, she should be the rightful new leader.

"Yo, Noir." Rainbow Dash said, waving her hoof in front of my face. I snapped to attention.

"Y-Yes ma'am?!" I cried.

She gazed at me, purple eyes showing discontent. "Dude, you keep spacing out. Elegance has been working you hard, huh? Go get so sleep. You look like you need it."

I nodded dumbly, saluting and staggering inside the castle. I went to the sleeping barracks located downstairs, but I longed to be home with my wife and kids. They must miss me.

Tucking my jagged wings to my sides, I curled up in small bed. Some other soldiers were asleep, I sensed Applejack near me.

3: Shattered Armor

Chapter 3- Shattered Armor

~Silksong~

I and some of the other pegasi gave Basil a proper pegasus burial. Celestia cremated her for us, and we threw her ashes in the wind, so she could fly forever. Soarin cried, and I was pretty sure he had a thing Basil.

"Silksong," Celestia said.

I turned around. "Yes, Princess?"

"Did you see the pony that killed Basil?" The alicorn asked.

"The night-crawler was hiding in that shadows." I hissed bitterly. "I threw my knife, but I don't think I hit him."

"It must have been a earth pony or pegasus." Celestia murmured, gazing at the sun locket around her neck.

I flicked my long, white mane. "Coward. Must have fled the scene once he killed her. I'll avenge her. I'll avenge every causality the Solar Empire has ever experienced."

Celestia's purple eyes clouded. "He who fights monsters will become one himself."

I scoffed, fluffing out my wings. "I would never stoop to their level. Trust me."

Celestia sighed, watching me sadly. "I understand. Go and get some rest, you have been through a lot today."

I shrugged, making my way to the sleeping quarters. Some of the members of the Solar Empire chose to live in their own houses, but most of us slept in the bunks on the lower floor where we were promised safety.

We had made our base underground, with a couple small entrances on the surface. It seemed pretty effective so far, the Lunar Republic goons hadn't found us yet. Of course, yet was the keyword. While Nightmare Moon reined, no one was safe.

I was nearly to the to bunks when two ponies burst out of the lower entrance. I gaped in horror.

Flash Sentry supported Shining Armor, the stallion's white coat drenched in blood and his back leg dragging behind him. Some other soldiers ran behind him, some injured, but not as severely.

"Get help!" Flash screamed, "Shining Armor needs medical attention, now!"

"LYRA!" My voice boomed through the narrow passageways, I hoped the unicorn could her me.

Soon, Lyra ran to us, Celestia galloping behind her. The green-furred mare skidded to a halt before the two stallions, a medicine bag slung around her.

"What happened?" She murmured sternly as Flash sat Shining Armor on the floor. She started working on him, bandaging up his chest and neck.

"Was it Nightmare Moon's soldiers?" Celestia asked, stepping forward.

Flash nodded, looking startled. "Yes, your highness."

"Where are they?" Celestia urged, trying distract Flash from Shining Armor's frantic cries as Lyra poured antiseptic on his wounds.

"A couples miles down from Canterlot. We managed to fight them off, but Shining Armor wasn't as lucky as we were..." He trailed off.

Lyra stepped back, Shining Armor's front covered in white bandages and his leg in a splint.

"Take him to the infirmary." She said, pointing at the unicorn soldier that was supporting him. "I just stabilized him. He needs more medical attention." The stallion nodded, stumbling off as fast as he could with Shining Armor slumped on him.

Flash pawed floor, looking anxious. He unconsciously shuffled his wings, a sign, in pegasus body language, meant he was troubled about something. I could guess what he was troubled about.

"Go on," Celestia said, taking heed in what Flash was trying to say. "Shining could use another friend with him."

Flash flew off, the other soldiers going to the infirmary for a little patch up.

"It's something every day, isn't it?" Sighed Lyra, adjusting the strap on her bag. "I guess I will be up for a while. Not that it matters, I can barely tell when it's time to sleep. It's always dark." She murmured, half to herself. She trotted, a bit fast, down the hall.

"Speaking of rest," I muttered. "I was trying to get to the bunks." I said a goodbye to the Princess, going along my way.

Nosing open the door to the bunks, I absent-mindedly glanced at my back leg. I groaned. The holster I held my knife in was empty. I had forgotten.

"Pinkie," I said, squinting in the dark room. A bright colored mare sprung out of a bed.

"Yay! I'm here!"

I inwardly groaned at her freakish cheerfulness. "When I wake up, remind me to get another knife. I lost mine."

"Again? That's like the billionth time!" She giggled.

"Twenty-seconded." I muttered, crawling into a bed. I picked one far from Pinkie Pie, as I knew sleeping near her would encourage her to talk to me for hours on end.

4: The Other Side of the Spectrum

Chapter 4- The Other End of the Spectrum

-Sacred Fox-

I ran through the castle, barely avoiding crashing into unsuspecting ponies. I levitated various scrolls in my dark purple magical grasp.

My name is Sacred Fox, one of Nightmare Moon's closest assistants. I am her personal spell-caster, due to my strong affinity to all kinds of magic.

"Sacred!" A sharp, barking voice screamed down the hall.

I came to a halt, my hooves skidding across the marble floors. I turned my neck around, ears down with worry.

"Y-Yes Commander Elegance?" I whispered.

The dark unicorn, walking in her usual high strut, cracked her whip next to my ear. I involuntarily shrieked.

"Are you done with that spell, you incompetent fool?" She shouted, a bit to loudly, making my eardrums tingle.

Now, if I were to describe myself, 'fool' and 'incompetent' would be the last words used. I am very intelligent, so fool is very much out of the question, and I am Nightmare Moon's person assistant, so I highly doubt I am incompetent. But to Elegance, everyone is under her is a bumbling mouse.

"C-Can you use your inside voice?" I squeaked.

"I ASKED YOU A QUESTION, SACRED." She boomed. I cried out in response, dropping my scrolls and papers, disturbing what I had worked on for hours. Elegance brought her hoof back, slapping me hard. I slammed face first into the ground, stunned. Spots clouded my vision as Elegance bent down, hissing.

"Be done with the spell soon, Sacred Fox." She trotted away, going to yell at a bat pony soldier.

Making sure she didn't see me, I pulled myself up, touching my bleeding snout. I shook the dust off me, collecting my dropped scrolls.

Hoping no one else saw that embarrassing scene, I walked up the twisting staircase to Nightmare Moon's room. After she had defeated Celestia and claimed the castle, she did a good bit of remodeling, including building her a personal room with a view of the eternal night sky.

As I arrived in the room, I glanced about. It was beautiful, but there was no ceiling, creating a draft. Curtains were suspended, by magic, around what I assumed was Nightmare Moon's bed, a dark fabric that seemed to be made of the night sky itself.

The Princess herself was staring out at the sky, looking at the full moon in almost a wistful way. This behavior confused me at first, but then I remembered that had been her prison for so many years.

"Your highness..." I started quietly, kneeling into a bow.

Nightmare Moon turned around, shaking her head. "Scared Fox, there is no need to bow to me. I keep telling you this." The Princess was trying her best to keep her voice down, as she knew my biggest pet-peeve was ponies yelling at me.

"Y-Yes ma'am." I quickly said, pulling myself into a sitting position, ears down in shame. I sat down my scrolls, rolling them towards Nightmare Moon. "Here is my research. It's out of order but.... I sorta ran into Elegance. But it's all there. I checked."

Nightmare Moon shuffled through the papers, holding them with her blue magic. "Interesting..interesting." She murmured. "Should you be done soon?"

"N-No..." I moaned. "It's so difficult to create a spell from scratch. I barely have anything to go off of. This is going to take a while.." I lowered my head to the ground, shivering in the cold.

Nightmare Moon looked concerned. "What's wrong, Sacred Fox?"

My teeth were chattering. The only bad thing about eternal night was that it was freezing all the time.

"I'm cold..."

"Oh. I guess it is cold." Nightmare Moon said awkwardly, obviously oblivious to the coldness of her new world. She levitated a long blanket from her bed, wrapping it tightly around my shoulders.

"Go take a break, Sacred Fox. I am planning an attack tomorrow. I need you to conserve your energy for combat spells." She nudged me with her wing towards her bed.

I looked at the bed sheet, shocked. "I couldn't!" I tried to stumble to the door, but her blanket was surprisingly heavy. "I'll just go to my own bed."

Nightmare Moon sighed, sharp teeth making her frown a bit more scary than intended. She picked me up in her magic, sliding open the curtains and tossing me on the bed.

"It's fine, Sacred Fox." She said sternly. "I'm not planning to attack them personally. You need the rest more than I do." She started to walk out the door. "I was about to go instruct the soldiers anyway. Just sleep." With a curt nod, Nightmare Moon shut the curtains, leaving me alone.

I turned over on her bed. Her sleeping place was covered in soft, silky blankets, which I gratefully curled up in. Inwardly, I was happy Nightmare Moon let me sleep here, my bed downstairs was nowhere near this luxury. I quickly fell into a dreamless sleep, cocooned in silky bed sheets.

1: Light in the Darkness

Chapter 1- Light in the Darkness

-Silksong-

I flew through the cold night, Basil at my side. We were searching for Lunar scouts, to kill.

My name is Silksong, a top ranking soldier for the Solar Empire.

It's been like this since I can remember, the enteral night and the Lunar Republic ruling. We never saw it coming. Nightmare escaped her prison. She captured our dear Princess Celestia, draining her of most of her power and banishing her. Even more blasphemous, some ponies sided with her, embracing a lifetime of darkness.

Evil.

Some of us missed the caressing warmth of the sunlight, and we bonded together. The Solar Empire, what we soon called our ever-growing group, tracked down the weakened Princess, taking her in our base. Her power drain was obvious- Celestia had been reduced to the size of a regular pony, her mane a pastel pink and still. Lyra, our medic, nursed her back to health, and soon the Princess was leading a modest resistance against the vicious traitors of the Lunar Republic.

Basil stopped in mid flight, her sage-colored ears twitching.

"Someone's here." She whispered.

I stopped flying. With a quick and fluid movement, I drew the knife holstered on my back leg. My blue eyes darted around the trees, and I knew were in trouble. Those cold-blooded night dwellers were adjusted to the darkness, they could move unseen and spy on us from the shadows. I hated to say it, but we were out of our element.

To our left, a branch snapped. Basil moved quickly, throwing herself in front of me as a dark purple blast of magic shot through the bushes and straight through Basil's chest. Staring in horror at the gaping hole in her chest, Basil fell several feet to the ground, hitting the fallen leaves with a crack.

Tears filling my eyes and blood staining my light yellow fur, I threw my blade where I thought her murder was located. The thunk of a blade hitting wood fell on deaf ears as I dropped down to Basil.

I gathered the wounded pegasus in my forelegs.

"Basil, hold on. I'll get you home. Lyra will heal you." I said quietly but desperately.

Basil was breathing fast, blood trickling from her mouth. She shook her head.

"Tell them..." She whispered. "Tell the others I said good luck..." With that, Basil fell limp.

I dropped her body in shock, coolness spreading through Basil's fur. I was hyperventilating, and I wasn't sure why. I hadn't been close to Basil, we could barely be considered friends, but I was still in shock. Earlier today, Celestia had sent us on this fateful mission. Basil had gratefully accepted it, not caring that she barely knew me. She sacrificed her life for me.

So I could live on.

Right then, everything felt real. This war had to be won.

Nightmare Moon had to die.