Luna Sky

Chapter 1: The second Equestria

When Early Light finally became conscious, he found himself in a really big hall. The hall had the form of a circle, had a diameter of a half mile and was so high that Early Light couldn't see the top of it. In the walls were holes and in each hole was a weird circular machine, wich Early Light never saw before in his life. The walls were grey, with blue flags on them wich showed a crescent moon on a very dark blue background.

"Look who finally came back to us!" A unpleasant familar voice said "I almost thought I killed you."

Early Light looked up and saw into the eyes of a light blue mare with a black mane and scary yellow eyes. Her cutie mark showed a couple of stars in the night. Besides her stood a black stallion with grey hair and green eyes. At first Early Light thought he hadn't got a cutie mark, wich seemed quite odd to him, at least was the stalion probably in his age. But as he looked closer, he saw there was a spot on his flank wich was even darker than the rest of his fur. For som reason, this seemed to be his cutie mark.
There were also a couple of other ponies (Or unicorns, to be exact).
But Early Light had no time to look at them particulary, because a loudspeaker began to play a song and suddenly, three ponies flew into the hall. Two of them were dark pegasi, but the third one, in the middle, puzzeld Early Light. It looked like it was a pegasus with a...horn(?).
Suddenly, all unicorns around Early Light knocked thier hindhooves together, raised their left forehooves and shouted:
"PRAISE LUNA" (Wich was offically known as the "Luna salute")

At this point, early Light realized that he was about to meet the fallen princess herself.
The princess and her escort landed on the ground. The princess looked just like on the old pictures of her, exept that she wore a black uniform with silver strings and a couple of medals. Furthermore she wore a black officer head with the crescent moon on the front of it wich you also could see on the flags. Without answering the greeting, she went to the unicorn wich caught Early Light.

"WHAT DO YOU HAVE FOR US, FIRST SERGANT DAWING NIGHT? The princess asked with a voice that boggled Early Light.
"A spy from Equestria, your highness. At first they were a group of four. We acted just like you wanted us to: We eliminated three of them and brought you the last one." The unicorn wich hitted Early Light answered.
"VERY WELL FIRST SERGANT, IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE?"
"Well, in fact, yes. All of them wore special suits with deep red gems on them, wich I never saw before on the moon."

As Dawning Night said these words, Lunas eyes suddenly began to shine.

"She is really becoming uncareful, but she will see what she gets from it" the princess said, this time in a way more silent tone.
"VERY WELL MADE, SERGANT MAJOR DAWNING NIGHT, YOU AND SERGANT FIRST CLASS MIDNIGHT DARKNESS MAY LEAD OUR PRISONER TO THE DOCTOR NOW. AND DAWNING NIGHT, YOU WILL MEET ME AT THE ABENDDÄMMERUNG ONCE YOU BROUGHT OUR PRISONER AWAY!"
With these words, the princess flew away.

Dawning Night didn't lose any time.
"Get up prisoner, you heard the princess! Midnight Darkness, you may watch that our guest does not take the wrong way when I'm not watching him." The unicorn said to the other unicorn that Early Light also could run his eye over.
"At your command, sir." Midnight Darkness responded.

And so Early Light walked through the gigantic complex, Dawning Night in front of him, Midnight Darkness behind him. After ten minutes of walking they arrived at a door with the title: "Office for Equestrian matters".
After they opened the door they walked into a bigger room with some doors with were labled with "Inteview room 1-4"

"Good morning, doctor." Dawning Night said to a older grey pony with white hair, wich apparently seemed a little confused.
"Wha...., ahh good morning Frist Sergant."
"Sergant Major." Dawning Night answered.
"What? Oh, I'm so puzzled, I'm really sorry for that. But as I can see, you brought me some work. Or better to say, somepony to work with!" He giggled at his own so called "joke".
"Well, yes. It seems that this is a spy from Equestria and the princess wants you to give him the standart fare."
"That we never used before!" The docor giggled again.
"Exactly. Well, good luck with him, I'm expected elsewhere." Dawning Night said and left the room.
"Well then, let's don't loose any time. Midnight, could you please help me with our guest? Please bring him in Interview room number one."
"Of course, uncle." Midnight Darkness said, grapped early Light and pulled him into "Interview room 1". There he pushed him onto a not very comfortable chair, left the room and locked the door.
"So, who are you?" The doctor asked cia a inter phone.
"Who wants to know that?" Early Light answered.
"Somepony who has a nephew who will use other methods to make you talk if you don't do it now!"
"I'm Early Light."
"I see we understand. Well then, Early Light, welcome to the second Equestria! As you may know, 200 years ago princess Celestia send Moon Princess Luna to this place. Apparently, she send all her loyalists with her and so we...."

The doctor was just about to start a lecture about pretty much everything wich was on the moon, as Midnight Darkness interrupted him.

"Shouldn't you be asking him some questions, uncle?"
"Oh, yes of course, I just wanted to be kind to our guest, at least he has to stay here for a while." The doctor giggled again.
"So, what's your mission?"

Meanwhile, Luna stood together with Dawning Night on a platform, looking around the surface of the moon. On the left side was the base of her and her subjects (Wich also had the form of a crescent moon), and on the right side was a tremendous, circular something, wich apparently was nothing less than the bigest weapon ever made by ponykind.
"Impressed?" She asked Dawning Night.
"Yes, I heard some storys about this machine, but I never expected it to be so big!"
"This is the Abenddämmerung. It has always been my top priority." Luna explained. "It will make my sister pay for everything she did to me and bring everlasting night over Equestria! Apparently, all the years there was something wich was left. Something with enough magical power to raise this machine to the sky. That's why I want you to be here. The gems wich you described are Dragonblood rubys. They are probably the gems with the most magical energy you can find in all of Equestria and I'm very certain they will bring this machine up in the sky! And I just thought you would like to see the result of what you managed to do."
"I'm honored, your highness! But if you allow two questions, why did you choose this name for it and where is it from?" Dawning Night answered.
"It's a word from a old language wich apparently isn't spoken anymore. It means dawning night, but in my opinion Abenddämmerung sounds more impressive."
"I agree, your highness." Dawning Night said.
"Well then, let's don't lose any more time." The princess said, and started to walk into the machine, followed by Dawning Night.
They walked through a big corridor until they arrived at a gigantic elevator. In the elevator where buttons for a lot of a lot of different "levels".
One was called "Engine room". Luna pressed the button. After a one minute ride, the doors opened and they walked into a gigantic hall, filled with weird machines up until the roof. Dawning Night could hardly imagine how this machine was supposed to work, on the other hoof this was nothing of her business.
The two mares walked into the middle of the hall where they were already expected by a lot of other ponies. One of them, probably a scientist, at least he looked like this, went out of the group to welcome them. At first all made the Luna salute, then the scientist began to talk.
"Hello, you highness, we were already expecting you. Not that I mean that you are too late and can't spend your time whatever you want it to be like, I...."
"Get to the point, Sparkling Star."
"But of course, your highness. Everything is prepared just as you wanted it, and we are reday to insert the Dragonblood Rubys into the engine. There a "Magical energy extractor", or MEE, will extract the energy out of the gems. Than a...."

After a ten minute lecture about the machine, wich obviously nopony beside the scientist and Luna interested, the scientist started to insert some of the gems into the machine. All lights wich weren't on at this moment truned on and the engine began to rattle as it started and it sounded like the machine moaned, just like you woud moan if somebody awakes you from a very long sleep.
"HAHAHAHAHA, NOW MY SISTER WILL PAY, THE ABENDDÄMMERUNG WILL FLY! THE ABENDDÄMMERUNG WILL...." Princess Luna had just began to shout out her delight as most of the lights turned of again and the engine stopped again.
"WHAT HAPPEND?" She shouted at the scientist.
"I don't know, your highness." He answered, and looked into the extractor. Everything wich was left of the gems he just putted into the machine was a little pile of dust.
"Your highness, I fear we will need more Rubys to run this machine."
"That's no problem, we still have three other suits."
"No, more than that. A lot more."
"Dammit, in the name of every fuckin thing! I was so close!" Luna turned from total anger in one second to deep depression in the other.
"If you excuse, your highness, I think there could be a possiblity." Dawning Night said.
"And that would be...?"
"Well, Celestia wouldn't send this guards here with this suits for no reason, so I think they were supposed to be spies. And if they were spies, there probably also was a way for them to come back. And I think it's quite obvious that these suits have something to do with it. And since we still have three suits left, we can send a small expedition to Equestria and get more gems!"
"You are right! That's brilliant!" Luna said euphoric "Well then, let's get back to our prisoner and see what the doctor has for us, shall we?"
"Whatever you want, your highness."Dawning Night said and both walked back to the elevator.

"Tell me more about this so called "Galloping Gala". " Midnight darkness said to the prisoner.
After his uncle had finished the interview, he had gone out of the room and didn't return yet. And because the prisoner was the only kind of company he had there, he lowered himself to have a little talk with him. Apparently, the stories the prisoners told were quite interesting. Everything he knew about Equestria until then did he read in school books, and they mostly just told you how evil Celestia was, so it was exiting to get some first hand information.
Early Light was just about to tell him, as he heard voices and hoofsteps on the corridor.
"Forget it, and no word about this conversation, or you will regret it, capish?"
The white pegasus simply noded.
Midnight Darkness had just walked out of the interview room as Dawning Night and moon Princess Luna herself entered the room.

He first made the Luna salute, then he turned to the two.
"I'm honored, your highness. Sergant major." he said, not forgetting to put his hoof on his temple as he mentioned the rank of Dawning Night.
"Where is the doctor, sergant first class?" The princess asked.
"He went away, I've no idea where he is, but I can tell you the results of the interview as well."
"Well then, go ahead."
"He indeed as a spy. He and his companions have been send here to look what you are doing. Their suits were made to give them the possiblity to break through the magical barrier wich is around the moon."
"Just as you thought, Dawning Night...." The princess said "Just as you thought...."

A few days later, the princess called Dawning Night, Midnight Darkness and, to the surprise of all, Early Light into the big hall of her moonbase.
"Why did you call us and...him here?" Dawning Night asked.
"Well, we still need the gems, so you and Sergant First class Midnight Darkness will get me some more."
"That figures, but why do we need the prisoner?"
"Well, all of you have never been to Equestria, and since I'm here for two hundred years now I fear that some things may have changed, so he will be your...let's say he will be your guide. For that purpose the doctor was so kind to.... change him a little...."
As she said these words the doctor divulged Early Light, who was enveloped before that for some reason. He looked like one of Lunas former guards, the only thing that still was the same was his cutie mark. Furthermore, he was unconscious.
"Well, I guess we can call him Early Night now" The doctor giggled "I have to admit that I really have outdone myself this time! And don't worry, he will wake up soon. It's just a aftermath of my Nightbringer"
"Really good work indeed doctor. If he makes any problems, feel free to do what ever you need to do." The princess said.
"So, as you can see, a Circular Air Vehicle is alredy prepared for you, it is equipped with the Dragonblood Rubys, so it will break through the barrier without issues."
Dawning Night and Midnight Darkness began to enter the vehicle. Another pony pushed Early Light after them.
"Well then, have a nice flight my faithful soldiers. Oh, and I'm expecting some gems." Luna said to Dawning Night with a wink.