Chapters The Tale of Night Filly Moon
A thousand years had passed. Deep within the castle of the two sisters, a dark form arose, muffled whimpers and groans as it slowly rose from the rubble, pieces of stone falling from the wavering pony-like being, though, its form made it unidentifiable. It wavered like a ripple of water, but still had the shape of a pony, no matter how much it expanded and shrunk. It appeared two nebulae would grow at the face, forming two eyes, but that was it. It had no wings, no horn, nor even a single memory of how it was birthed.
The creature walked through the halls of the castle, wandering into destroyed rooms, and eventually finding the library. It felt the bindings of scrolls and books, and subtle growls rumbled through the air as dust was picked up. It finally stumbled upon an open book, fallen off a table, and then looked inside, every so often flipping the pages, finding a picture or two after every few pages. Then its eyes gave a flash with every new pony it saw, growing to the same size, or shrinking, going from foal to adult within seconds, and even elder within the same time. Soon pages turned to chapters, and chapters to whole books, collecting information, studying all it could of historical ponies be it king, queen, peasant or hero. It learned about the battle against Discord, as well as Tirek and King Sombra. It rummaged through the books, but then eventually began to burn, finally noticing it was growing the more it was reading, and then went back to the books it had read previously, and then searched within a journal, and scanned through the pages.
Slowly, more features began to grow on it, instead of it being a mere image of what it saw, said features becoming far more permanent. A silver nub then erected from its forehead, the tip slowly narrowing into a point, and the color appearing more of a ivory-white. From its sides came finger-like limbs, bare and quite painful for the being to grow, thus the unambiguous cries of pain echoed throughout the castle. Eventually feathers then grew from these limbs, ending to appear like perfect wings, however, far smaller than its current size. Thus the body shrunk, and then its figure seemed to steady, and become easier to control. Its color turned to a solid midnight blue, and on the rump of the filly, its mane grew out, creating the night-sky upon it's back and rump. Last appeared a full moon upon the sides of her rump, bright and white as it should be, however just in front of it, perhaps just a bit lower, a black moon.
There came some loud noises just outside and the filly ran back to where she had come, panting and now quite exhausted it curled up on top of the rubble, and closed its eyes, leaving the journal she had been reading previously on the table, the pages describing its hatred to the one "Celestia."
Some days passed of the filly exploring the remains of the castle, alone and relying only upon the books she'd read. She began to speak out loud "Doom... To... Eq- Eque.... Equestria...." Her vocabulary eventually becoming more elaborate, her knowledge more destructive. The filly learned of the history of Equestria, the defeat of Discord, the exile of Sombra and the Crystal Empire, as well as the hardships of the ponies of Equestria through the prophecies foretold within panels of glass, eventually happening upon staring face to face with another, and what appeared to be the earth shrouded in darkness, and it appeared that a ball of magic of some sort hung over it.
For some time the filly stared at this, taking in and thinking about all it had meant, and slowly, a grin came to her face. She trotted away from the glass and to the entrance of the castle, sneaking past the door before gasping and taking in all that was now around her. The trees, the grass, even the boulders that sat further away.
In the distance, she heard growls within the foliage of the forest. She heard them grow closer, and backed up to the entrance of the castle. She stared out, turning her head left and right before she finally noticed the glowing eyes before her. "Hel... Hello?" She'd say. Those very eyes grew larger, and suddenly they were gone, only for a group of wooden wolves molded with branches leaves and twigs leaped out of the bushes around her. She had shut the door just in time, the wolves clawing at it.
The noises of the claws at the door, and the howls of the wolves continued for some few hours, the lonesome filly afraid of what may happen to herself. When night fell, and the moon rose into the sky, the timber wolves would apparently leave, their wooden paws smacking against the ground as they went away. Afterward, the nameless filly decided to head back out of the castle, cautiously wandering out into the forest. The bugs chirped and buzzed, the birds hooted, each new sound made her turn and look about. In nearly three hours, she reached the edge of the forest, now looking out to see small houses, at least, buildings that were far smaller than the castle, which she presumed to be the home of others.
She wandered through the town she later learned to be Ponyville, looking through the window to find some sleeping ponies, however when she looked into one where a pony did not sleep, they immediately noticed her, and suddenly crawled out of their bed, their eyes wide with fear of the small filly, but yet.... When she noticed her reflection in the window, she realized her eyes were glowing white, with a dark mist at the corners of them. Next she heard crying, and then noticed some lights turn on and the words "Monster! Monster!" muffled through the walls and the glass. She stood there for but a few moments, before dashing back into the woods, right back in the castle.
The Tale of Night Filly Moon
Months passed since she first opened her eyes. Days of dreadful heat passed, and more with freezing nights. Nights filled with strange sounds, and thunderous booms and howling winds. Days filled with dreary silence, and the occasional rainfall that dripped down in degraded stone and wood. Her hatred to this lonesome, unforgiving life then began. She yelled whenever her voice wasn't shot. She bawled whenever her eyes weren't dried out, and on those silent nights, she stared at the stars and had no sleep.
Eventually shadowy pony-shaped figures began to take form as the filly grew more and more insane. The creepy beings said no kind words, only whispers that fueled her hatred. Shortly after these apparitions appeared to her, whenever she'd walk past a reflective surface not covered in dust, she'd notice a glowing, dark blue smoke that would seem to emit from around her eyes, and every so often, would grin at herself.
It wouldn't take much longer before these beings would start doing her bidding. They would hunt, clean, even frighten away unwelcome visitors. They played music for her, no matter how depressing it was. The words they whispered shortly changed to that of temptation, "Take them. Kill them all. You're the spawn of terror." and the like. Their mouths never moved, not even a little, but the sounds still echoed around the castle.
Her anger continued to grow, and much like any filly, she'd have her tempers. She would go out into the forest and destroy trees, stomped on flowers, and every so often, creep on unsuspecting ponies, and watch from the shadows. Whenever one would get close to her, obviously suspicious, she would give a loud hiss, before disappearing back within the woods, and it wasn't rare that she'd return to the castle battered and bruised with no one yet to aid her wounds. Whenever she'd see out in the day how a foal might hurt themselves playing with others and they'd be tended to almost immediately and this, to the filly of no parent, was something that filled her hatred the most... But she remained silent.
So from this point, she started to search new ways of using her magic. She began reading through books of spells, even scrolls and ancient tablets. She furthered her learning in the history of Equestria and learnt of the battles won, and those that were lost. All the powerful enemies that previously threatened the kingdom. She fell almost in love with the myths and legends, and ideas popped into her head of how easily she could twist and bend them to however she desired.
One day, as she was searching in the bedrooms of the sisters, she found an unfamiliar trap door that wasn't yet put on the map for such things, and triggered it. Then some bricks in the wall then parted, and a faint blue glow came from inside. When she investigated more closely and entered the small chamber, she found the cause of such a glow. It was a thick, hard cover book, with Princess Luna's mark on the cover. She opened it, and spent days reading its contents. Examining each spell that the author had written down. Each night, she practiced such spells, and found herself dreaming. Many nights would be different, others mixtures of different things. She'd notice a pattern within each of her dreams. They included her loneliness, and her hatred to pony-kind. Most ended in sadness and disaster.
Further reading through the book of spells, she began practicing other spells, including entering other dreams and altering such dreams, as well as connecting them to others, despite the caution of such spells being magic hungry. Within the few months she was practicing, she had devised a plan to take over the ones she's learned so much about. The filly, although non-aging, grew with constant wisdom and intelligence.
As she studied the powerful book, she had also gotten to examining maps that had been collected up until the rise of Nightmare Moon. She circled specific locations as to where she would first attack. Her imagination ran wild as to what she could do to such a kingdom, and planned to let loose every ounce of it upon them.
"T-t-t-ta..." She began spouting out sounds, trying to speak the words she read. "T-Trussstt... M... Me..." she eventually grew more fluently, and continued with this method, practicing until she knew she had gotten it to something one might find influential. Her mind had become filled at this point, with vast knowledge. She knew most of the history of how Equestria came about, and how its past enemies had been defeated. She knew most of the areas Equestria controlled, and most importantly. She knew of their legends.
When she knew all that she could of the spells that were possible for her, she closed the book, and left the chamber for the last time, closing its entrance. She left the castle and took her next step in taking over.
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The Tale of Night Filly Moon
Chapter Three: Through The Mind of The Innocent
Your eyes flicker open to the sound of loud cries and the buzzes of invisible insects. You curl up in your bed as you feel it shake under you, and out of the corner of your eye, out the window you notice the cause of the buzzing. The screams continue as you duck under the covers, waiting for this all to end, and then, you hear a voice.
"Children!" The voice of a filly cut through the air, it wasn't any of your friends, nor anyone's you knew. "Leave for the Everfree! It's our only chance! Get out of here while you still can!" It continued, and then a pair of buzzing wings came closer and closer, until it was in your room, searching for the occupant. It searched around for perhaps a minute, however it would stop. A minute longer, it stepped closer to the bed, and began pulling on the cover, and licked its muzzle. From this point, you dart out from under the curtains and right out the window, running to the forest.
Looking around you, you find that the homes are being raided by Changelings, some of your friends and other ponies fainting and captured by the enemy, your homeland being conquered by those that devour love and take the places of those they intend to feed from. You disappear within the underbrush of the forest, and the stomping of hooves in front of you can be heard in the distance.
"Over here!" The voice would say as you grew closer, and then reached a sudden clearing, filled with foals, colts, and fillies surrounding one black filly with a midnight blue with small white dots on her mane. She sat upon a large rock that looked like it could pass for a throne. It appeared that you were one of the last ones there, and after some minutes of sitting there, the filly spoke once more, quieter. "Children of Equestria... I regret to inform you that your homeland has been invaded... " A murmur grew across the area, some whimpers and cries, but then came a sudden hush from the older siblings of some, and she continued. "This travesty has taken the lives of our families, our friends, and our lives shall never be the same. " she paused. There was silence. "But there is still hope that we may be able to take back what was first ours. We are young, and that makes us strong. We must stick together, and hold each other up if we must. We shall not let these creatures of hatred take our parents away without regret. We will fight for our lives, and we will fight for theirs." She stood as if she ruled the world. Her head held high and her hooves made sturdy on the rock beneath her. She continued "...Today we rest... But tonight we take back what's ours!" She said, and stepped down. "We rest at the castle. " And with that, everyone followed her to the castle ruins.
It seemed hardly an hour passed by when hooves could be heard, and groans came as people woke up. It appeared that you weren't the only one who was still tired, as several groaned and whined as they got on their hooves. "Good evening, everypony. " Her voice echoed around the castle. Everyone was clustered around, but no sign of her. When you looked up, however, she sat upon the throne, almost invisible be it not for her mane and eyes that gave a gentle glow in the moonlight that had seeped in through one of the windows. "Tonight we become stronger. We care for the younger, the foals. We aid and comfort them and hide them from possible trespassers. We store food and then burn those sources if need be. We will survive, but we must fight these creatures that now haunt our homes with strategy. We can not make ourselves obvious, and we can not make ourselves known. Go now, search the forest for food and water. Do not eat anything until you're told by me."
And with that, most would leave the castle, including you, leaving behind the youngest such as the newborns or foals. The forest was dark and difficult to navigate. Yelps came every few minutes when someone would trip or walk into a tree. Others would mope and sniffle in the darkness, talking to themselves or some to others about how they worry for their parents, and how they want to go home. Others would attempt to comfort them, saying they will get them back, and all would be good again.
As the night continued many would adjust to the darkness, and began stepping out of the way of each other, and grew quieter. They did what they had to, some returning to the scene of which they had lost their homes, only to see it calm and still.
Upon returning to the castle you would find that it was clear inside, the foals had been moved. "They were moved so they can't be used against us." That voice again. "Did you bring what we need?" As you look around you can't see her, but you set some branches of berries and a make-shift bucket of water on the ground in front of you. "Good."
Minutes later others began to flow into the castle once more, questions arising about the foals but there came a hush as the filly stepped out of the shadows. "Welcome back. Place it all in the middle and move out of the way until everyone has put what they brought back into the pile. " As this was done there were some apples, some wheat, even some pies placed on the floor. A couple buckets or bottles of water. "We will get more later then. For now we rest."
Once they all fell back asleep, whispers echoed across the castle.
The Tale of Night Filly Moon
Back in town the following morning, families gathered around Ponyville, questions concerning the lost children traveling quickly. Some looking at the older siblings for any cause, but to no avail. They were left confused, and quite very afraid. Coming through to the middle of the crowd came Princess Twilight. Her eyes wide with curiosity, but quickly changing to that of worry as she caught word of what was going on. "Don't worry everypony..." She said, "We'll find them, and whoever had taken them, as well. " She called out after the crowd had went quiet for her to speak. "We will find them. Whatever happens I'm sure they are all okay. " She had rubbed her tired eyes with a hoof. "We will split up into groups. Pegasi, see if any of the other parts of Equestria have lost anyone... Unicorns, I want you to search the town and even the forest. Earthponies, make sure that they aren't in any houses... " She then said. "I will tell Celestia of what has happened."
As if on cue, Celestia had flown next to her, taking a moment to catch her breath. "It... Seems it's happened here too... " Celestia's voice full of worry. "Twilight, we must talk in peace. This is of great emergence." And with that they were surrounded by a pink orb, and in a flash they disappeared and back in the castle. "Twilight, we must not let them investigate. We believe this is the work of another alicorn, but we cannot find who..." She said and then turned her head to the corner. "Luna, please tell her what you told me. "
And with that, Princess Luna stepped from the shadows with a grave face. "It seems, Princess Twilight, that someone else knows of my magic to travel through dreams... The children... They left their homes willingly, but without knowing there was no harm in the safety of their homes... " She took a moment before continuing. "They were coerced into leaving, but within their own dreams. I believe I know where they went, however I fear we have little knowledge of our enemy... "
Twilight Sparkle, shocked by this message, held her mouth open in awe. It took her some minutes to collect her thoughts, and to speak. "Alicorn... And you don't know them? Are you sure there wasn't anything else involved? Like.... " She took a few moments to recollect such possible abilities before exclaiming, "The Alicorn Amulet!" The sisters looked to each other.
"It's a possibility that they may be using something that increases their own power..." Said Luna. "However we can't tell... If it were the amulet, most likely they wouldn't plan on taking just foals..." She gave a heavy sigh, and brought a hoof to her head. "We are in trouble, but we must keep this to ourselves... Princess Twilight, you must tell them to stop their search. It is too dangerous for anyone else but us and Discord... But you must go. Stop them from searching and come back to us when you can. We've planning to do."
With that, the sisters left the crystal castle, and flew back to their own. Once they were gone Twilight looked worriedly at those that had started searching already, but started her mission nonetheless. It went with much success, despite the majority giving her a suspicious look.
After some time talking to her friends and others with questions, she made her way to the castle. Once there, and walking up the steps she found the guards with their heads held low, worried expressions written upon all their faces. Twilight went up the stairs and down to the throne where she met Princesses Luna and Celestia once more. "What do we do?" She asked.
"We still don't know, Twilight... We're doing everything in our power to get the information we need but... All we know is about where they are..." Said Celestia. "If any more of these dreams occur, however, I'm sure we can find out more of what's going on."
"Well, where are they? Can't we get them back?" The sisters looked to each other once more, then back to Twilight, and Celestia shook her head.
"We don't know what to do as of this moment, Twilight... " Celestia then said. "We can't risk our citizen's nor our own lives looking for our youth who'd been taken from by a newfound enemy... "
Then Luna stepped in. "For now, Princess Twilight, tell families to leave some blankets and memorables in front of the doors.... This may let the children know it is safe to return home... " Celestia nodded to her sister and looked to Twilight once more.
"Go home and tell them, Twilight. If we find anything more, we will let you know."
She bowed to them "Thank you." Twilight had said. She made her way back home, only to find a large crowd having returned to the square. In the middle, a tall figure stood. An alicorn.
She was a dark grey but wore a tattered cloak. It hid her cutie marks but her wings could easily be seen. Her mane and tail were both frizzled and dirt covered. Her eyes were purple, and her horn apparently broken off, leaving the base of it still obvious, but utterly useless. She was dirty with mud spots, her cloak ridden with holes and surly not the same color it once was. She looked up to find Twilight, and tried to push everyone to the side. "E-Excuse me..." she said and repeated, before going to Twilight. "Hel... Hello, sister of wings and horn.... " She said after she met Twilight on the ground. "My name is Silver Lining... I... I come from a far away land by the name of... " she paused and gave an irritated look, shaking her head. "I... I can't remember..." In a whine. "But, I've come to warn you of the coming danger.... " And then looked back to the ponies whom had surrounded them both. "But... I... I fear it's already come."
In the cover of leaves from bushes just at the edge of Everfree, a pair of eyes stared out, white and glowing a bluish tint, watching the plan unfold.
The Tale of Night Filly Moon
Chapter Five: Interrogation
Chapter Five: Interrogation
"I was raised as if any other princess. I was taught countless lessons of history, sciences, magic, and other educations. " Silver Lining sat at the end of the circular table a distance from the other three who listened carefully to their visitor. Her mane and tail were cleaned and made into some delicate curls, with a braid that showed over clearly that was swept over her forehead to her opposite ear, and followed around her head to make a halo. She continued. "I had a friend that I rarely saw... She always spoke of rebellion and certain politics and issues that would help her arguments... She gained knowledge of particular relics that would modify her abilities; and such relics proved to do much, much more.... " She shook her head and looked down in sorrow. "She appeared fine, at first... She spoke to me often when I wasn't busy with other things, however she eventually came less and less during the day, and instead woke me at night. She brought up our usual discussions, arguments, and daily lives but that changed to be more focused on her plans...." Tears began running down her cheeks at this point. "She told me exactly what she would do... And I let it happen..."
"What did she do." Princess Celestia had then asked, her face unchanged as she watched her closely.
"Myself among many other foals at the time experienced bad dreams some time after she suddenly vanished... They involved some of our most feared enemies, and then within those dreams she'd lead us to believe she could take us to some place safe, but when we'd get to that place our parents would be gone... We would proclaim her the leader, as she knew just what to do, or so we believed... I remember little of what happened next, but when I opened my eyes everything was in ruins, and no pony was left but me. I found myself some years older, my horn broken in half, and I fear that she's come to do the same here, but leave nothing behind..." She bowed her head, out of breath of what to say, not to mention unsure of what else she could say.
Peeking through the window was a dark mist that suddenly dispersed as Silver ended her story, and Twilight turned her head at the sudden movement to find nothing there. "Can you... " She paused and turned her head back to Silver. "Maybe think of any possible weaknesses? This isn't anything I've read about... "
She shook her head, but suddenly paused. "Well.... No adults or teens have vanished... Have they?"
They looked to each other, confused.
"So... She's limited only to controlling foals? " Twilight then broke the sudden silence. "So that's one thing... Can you think of anything else?"
"No... But I'm afraid I've grown tired...."
With that, the discussion ended and within the crystal castle Silver was led to a guest room that contained a bed, a dresser, desk, and a closet. Both the dresser and closet being empty. When the door closed and good nights were said, Silver went to the window and opened it, letting in a cool breeze. After that she went to bed, and rested.
Silver slept peacefully, although she did sleep until just past noon. She had made herself more presentable when in the guest room, managing to make a necklace of her final reminder of her home. It was a deep red gemstone that had gold around the back, previously the most valuable piece of her crown. It had signatures upon it, of whom had inherited it before herself, imprinted on the gold. She found some string, and managed to make it into a necklace, and put it round her neck. She then walked out of the room, and shortly after found herself at the table once more, questioned by the other princesses.
"How did you find Equestria in the first place?" Twilight had asked.
"Word of popular countries travel vastly. I traveled a long way in search of the one whom had destroyed my own, and it appears my travels have thusly ended, as I doubt she'd wish to keep me alive if I try stopping her, and that's just what I seek to do... " Silver replied.
"Just what can you do that would help us?" It was Celestia this time. "Without your horn, certainly you can't use magic..."
"I can not. However, I have an idea to how we may retrieve the children safely to their homes." she said
"And what would that plan be?"
"We make traps... Surely she's planning on attacking, so we can make traps to contain them. We can get wise students or unicorns to figure out a spell that disrupts their 'dreaming.' While we do that we can search for the invader, and capture her. " With that she gave herself an approving nod.
"That could work, actually... But how do we get this to follow through?" Twilight had asked
"We make it appear unintentional... Netting traps, box traps... Anything possible that does little to no harm."
And with that they made their agreements, and proceeded with calling forth ponies whom could do such things, and of course, avoided the word 'trap' as much as possible
