Inheritance of the moon

The Castle of the Pony Sisters once again sat in silence, nothing was aloft not even the wind. The castle would have remained so for centuries had Nightmare Moon not returned and been converted back into Princess Luna. Days had passed since this transformation had taken place, nothing had been left behind except the shell of what had been Nightmare Moon's armor. Rocking and spinning the armor began to move and pull together returning to it's original state of a dark cloud. As this transformation occurred the sound of dark whispers began to fill the hall. One voice stood out from the rest, the voice of the mist, as it spoke back to the voices.

"Yes...we were defeated..." The voice was reminiscent of Nightmare Moon, though it lacked the BOOMING quality which the princess had been raised upon. "Crushed beneath the elements of harmony once again..." Long and drawn out the voice spoke, the shadows within the room began to writhe and pulse, the dark cloud at the center. "Painful as it was...a new situation has arisen and one we mayhap take advantage of." If the voice was capable of sounding darker it certainly did, the words dripped with ill intent.

The whispers in the room quieted for a few moments before it continued, louder as if they were talking with not only the cloud but other entities."What is this advantage? Is it worth our time and power...the shadows are weakening in this era...our end is neigh?" The whispers spoke as one, even so the sounded lower than an inside voice.

The cloud laughed at what had been said, it had little thoughts of weakening, only of hatred and the destruction it wrought. "Weakness? You speak as if you have given up on all that is fear, hate, and destruction. My time returns at present as does your own should you continue to render aid. The Elements no longer preside with the princesses and can no longer be used by a single pony, thus their power is divided amongst six individuals."

"Individuals which defeated your guise and puppet Nightmare Moon....a goddess in her own right, a goddess by birth no less...The elements still hold great power within the individual which holds the fragment of power...but divided...they may yet fall... The whispering once again returned as the shadows seemed to talk to themselves. "We concede that his may be an opportunity to which we can gain more strength and tighten our fleeting grasp upon this world. What shall be the course of action to which we reenforce our control oh being of hatred whom wishes this world in turmoil? Speak for we listen but this shall be our last attempt with you as our bastion, our spear which to return. Should you fail you will be alone in all that you may reap." The shadows are finally silent as they listen, perhaps there was hope for them yet.

"As I said the elements are divided, their grasp must be weakened that their bond lies within six instead of one. Our defeat was inevitable, Nightmare Moon's strength had lapsed, her judgement weakened, and her resolve all but broken from her imprisonment. With your assistance we will take the guise of each and with each we will sough the seeds of fear and doubt amongst pony kind. And with each shape we may be able to obtain the individual's element, eventually gaining all six and all the power which this course promises. Yes I seek to plunge this world into turmoil, to watch the landscape be set ablaze with the flames of hatred But with my will and desire you will rule this world and all those who still call it home when I have finished...," Now the cloud's voice was strong and re-assertive, there was power.

"Perhaps...there is a chance...this plan strikes a cord with deception, Discord would be most pleased...You have our support....but which guise would you first choose? To which should we begin this task?" As one the shadows had spoken but now they returned to whispering, as if trying to decide which would be best or rather easiest which the cloud heard more times than not.

"The pegasus....dull yellow of coat and pink of mane, fear had been strong in that one and for that you must agree...the most tasteful beginning. The element of kindness has chosen such an accommodating host. A just beginning for us to start anew, join me now there is much work to be done." The shadows converged on her in those short words, a swirling vortex replaced the cloud for only a few moments. Once all was done there stood a darkened pegasus, clearly yellow and pink but coated in shadow. With a flap of her wings the pegasus grinned. "May hate once again rise and kindness fall..." The voice was indeed Fluttershy's but instead of it's squeaky demeanor it contained a dark seductive tone. In shape but not color, in voice but not tone, she was Fluttershy...but perhaps that was not all that had changed...

A lone figure fled the castle...