Above a forest on another moonlit night a cool breeze blew the clouds through the empty black. Not even so much as a twig snapped on the underfoot of timberwolves stalking in the bush. Suddenly far above the moon exploded with a bright beam of energy and shot towards the earth. The leaves shook and trees trembled as another smaller beam fell away from the first and fell into the forest in a ball of light and shadowy mist. The silent night was awoken with splintering wood and animals scattering from the crater in the darkest corner of the forest.
A single jet black Pegasus crawled from the crater. His armor clanked against his flanks as he stumbled onto flat ground. He fell and lay still. His helmet rolled away. It’s eagle-like features were adorned by dark blue feathers on top. He lay breathing and coughing for many moments before attempting to stand up. His hooves felt heavy and every breathe had to be fought for. He walked over to his helmet and placed it over his head. Covering the many scars and burns that adorned his face. He made sure it was secured before looking around and up at the moon.
He smiled and said,” I’m finally awake.”
He stretched his bat-like wings, their thin tissue riddles with holes and cuts caught the wind. He tried flapping them but immediately felt a sharp pain shoot through his wings and into his back.
“Ah! That’s just great. Guess I gotta walk. Can’t ever be easy can it?”
He retracted his injured wings and looked up to the sky and saw the trail of energy slowly fading away. He began his walk towards the bigger streak’s trail.
“I know that’s you my princess. I’m comin’.”
The pegasus walked in the forest under the guidance of moonlight. His black eyes scanning the bushes for signs of trouble. As he traveled a thick fog engulfed him and made it harder to see. It was difficult to not bump into a tree or stumble over a rabbit hole. He cursed at the fog and waded through with only one intent, to walk straight ahead.
At the outermost edges of the fog in a small clearing he saw the silhouettes of ponies standing in a semi-circle around him. He stopped and lowered his stance, ready for a fight as he slowly moved forward. As he inched closer he noticed the ponies’ heads keeping track of him. He got within a few feet of the ponies but still could not make out their appearance. It was hard to tell if it was the fog or something else. Something seemed off about these ponies.
“You don’t need to be so tense Nacht.”
A soft voice spoke to the pegasus but he could not tell from which one spoke. He readied himself to jump at the figures.
“There’s a bunch o’ you and one o’ me. Seems like I have every right to be tense. ‘Specially round ponies I can’t see.”
The pony in front of him chuckled and took a few steps forward. The fog seemed to peel away from it as it moved. It stopped mere inches from Nacht and lowered its head. It opened its eyes and showed a shallow blackness underneath its eyelids. From its eyes a black liquid poured out and onto its face, and rolling back onto its body. Nacht could see it taking form before his very eyes. This was no ordinary pony; this was something entirely different. This was his friend.
“Chanson?!” Nacht backed away from his friend, “How are you here? You’re dead. I saw you die…Am I dead too?”
Nacht quickly checked himself and slapped his own face.
Chanson chuckled once more and coughed. Nacht noticed that the other pones stepped forward and appeared in the same way he did. All of them stood with black liquid pouring from their eyes and coating their hide in a thick sludge.
“What happened to all of you?”
Chanson replied,” We died, but we have something to say to you. Nightmare Moon’s power has allowed us to awaken. We do not know for how long, so please, listen carefully.”
Nacht sat down, “Go on.”
Chanson spoke once more, “We know what will become of our Princess. We also know what you will try to do to preserve her. There is nothing you can do Nacht. You must not hold onto her anymore. Times have changed. There is no room in this world for you.”
Nacht snarled, “I live to serve Nightmare Moon. Just as you lived n’ died serving her! We all knew the sacrifices we had to make in her honor. Had I been given the chance I woulda done the same as you. I will not break my oath to Nightmare Moon. The world may have changed but I haven’t.”
The dark ponies looked to one another and whispered amongst themselves. Chanson stared at Nacht as he paced back and forth, upset at his undead friend’s treachery to their oath. The ponies stopped their discussion and looked back to their living comrade. They all walked closer and surrounded him. Nacht could not move but angrily fluttered his wings against his sides.
“Are ya gonna kill me now?”
The ponies all bowed to him except for Chanson. He put his hoof onto his friend’s shoulder and spread his tears onto Nacht. The black sludge crawled all over his body. It wrapped around his skin and squeezed tight. The liquid dripped off his skin and dissolved before it touched the ground. Never before had Nacht felt such cold. It had all the chill of the frozen tundra without any feeling of wind or watery ice of snow. He felt like he was going to suffocate. Frost shot from his mouth with every breathe until he was brought to his knees as Chanson bowed as well.
“We know you will not change Nacht. Sadly, you are the last of us and we want our memory preserved. Perhaps our oath truly does bind us to the Princess after all. Even in death.”
As Chanson spoke the ponies all put their hooves against Nacht. Their tears flowed onto him and gradually made them disappear. One by one the phantoms faded away.
“Let us in. Embrace the power of the Moon. Live out this nightmare you have chosen for yourself.”
Nacht screamed in agony as he felt every inch of flesh become frozen and morphed into something different. He felt lighter, the chills he felt comforted him, and his eyes could see through the fog once more. Though he could not see himself, his new body flowed with the essence of darkness itself. His mane now resembled the feathers that once adorned his helmet. They flowed and faded away the further they got from his body, his mouth open as he took in his new icy breathes that refreshed his lungs. His teeth turned to fangs and a strange black saliva oozed from his mouth. His wings were like giant shadows ready to wrap themselves around anypony and anything and envelop them in darkness. His eyes were pure black with a single bright white dot in the center. He was a shadow; he was night itself.
Nacht launched himself into the air and soared above the forest. He flew faster and with much more agility than before. He occasionally dove into the forest and faded into a cloud of shadows and reappeared many thousands of feet ahead in mere seconds. This new power of the moon flowed through his very blood and propelled him to a feeling of incredible power. Now he can fulfill his duty. Now he can protect his princess and prove his fallen comrades wrong.
Nacht’s new voice was as chilly and lifeless as the breath he took.
“I will prove you wrong Chanson. This world does have a place for me. My place is by my princess and I will reunite with her soon.”
He flew towards where we last saw the bright streak in the sky and soared through the clouds. He finally left the forest and saw a small town in the distance. Few lights were lit and the streets seemed empty and bare.
Nacht landed in a tree and took in the air as he scanned the town.
“She’s here.”
Author's Note
So this is my first time posting anything on any website, besides Facebook. Hopefully I'm staying within the guidelines and properly labeling my stuff. Feel free to help out in any way possible. Tips and suggestions are always welcome.
First guy woes aside. I'm excited to see what others have to say about my writing. I have taken some writing classes but that was years ago. I have kept up writing small things here and there but I never have shown them to anyone except in my old writing classes. So I guess what I'm saying is...be gentle?
