Prologue
Luna, the ruler of the night, looked down upon Ponyville with a smile.
Many of the ponies that were sleeping now were having pleasant dreams, dreaming about friends and lovers, and hopes and dreams. As she continued to soar overhead, she ran many dreams through her head, entering thousands of different dreams through her magic, and dispelling many nightmares. As she continued to do this, there was one nightmare that simply refused to change.
The one that was having the terrible dream was none other than Apple Bloom. When Luna focused her power on the dream, nothing happened. Stranger still, was the location of Apple Bloom. Why was she in the middle of the Evergreen?
Thinking Apple Bloom is in danger, Luna willed her wings to flap harder as she made her way to the Everfree, intent on getting to the bottom of this.
⇔
Luna landed in front of the abandoned Castle of Two Sisters, at the spot that Apple Bloom’s dream-trail ended. She saw Apple Bloom in front of the entrance. She was laying on the ground, her backside turned forwards Luna. Stranger still, were the nine orbs of purple fire that burned without a noise, bobbing in the air like a stick on water. Luna was now convinced that Apple Bloom was now under some sort of magical attack. Without hesitation, Luna began to channel her magic to dispel the orbs of fire. She released her spell, a wave of magic that washed over the area. It ran into the balls of flame, cutting the flames in half. But, the balls of fire came back, popping into existence as if they were never disturbed in the first place. Luna was puzzled and attempted the same thing again. Once more, the flames refused to die. Luna was about to do it again, but Apple Bloom began to stir.
“Apple Bloom! Are thou okay?” Luna said as she kept her eyes on the balls of eerie flame.
Apple Bloom turned around. Smiling, she nodded in confirmation. Luna’s eyes widened when she saw the fangs in Apple Bloom’s mouth. She saw Apple Bloom’s eye pupils turning vertically slimmer. Apple Bloom didn’t have her tail either. She had nine different foxtails.
Luna took a step back, “what have you done to Apple Bloom?!”
The imposter chuckled, it’s eyes looking at her like a predator would to its prey. “Nothing, I took this form to lure you here. Your precious Apple Bloom is safe, but you won’t. Luna narrowed her eyes and said a few magic words, her horn shooting a bolt of magic into the sky.
“A magic flare.” The imposter turned to Luna, “help will not arrive in time.” Luna then pulled a small charm with strange characters on it seemingly out of nowhere. The imposter hissed. “Put down that charm, now!” Luna smirked, “I know what you are. Your kind has tricked and manipulated so many of my subjects. You should have stayed on your island.”
The imposter snarled. “Arrogant fool! Quarantining us on those islands only delayed the inevitable. You and your sister’s thrones will be destroyed, and the creatures of The Twins will come back to this land!”
Luna’s horn began to glow with magical power, her eyes fixated on the imposter.
“Come at me then! I would love nothing more than to send you running with your tails between your legs!”
The orbs of fire encircled her, slowly closing in on the princess of the moon.
The imposter growled, “challenge accepted.”
⇔
It's nights like this that Trixie hated with a passion. A calm, quiet night like this made her think of all the bad decisions she has made during her time on Equis. She has apologized and made up for her bad choices on many different occasions, but she still felt like she has to do more to fully redeem herself.
As the crickets sing their song and the Moon’s gentle rays of light shine down upon the land, she came across the Everfree.
Trixie smiled slightly. While most ponies usually avoid the forrest, Trixie always liked it. It sheltered here when she fled from Ponyville after Twilight Sparkle defeated her in a magic duel after all. Despite the creepy reputation it has, Trixie found the air in its branches relaxing, helping clear her mind. It certainty helped on nights like this.
She entered the forest, breathing in the air and indulging in the faint scent of the evening primrose. She trotted the worn dirt path and quickly realized that she was genuinely enjoying this nightly walk. She closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. As soon as she exhaled, a magical rift rippled throughout the forest, causing Trixie to gasp.
The forest went silent, and the wind stopped its gentle breeze.
This sense of dread that came after invaded Trixie’s mind…
Suddenly, the forest didn’t seem so hospitable. Then, a scream sounded from the forest.
Swallowing her fear, Trixie galloped into those woods, her eyes scanning every tree she passed. She then came across the Castle of the Two Sisters. Trixie rapidly crossed the bridge, and saw that Luna was in front of the castle, unconscious and in the middle of a scorched ring of grass. Trixie looked up to see a magic flare still in the sky.
“How did I not sense it?” Trixie said to herself.
“Trixie…”
Trixie turned to see Luna, grimacing in pain.
Trixie rushed to her side, saying, “what happened to you?!”
Luna pointed to a charm that Trixie had never seen before. “Take that charm, and press it to my throat. Whatever happens after, do not let go of the charm, and do not take the charm off of me.”
“Why-”
“Do it!”
Trixie used her magic to lift up the strange charm and pressed the charm against Luna’s throat, prompting a howl of pain. Luna began to spasm, her howls of pain echoing throughout the Everfree.
The area flashed with light, and Celestia made her grand entrance, accompanied by some royal guards.
“Sister!”
Celestial landed and turned to Trixie. “What happened here? Did you do this?!”
Trixie shook her head.
“Sister…” Luna croaked. “It is inside me.”
“What do you mean?”
- Then she noticed the charm.
She turned to the guards. “Get Luna to the ritual room in the Canterlot castle, and I want every single mage summoned to the castle.”
One guard pointed at Trixie with his spear. “What about her?” The guard asked.
Celestial regarded Trixie with cold eyes.
“Bring her with us, I got plans for her.”
