The Everfree Chronicles: Altered Chances

Sorry about the long wait, had along of things on my mind along with college, job hunting and also moving to another state. Anyways on with the show!

Canterlot Palace, Afternoon

"Everything is in place an soon every pony that will be attending will arrive shortly, please tell Princess Celestia that the decorations, the buffet and the ballroom is fully furnished and ready for the guests. And do tell Prince Blueblood to stay away from the buffet until his private table and cushions arrive." the head designer said while looking everything over once more, to ensure that everything is absolutely perfect for the night that is quickly arriving.

"Yes sir." one of the maids from the kitchens said while placing down the last plate of iced oranges and salad before returning back to the palace to relay the news to Princess Celestia. On her way to the palace she bumps into a guard, dropping a letter and giving a quick apology before resuming her path, the guard picks up the letter and slips it into a part of his armor for transport as he resumes his patrol route.

As the guard goes about his patrol his takes out the letter and passes it to the new captain of the guard and goes back to his post before it gives any guard a reason to ask him as to what he was doing and where he was off to while he was supposed to stand still and watch for anything out of the ordinary.

As Moonbloom reads the letter her eyes gleamed with delight about the news and even smiled but as she kept reading that smile slowly turned into a frown until she read the last part of it.

I will be attending the Gala this year, make sure that neither Celestia nor Luna know that I am here, and also know that I will be disguised. The package that has been given to you is to be used before they are taken out to the tables, it will not kill those who consume it but the effects it will produce will aid our cause and hamper the sun tyrant's plan to stop us.Do not mess this up.

Swallowing back her fear that messing up the plan would mean death or worse death for her whole family she throws the letter into the fireplace and writes down a quick report before she folds it in half and places it within the drawer and prays for that this night will not end in disaster for her.

Shuddering at the thought of what would happen to herself or her family she picks up a small box that lays half hidden between the drawer and fireplace and opens the lid and pulls out the lone content within its wooden confines. Within the box was a glass green bottle, clearly marked with a pony skull and crossbones, and written on a small pasted piece of paper was 'Experiment #7: Refined Poison Joke' and below it was a warning label that reads 'Keep out of hoofs of foals and old ponies, keep in a dry place for storage, do not drink unless you are clearly driven to stupidity and want to know what it is like to be a mindless drone. If consumed, do not panic but instead take deep breaths, plug your nose and finish the bottle otherwise the pain will kick in and you will be in a world of hurt.'

Placing the green bottle onto the drawer and reading the letter one more time the captain snickers under her breath before quickly trotting towards the kitchen and looked for another of the loyal agents of the moon and upon finding the chef she gave him the poison and gave him he instructions and with a curt nod grasped the bottle with his teeth and placed it near the salad bowls before resuming his job as head chef for the coming gala event.

Canterlot Palace, Night

"So tell me again as to why I am dressed up like a peacock....this does not suit me very well and I am not into girly things such as this."

"Suck it up Greaves, I don't like this either...you just look very colorful and bright....I look like a bloody Prench Maid

"Well I think you look sexy in that dress mi'lady, just try not to bend over to pick something up and everything will be alright...unless your next to Blueblood than just try not to kill him, he is essential to my plans...well a few of my plans. In fact if he is more trouble than he is worth tell me first than I will think on how he should die. He will make a nice puppet for as long as he does not try to extend his reach to far cause I will take that hoof if he tries to grasp at something he can not reach." I said with a smile, Blueblood has always been a pain in the flank for as I far as I know him, and heard from everypony else, he is egotistical, arrogant, snooty and above all else, uptight but he has his use as a distraction for coming events.

All three of us trot up to the main gate of the Canterlot Palace, myself wearing a none to classy suit with top hat and monocle, and underneath all of the silk fabric and reflective buttons, my armor and my sword was stealthily hidden along the spine of my classy suit, as long as no one notices the blocky outline than everything will go according to plan. Greaves was wearing a more 'fruity' kind of suit, it was bright, vibrant, and overall colorful and it would instantly draw anypony's attention to him as it should since they would think he is some gryphon fashion director or star. And as for Sapphire, her Prench Maid outfit is meant as to blend in to the other maids, a snake in the grass style of infiltration which would hopefully not fail me.

My remark about Sapphire Bloom looking sexy in the maid outfit earned me a smack upside the head with her tail but she quickly straightened herself out as the three of us approached the ticket handler, me and Greaves showed our ticket and had it taken from us before being torn in half, the stub end given back to us as the rest was placed back into the pile. The three of us split apart as we entered, the guards at the door gave us a once over and we scattered to the wind, Sapphire went to the kitchens to get started on her part, Greaves started his random chats with the upper echelon of pony society...my job is just not to blow my cover to soon.

"-And I said that there is no way that a dead pony can rise from the grave! That kind of magic has been banned from Equestria for centuries since the days of Nightmare Moon and it is such a silly thought that any pony still even knows that kind of dark magic. Why, saying such a thing makes a pony wonder as to who they say they are..." an all-white unicorn said as a mare draped over his back, seemingly in a pose of sorts, and as to why he is speaking of such a topic brings me to wonder more about this particular unicorn as nopony would ever speak of a topic unless they have a maid or guard in their pocket, or they are secretly part of the sun tyrant's secret guards.

Taking a look back at the unicorn, my eyes looking him over to see if he has any kind of weapon hidden on his tailcoat but finding none I breath a small sigh of relief before brushing past him, his eyes locking onto my mine for the briefest of moments before mine glowed a hellish red before reverting back but the smallest of bumps against his suit sets him off.

"Excuse me sir, but you bumped into me."

I turned to face him, slightly baring my teeth at him before resuming my walk past other guests to get away from the rich stallion and his trophy wife, my destination the food table as I smelt the delicious aroma of the nearly elusive apple eclair. My motions toward the food stand do not go unnoticed as I made my way to the snack of the gods and by the time I got to the stand, a certain pink mare was standing in front of me, those colossal powder blue eyes staring into my soul as I forcefully looked away.

"Hey! You look familiar!" Pinkie Pie shouted in her usual happy-go-lucky tone as she started to hop in place as she started to ramble on how I looked like so-and-so and so-and-so, and this went on for what felt like hours on end until her orange colored friend came over and stuffed her mouth with her hoof, sparing me from spearing the annoying mare with my sword or my horn.

"Sorry 'bout that partner, usually Pinkie Pie ain't so chatty unless it is with somepony new. Ma names Applejack whats yours partner." the orange mare said with a small wink when she said her name while still maintaining her balance while still having her hoof in the pink one's mouth, how she can do that and not worry about falling over is beyond me but seeing the pink one still talking in garbled words fills me with happiness knowing that I dodged an arrow from dealing with her.

"Well...my name is Sharp Quill, and it is nice to meet a mare that knows how to handle her friends rabblings..and is she going to be alright with that hoof in her mouth and how is she still talking?" I said while keeping an eye on Pinkie, still seeing her talking and not really noticing the hoof in her mouth or the fact that no one can understand a word she is saying. My eyes catch onto Sapphire, her head giving me a curt nod as I returned it before excusing myself and made my way away from them, my eyes creeping around seeing the other guests chatting with others and being completely ignorant of the event that is about to take place.

It wasn't until I spotted Fluttershy trying to talk to the Palace animals that I failed to take into account that all of the element of harmony bearers would be at the Gala, slightly throwing my party out of sync but I was not going to stop it now. Turning my head I see Rainbow Dash trying to speak to the Wonderbolts two top performers and failing to get their attention but my eyes finally fall on my puppet of choice, Prince Blueblood and the current mare for the night, Rarity. I was snickering under my breath as the party started to get out of whack, the mares were wrecking the party with their very presence and it was only after when the cake was launched into the air before I see something that sets my blood to boil.

Blueblood using a mare as a shield, or in this case using Rarity as a shield to prevent any cake residue or chunks from touching his expensive bow tie or his ungodly clean white coat. I simply stood there jaw slack as I watched the cake pieces drip and drop off Rarity's exquisitely made dress and turned my gaze back to Blueblood and he is now cringing in disgust at the sight before him, I cringed in fear that I was going to blow up right there and rip Blueblood in half before bringing him back as a zombie just to rip him in half again for the fun of it.

I had to stop myself from exposing myself to early to everypony present, my teeth baring out for everyone to see my disdain for the jackass of a prince. I moved quickly towards the table and grabbed myself a lone glass filled with red wine, and moved to the center of the gardens, waiting for everything to take its course before I can begin the plan to change Equestria and soon the rest of the world to bow to the eternal moon.

It was only after an hour that everything started to settle down and that the guests started to shuffle about and head for the exit, time for me to begin. Winking at Greaves who was standing at the only exit out of the gardens as he stood in the way as I made the doors close and lock behind him, the guards all around the perimeter are in a deep sleep, their rations poisoned with a powerful sedative and the servants were all on the other side of the doors an are unable to unlock them.

Princess Celestia was no where to be found so this was my chance to reveal myself with the safety of not being captured so easily.

"Fillies and Gentlecolts, Tonight's party has come to an end, but tonight's entertainment is brought to you by the following random acts of violence!" I said as I flared my horn and shredded my tuxedo and top hat to reveal my royal armor, my mane and tail instantly turning into an ethereal shadow of its former self, Greaves and Sapphire removed their clothing as well to show off their armor.

And with that the eight other guards that I brought revealed themselves and took up positions around the perimeter of the party-goers as they start to panic, freak out and start to run around like chickens with their heads cut off, shrieking at the top of their lungs for help but a few ponies remain calm and huddle together and start to talk amongst themselves. Their motives to me are unknown but as my eyes cast a glance in their general direction they stop talking long enough for me to grin at them before casting my gaze somewhere else, enjoying the fear this snobbish nobles are giving off.

After a few minutes of them screaming and running I levitate the large crumbled statue in the center of the party off the ground before dropping it, the resulting thunderous noise breaks everyponies running and hollering as they turned to face me as I slowly walked around the few ponies that came close to me, I can feel their eyes moving over my armored frame as I ever so often glanced around to see who would make a move against me.

"I hope you ponies of Canterlot have enjoyed your night at the Gala in the glowing light of the moon, for if you join us you shall be enjoying all of your lovely parties and events forever within the embrace of the night, and for those that refuse this offer and continue to walk blindly in the light, you may leave, but know this, when the time comes for us to return, those that have refused our offer will receive no quarter." a few murmurs from the ponies around me told me all that I needed to know, that telling them that it was 'join us now or forever fall' being their only resort, would make them choose life or death.

Trotting over to the center stage where the band was playing I looked at each member, looking for the fear on their faces and grinning when I saw almost all of them shaking in fear, even one of them apparently pissed themselves. Casting my gaze back to the crowd I saw a few move forward, their heads hanging low in shame that they are turning their backs on their friends and acquaintances for safety, a wise choice as those that are glaring or yelling at them for being a traitor to themselves.

"And now to complete this beautiful night, I propose a toast, to the creator of the night laid out before us, Nightmare-" my speech was cut short by a clap of thunder followed by the sound of hooves hitting wood, I didn't even need to turn around to see who it was as I heard her voice shout over the gasps of the ponies before me.

"Nightshade! Stop this madness at once and surrender thyself to us at once, thou can not win this fight!"

Smirking to myself as I turn around to face Luna slowly, letting her take in all that I am as I keep my grin on my face before unsheathing my sword and brought it to bear against the lunar goddess.

"Lulu, you and I both know of what would happen if the other wins, one would walk away alive while the other gets executed again or one walks away alive while the other is beaten into submission and left alone. I love you, I always will, but I will not surrender just because you command me to, that part of me is gone now, the time for that redemption has come and gone like the sands of time in an hourglass. If we do fight, I will not kill you...no matter how badly you want to kill me, I may evil but even I have standards when I conduct myself. So raise your blade, princess, because we both know neither of us will leave peacefully." raising my sword into a fighting stance as Luna did the same, summoning her swords into existence as the two blades floated by her sides.

We started to walk in a circle, our blades weightlessly floating by us, waiting for the first move to be made, and as the sound of hooves stepping on wood echoed throughout the garden until Luna made the first move my launching herself and her swords at me, the two blades moving in a whirlwind of metal before colliding with my sword, sparks fly from our blades as I gave the twins some slack letting it get closer to me before putting strength behind my sword, flinging the pair back to its master before raising the sword high in the air and bringing it back down to the ground to crash into the floor, cracking it and the area around it into splinters.

"This battle has already been decided Luna, it will end in my victory over you through attrition and we both know that your separation from your true self weakened you, making you soft...I can make you whole if you allow yourself to be with your real being." I said just as I yanked my sword back from the ground to deflect another swing from the lunar princess, her attack was wide and it had left her open for a blow that would have left her in an early grave but I gave Luna plenty of time to see her mistake to move one of the twin blades to her side to protect herself.

"Nightshade, you can still just walk away from this, disappear from Equestria entirely, start a new life somewhere else, you can still just leave all of this behind!" Luna shouts as I bring my sword down upon her, the two swords barely holding the blade from reaching her head, the force behind the blow nearly knocking her to knees.

Bringing my sword back I tilt it to where I am partially leaning on it for support even though I didn't need it, taking my helmet off with my magic I placed it on the ground, my mane flowing just like hers but slower and in a much more lethargic state, "Luna...it is already to late for me....ten years to late for me...and it was all their fault that I am what I am. There is no going back for me Luna, after all that I have already done, the wheels of events have been set in motion and I will be there to see it through to the end, if you want to stop me, than stop me while you can." I said sadly, letting out a small sigh before putting my helmet back on and yanking my sword out of the ground with my teeth, the weight of it instantly fading as I used magic to help compensate for the weight of it.

Taking the sword hilt in mouth I charged at Luna, bringing this fighting to an end to escape from the inevitable solar princess if she catches wind of what is going on, with my blade I rushed toward Luna and before I strike I teleported behind her, leaving her barely with her guard up as my sword came down to nearly knock her two swords out of her magical grip, and as my body rotated around rapidly from the first over powered swing and with my gained momentum, the second swing comes arcing down and cutting cleanly the two blades through, destroying the magical blades resulting in Luna falling to her side from the magical backlash. Her breathing is on the verge of being ragged and raspy, her body covered in sweat as is my own but concealed in black metal, her glaring eyes never leaving my own as I brought my sword to her throat, the blade gingerly rubbing her.

Looking down at her I forced the blade slightly into her neck, letting it lightly graze her fur as I kept staring at her, my thoughts raging with what I could do to her but in the end we both know that I couldn't go through with executing her even if I wanted to. Instead I partake in knocking her crown off her head before lightly hitting her upside the head with the flat end of the sword, leaving her confused of my actions before I put my sword away back in its sheath and returned to my guards and my new members of the shadow order.

"Luna, although it pains me to hurt you, it hurts me more to leave you behind instead of taking you with us...but when the time comes, you will come with me, willing or not. Farewell." I said as the wisps of darkness surrounded all of us, the whirling darkness taking us away from Canterlot and shifting us towards the Everfree Forest, to our home as the rest of the party attendants rush to Luna's side to help her.

Everfree Castle, Early Dawn

Upon her return to the dark castle, I saw that our new recruits have already started their training and are working around the clock as our party guests see for themselves what they have gotten into. Their eyes are looking at everything they can set it to, seeing the dark walls, the skeleton patrol ponies on the walls looking the signs of danger, the manticores in their pens skulking about as they wait for a foolish pony to get close to the bars to become a tasty snack, and even seeing two hydras lumber about as they help move large pieces of lumber towards the armory for processing.

"Send this letter to Moon Bloom at once, and when you give this to her, tell her the time has almost come, wait for me in a year, tell her these words "Entropy and Decay", she will know what they mean, now go." I said, Ditzy, who I have allowed entry into the castle even against my beloved Moon's wishes, allowed her to fly away with a sealed letter in her mailbag, her wings beating softly as I snicker to myself that everypony thinks that Ditzy is brainless let alone not the brightest bulb in the bunch, but what she lacks in intelligence she makes up for in listening and following orders. That and she does have a nice flank whenever she walks away from me when I give her letters and messages to pass along.

Looking back at the noble ponies behind me I can just tell that they are doing this out of self preservation than doing it out of spite against Celestia, but to me it only matters that I take away her supporters that keep her coffers filled with bits to weaken Equestria economically at first, than physically second.

"Welcome, my new friends, to the Everfree Forest, here you will find none of the comforts you had in your cozy living in Canterlot, here you will find the hard truth of the world around you, that everything has a price to pay, let it be your time, your energy, and your life if you fail to keep up with everything around you. That is the law of the forest, you must adapt to survive but under my rule, that has changed...soon the Everfree Forest will be nation of its own, the few pony towns that are harbored within its gnarled trees are protected by the beasts that walk its trails to hunt its prey. This is nothing more than a nation taking its first breath, a nation that will soon rival Equestria and those of its neighbors, a nation that will bring those that will try to conquer it to the ground."

"Equestria has grown soft, weak and too complacent over the years and has just barely brought itself out of its peaceful slumber to remove us as a threat, but even then will it takes time just for it to have the strength to invade our borders to flush us out, time that it does not have. By next Summers Eve we will march onto Equestria, not as what a normal army would do, but with subterfuge, sabotage, deception and silence as our weapons and tools. We will raid, sack and destroy as we cripple its economy, slowly bringing Equestria to its knees until the time comes for us to finish it off. We need not to kill the Sun and Moon, nearly just slit its throat to bring it down upon itself."

"You may be wondering about your families, thinking that they have been left behind in Canterlot, well they are being picked up and teleported here as we speak by my agents within the capitol, your rooms will be shown to you as soon as your families arrive, and within the next two-to-three years, this spot will become the true capitol that Equestria deserves. You may wait out here for your families or wait within the lobby of the castle, either way your families will find you..." and with the end of my speech I formed into a blackish purple wisp and flew off towards my chambers, the cloud of inky darkness cascading through the dark sky as I slithered through the cracks in the balcony door before solidifying into myself before Nightmare Moon, who sadly is still a shadow of her former self, her shape is still their but is nothing more than a ghost, her sleeping form resting peacefully under her silk comforters as she nuzzles into her pillow and murmuring quietly to herself.

Taking off my armor and placing it on its proper armor rack, lifting my sword belt off of my back and placed it leaning against my nightstand, before crawling under the blankets with my mare, her mane tickling my face as I let out a suppressed giggle as I cuddle with her.

Whispering quietly to myself I plot out what is to come for Equestria and those that stand before me, "Soon my dear Moon, soon it will begin...the first cut is the deepest, and the most lingering."