Chapters The Everfree Chronicles: Altered Chances
Prolouge: Execution of the Innocent
"When All Hope is lost my friend, look to the stars for I am looking down upon you in my favor, and remember that no matter how far we are apart we will always be together, in this life or the next."- Last Words Nightshade heard in his head before Nightmare Moon was defeated.
Canterlot Dungeons, Black Cell, Midnight
The sounds of dripping water and the march of heavy plated hooves echo throughout the halls of the prison, the tall tell signs of life was that off screams from prisoners, the squeaking of mice and the heavy thuds of armored hooves on stone. This place was hell...and this cell I was placed in is even worse than the last one I was placed in. No beds, no windows, not even a light source, only a leaky roof for water and a bucket to go to the bathroom but heaven knows that it was most likely never cleaned out so it is most likely filled with bile and waste from the previous occupants of the cell.
I awoke in my cell to find out that I was not lying down on the floor, I was suspended in the air being held by chains and leather straps, my hooves connected to shackles which were linked to the floor and ceiling effectively leaving me suspended in the air while the straps kept my body pinned to the wall so I couldn't try to squirm or move, in essence I was trapped like a bug under a hoof. The irony was I did the same thing to timber wolf that tried to have me for dinner once, instead of leaving it in the cell I instead turned it into sawdust and wood chips, it deserved it after all I am not a meal for some feral wooden beast. But at least I put its destroyed body to good use, now it sits proudly as my side table near my bed, its head is a mantle piece over my door, it is such a beautiful sight to beheld.
Everything in the room is blurry and distorted, the cell to my eyes is like a dark glob of lavender slime, hard to look at for prolonged periods of time and impossible to make things out instantly. After a few minutes of the disorientating darkness slowly fading away, I can faintly hear the sounds of moaning and groaning from outside my cell, slightly growing in so intensity and in tone, the barely heard sounds of dragging hooves and the groaning of somepony that had just received the worst beatings of their life, the groaning and moaning only getting louder as it got closer to my cell until finally my cell door swung open, two guard ponies walk in along with a prisoner, dragging the poor pony inside, chaining that said pony up like me than finally walking out of my cell, but unfortunately for me I was unlucky to be partially awake as one of the guards came over to me and with full force bucked me in the ribs, bruising them along which earned a cacophony of ragged and bloody coughs, the guard-pony smirking to himself before leaving the cell and locking it up tight before resuming his march. That bastard is going to die when I get out of here.
I look over to my apparently new cell mate, a Pegasus, a female by the way she looks, the curves on her body, and the fact that she is currently groaning out for help which falls on deaf ears beside my own. Hearing her moan in pain pulls on whatever heartstrings I have left in my heart since I lost Nightmare Moon and was exiled, so any sympathy I had was only given to those that have rather earned it, or that they need it to survive and keep going but this mare, she has qualified for both of the requirements. The pegasus had survived a terrible ordeal that has stain her coat red with blood that has already stained the ocean blue color, her wings looked like they were beaten to the point of nearly being broken.
"If you can hear me...just nod yes, if you can't do nothing...but I just want you to know, you must survive this...for whatever crime you have committed it was nothing compared to mine, you are going to be allowed to live, I will be killed off for my crimes against Equestria, so endure and when those bastard guards try to harm you, just say my name...I will do the rest." my blessed voice that Nightmare Moon gave me along with many other gifts and abilities that it is best to say otherwise note worthy and hard to learn singlehoofedily without first understanding how to find and learn it. The mare in the cell nods her head yes wearily, her breathing slightly labored but otherwise gradually returning to normal, after a while I heard her voice for the first time, and most likely...not the last time.
"Who...who are you....and what crimes have you committed to say that you will suffer the ultimate price for your deeds?" her voice was so beautiful, sounding like something out of an opera that I once heard while I was just a foal so many years ago. I looked into her eyes, those adorable gentle emerald eyes staring into my own, trying to find answers that she won't find just by a simple look, but from only experiencing what I have endured.
"My name is Nightshade...and to what my crimes were, lets make a list shall we? First off was murder of another pony at the kind age of 7...served Nightmare Moon, broke out of prison, assaulted four royal guards, put anti-magic cuffs on Celestia when she was interrogating me, and basically in essence tried to bring the eternal night to Equestria. In all I have been a very...very naughty pony but than again from my point of view those were nessecary to bring the eternal night and all its beauty to everypony." I said with the deep monotone voice I had when my other self was speaking, which is good since it would most likely scare her into not trying to pry so deep into my life.
"So...you are the ones these guards have been talking about...the supposed royal guard of Nightmare Moon...and why would you care for what the guards do to me...I have earned their wraith and anger for my crime of killing a royal guard..." her voice saddened by the fact that she thinks that I say that she is weak to help herself, doesn't matter at this point as I hear the heavy thuds of armored hooves marching down the hall, stopping at our cell to go to my cellmate.
The two guards look over at me quick, thinking I am still knocked out they grin and give each other a high-hoof before undoing the shackles and moving her to the shackles in the center, the ones I used to be in before they placed me into the back shackles...those center shackles have only two purposes, interrogation or...rape. Without even moving my head I slightly open my eyes to see what was going on but by the sounds of her half hearten pleas for them not to do the act they are about to partake in falls in deaf ears and only to get in response a rough kick to the gut to render her helpless against their advances...but they are not alone in this cell and my anger has only just passed the boiling point.
"If you act like a good little mare and do as you are told nopony has to get hurt but if you make one sound or call for help you can kiss that whore mouth of yours goodbye, so shut up and take it." said one of the guard-ponies, a dark blue stallion wearing the sun tyrant's royal armor, fitting how scum like him gets into the royal guard that works for a tyrant that banishes her sister to the moon just for wanting everypony to look up to the night sky and enjoy it's calming appearance.
I was within earshot of those words, taking advantage of a prisoner is one thing, but doing this to somepony that probably had a family back home was just plain horrible. As I heard the faint whimper of the mare trying to say no I saw the faint glint of metal shining me in the face, the exposed blade of a sword...and not to soon was the blade drawn from its sheath as it was slowly pressed against her mouth, her body facing me as I saw her eyes bloodshot and filled with tears, the blade menacingly inching towards her lips and pressingly lightly against it, drawing a very shallow cut equivalent to a paper cut.
"We said be quiet little mare otherwise those pretty lips of yours will have to be cut off or sewn shut so you don't say a word to anypony, you got that?" said the other guard, his body facing my general direction but was obscured by the other guard and the mare, I could partially see his body but what kept my gaze was the sword slowly tracing lazily around her lips leaving behind a faint red trail of blood, only making me more and more enraged but I kept it in check until it was the right time...
"Enough screwing around and lets get this over with, our shift ends soon and I rather not get caught by our replacements." now my plan swings into motion.
Just as soon as the two stand on their rear legs, the one levitating the sword lets it haphazardly land on the floor, neither of them paying me any attention as they try to mount my cellmate, forcing themselves upon her. Not on my watch. My horn glows a dark violet even with an anti-magic ring on my horn the magic still courses through my body but at a reduced height of power, the aura surrounds the swords grip as it floats into the air, gently tapping it against the closet guard's helmet, as he turned around he is greeted with my face grinning right at him evilly as the sword is thrusted into his face, killing him near-instantaneously while his partner dropped down onto his rear-legs in both disgust that his friend just died in front of him and that his blood was spraying out everywhere on two ends, and that his only weapon was floating in his face. The last thing that went through his mind other than that sword of his, was how the hell did a unicorn that had their magic abilities cut off by the enchanted shackle placed on his horn.
As the glow on my horn dies down, the mare was struggling in her shackles, still trying to break free and most likely trying to get away from me since I just killed two guards with ease with magic that should not have even been available to me in the first place, most likely in her eyes I am a demon in disguise.
"Calm down lass, if you keep struggling the new guards will hear you and both of us will die in this cell tonight, but that is not your destiny, it is my destiny to die not yours. I will free you from the shackles than teleport you away from this cell and from this keep, to where I will send you, you will be safe and you will have food and a bed to sleep in, just promise me that you will keep your head down and on your shoulders, just promise me that you will not die do you understand me." The sounds of distant thuds was my only warning that the new guards were coming and that I had to move fast to spare this one pony from death's early reach.
She was crying for reasons I do not know of but she knows that if she stayed that she would be killed immediately and without any remorse from the guards or from Celestia the tyrant herself. I had to say soothing words and the promise that she will be kept safe to finally get her to stop sobbing.
"Please...please get me out of here. I don't want to die here and I don't want to be some cheap fuck to these guards, please just get us out of here..." she was looking at me, crying deeply and almost loud enough to drown out the sounds of the growing louder hooves quickly approaching us, I knew what I had to do to save her, but I had one last thing before I go out to meet my end, I just hope she is watching my death when it happens...
"Than farewell my little dove, farewell and take care of yourself and your new home, there will be two pets their to take care of and protect you from harm. The Everfree forest is not a safe place at night so stay indoors at all times when the beautiful moon is out but be cautious during the day for they might be out to hunt you down. Fare thee well Sapphire Bloom, and take care." as I said her name, her jaw slightly opened up in protest and to ask how I knew her name, I figured it out by looking into her eyes and by using a memory recall spell on her as my horn was already glowing because it still held the prison keys in its aura, the perfect way to not get caught by her pleading eyes.
"Good bye" was all I said as my horn grew brightly in intensity and brightness until it finally engulfed her in its violet aura and just as quickly as the light appeared it was gone, leaving behind only a smoking ring of ashes and molten slag from the shackles. The two dead bodies still there except slightly burnt and the blood now completely dried into the floor, the two new recruits was standing there with their mouths open, their eyes open and red from both fear that they are next and rage that their friends are dead, killed by a prisoner shackled to the wall and his horn locked. I looked at them and only said this simple sentence to them, "Just take me to the damn site so I can finally meet the end, and don't worry I will be a good boy...not much of a good boy than I already am at this point in time." my smart ass remark earned me a rough kick to the face, knocking me out while I still had a stupid grin on my face.
Canterlot Courtyard, Afternoon, Execution Platform
It was mid-day in Canterlot, the sun was bright and the air felt humid and overly hot, standing outside the main gate to the palace stood two guards, the two watching a group of ponies setting up the execution platforms, each one build seperately for those that are going to be condoned to death today, eight wooden platforms for seven condemned ponies and one condemned gryphon. On every single platform held a different means of execution, four of them held a single slab of stone along with a large executioners axe, while the other three held a noose. As the sun slowly rose to the top of the sky a row of guards and prisoners slowly marched out of the dungeons, each prisoner with their heads looking down, hung low with great shame in thier sunken eyes while one gryphon was looking around with a smile on his face as if everything in life was a joke, while me on the otherhoof looked around until I locked my gaze on the certain group of ponies, six ponies standing next to the sun tyrant.
My gaze slowly shifted from each pony starting with the pink one, slightly bouncing in place but than stops abruptly when she caught my gaze and I could have sworn that her bouncy pink curly mane deflated...kinda creepy on how quickly it changed. The cyan and orange mares looked like they have seen a ghost since both looked so pale, my guess is that for what they are about to see will make them lose their lunch and anything else they have eaten in the past hour or two, the white mare simply looked away and was covering her ears with her hooves, seemingly trying her best to block out the sounds that will soon be made. The last two in my opinion were simply a sight to see as the yellow one was shivering in a heap on the floor, in the opposite direction from everything, the purple one was talking to Celestia, seemingly talking about us seven that are going to die. I just give every single one of them a piercing glare, hating all of them for ruining everything until the line stops infront of the princess, Luna was no where to be found in the crowd of ponies, not even amongst the other nobles and high born ponies. To my guess she wants to hear our last words and any other sign of begging for our lives, she might hear it from the others but not from me, the gryphon on the other hoof looks like he will escape death for reasons of insanity...or he might kill himself because he looks like he lost a few screws to that head of is.
"My little ponies, on this day we are here to meet out justice to these seven who have committed vile acts against Equestria and to its citizens. For those who are about to meet their judgement if you have anything to say in your own defence say it now or forever hold your peace." Celestia was looking at all of us, at certain ponies she gives piercing glares while at only two she gives a stare of pity but when she came to my gaze, all I could possibly tell was that she was expecting me to talk or say something.
After she has spoken the seven of us gathered up into a group and spoke to each other, hearing out what we all have to say, trading information about what we have done to deserve to get the death penalty. The gryphon appearently stole over 5,000 bits worth of gems and killed a muesum guard and evaded capture for three months before getting caught again stealing from the same muesum. The two pony twins on the otherhoof are assassins that failed to kill the pony general Stonewall, so those two are gonna die. The grey unicorn mare's crime was the practice of necromancy and for graverobbing three dead ponies, not the smartest thing to do, should have tried to find me and use the old graves at the castle for her practice. Then their was that group of ex-special equine forces, they tried to sell the remains of Nightmare Moon to somepony outside of Equestria but instead it was a sting operation and all three are now going to hang for trying to sell something ancient and potentinally powerful. Those remains I know of, and I also know that they are now in my possession, I told the ghost to find Nightmare Moon or any remains in case she ever gets defeated and to return them back to the castle, in hopes of one day that if I am ever strong enough to resurrect her from the beyond.
I gave one last glance around the six around me, their would have been eight of us to be killed but one was spared at the last minute by me, and most likely a second would be spared if one of them played their cards right. Giving my final glance at the six element holders, snorting in anger at Rainbow Dash and Applejack, a blank stare at Fluttershy, a slightly confused look on Pinkie Pie who is slightly jumping still which makes me wonder how much energy she has, I sad glance at Rarity since I held a small crush on her than lastly a full blown glare at Twilight Sparkle for knowing exactly what she has done to me. "Yes, I have something to say, along with us six who are about to meet our maker in hell." shouting loudly while also keeping my gaze onto Celestia. "What I have to say is that those two guards that I just killed had no honor for what they were about to do to my friend, and that you should have known better than to leave my unattended. Another thing princess, that offer you gave me when I first got captured, well you can take that offer and shove where the sun never shines!" I said while cackling almost insanely, trying to see who gets detered which the only few that did were the guards and that purple mare which just scowled at me, if I had any claws I would give her the one claw salute that I heard was so famous for being an overly rude gesture and also meant 'Go Buck Your Self'.
"I will not sell myself to the enemy just because your sister wanted something that she could not have, I found a way for it to work and you just had to ruin it! Five years of research for allowing plants and crops to survive the night wasted! Because of you I am forever seperated from her, I can never be near her again...I can never know her answer...all because of YOU " I said roaring at the top of my lungs and everypony present knew at that moment that I held something close to Nightmare Moon until one of the guards coughed than started laughing. His laughter earned himself his own spear to hit himself upside the head knocking him out.
"Do not...think just that you have de-clawed a lion that it is still not dangerous to leave it in a cage." I said smirking and smacking the guard again before throwing it over the cliffside. "He won't be needing that anymore, should have shown a captive that is stronger than him some respect." I said glaring at anything my eyes could look upon, my hate was only intensified when they came upon Twilight Sparkle and Princess Celestia since those two are the ones responsible for ruining everything.
"And also I want to be set to swing in the wind not lose my head since I want my body to look good in a wooden box when this is over, rather not have two boxes that are seperate for when my parents come to weep over my corpse that will be nothing more than worm food for when this is over." I said solemnly knowing I will die but was hiding a grin from everypony except that the grey mare saw it and tried to whisper something only to get my tail flicking her in the face which held a small enough note, she took it and quickly looked it over before kicking my rear leg out, exactly what it said to do when she finished it.
That signal was also a sign for the guards to move over to the platforms to be executed, the gryphon got the rope lasso along with me and the grey mare, the other five were sent to the block to lose their heads. Us three received our new and very tight rope necklaces, mine a little tighter than it should have been since my guess was that the one doing my rope was pissed off that I just killed two guards while locked up and knocked out another in public with his own spear. The grey mare, her name I heard when she barely talked about herself, Glitter Mirage, all grey body, sterling silver mane and tail which when I saw it moving in the wind it had a slight glitter, sparkly appearence which to me was beautiful and at the same time makes me wonder if she applied any cosmetics to herself before she got arrested and jailed...maybe I will never know. The gryhpon who goes by the name of Raven Fang, he was once part of a noble house back in the Gryphon Kingdom, but he for some reason lost it all when his family went into debt to a rival house, for my mind I just think he got tired of the spoon fed life and wanted an adventure. He most certainly found one.
As I turn my head to look at the other 5 ponies, three of them looked at each other than at me than said something that I could not understand, most likely another dialect I never heard of as they all closed their eyes and looked at the basket that would later catch their free falling heads. The other two were crying that they were about to die and they had so much to live for, basically praying and trying to bargin for their lives which fell only on deaf and royal guard ears, the princess was not listening to them.
Giving one last look around at my fellow prison mates than to the six mares and the two princesses, Fluttershy was crying on Rarity's shoulder, Rarity was straight up crying a waterfall, Pinkie was sobbing with Rainbow Dash, Applejack was trying to look away while Twilight Sparkle was busy trying to convince the tyrant not to kill all of us but instead force us to do community service for many years hopefully to change us. Yea good luck with that plan little miss harmony bringer. Celestia was giving me the gaze that said she won and that I have lost while Luna was trying not to cry but we both know that we share a link that only Celestia faintly knows of, a link that was made when we first met while she was Nightmare Moon, a link that will now be severed by a quick drop and a sudden stop.
"Can we get on with it already I don't have all morning for this crap, I have a beautiful mare waiting for me on the moon and I am not the kind of gentlecolt to keep a mare like her waiting." I said deeply and only to those that were close enough to hear it, the gryphon was laughing at me and his reward was my magic pushing him off the wooden platform and chocking him out earlier than intended, the guards not moving but instead openning the trap door, lifting him up and dropping him back down. The mare next to me had tears in her eyes before she fell down and the rope snapped tightly from the tension and from her erratic movements at her chances of trying to break free. When it was my turn to drop I look at Princess Luna with a heavy heart and heavy eyes. "Farewell Maiden of the Night, I will see you again in the night lands." I said before dropping down the door and the sound of the rope cracking from tension filled the courtyard. As soon as I dropped I only had a few seconds to look at the two mares that were trying to look at me, Princess Luna the formerly Nightmare Moon, my marefriend, and Glitter Mirage, the mare that has a dark and shadowy future ahead of her, her eyes slowly glazing over as she slowly loses all breath from her lungs before stopping all body movements and staying still.My body swinging back and forth before finally my body gives up in its fight to survive, my hooves slightly twitching before stopping completely, my eyes rolled to the back of my head while my lips formed a faint grin before fading away, my corpse slightly moving in the sudden breeze.
As soon as I died that last sound I ever heard was the sounds of 5 axes coming down onto the heads of five different ponies who all yell at the same time "I HOPE IT IS AS HOT DOWN IN HELL AS THEY SAY IT IS!", than their heads roll off into the baskets, the unicorn executioners quickly covering up the wound to prevent the blood from spilling everywhere all over the platform and the courtyard. Moments later the bodies were removed from the platforms and carefully placed inside the prepared coffins that were waiting by each platform, waiting for its deceased cargo and ready to take them to their final destination to be layed to rest.
There was a brief moment of silence after the remaining ponies were executed, the sounds of family members crying as they watched their children die infront of them, even my own family was watching, they were the ones that was crying the loudest out of the families, all of them weeping and holding onto other family members. Soon one by one they all leave, going home for the next day will be the funeral.
Everfree Forest/Ponyville Outskirts, Next Day, Early Afternoon
Whitetail Forest is a part of the Everfree Forest, a safe haven for the woodland critters and any pony that travels within its safe white oak tree paths, white petals from small flowers along the path flow in the wind, the sounds of creeky wooden wheels and the soft shuffle one hooves on the dirt floor can be heard for miles as the sounds bounce around the trees. The slow shuffle of hooves come from the ponies of the families of the deceased, all of them wearing black dresses and suits, soft sobbing and snuffles can be heard from within the different families.
Within the shuffling of hooves and weeping ponies, eight carriages being pulled by a member of the family of the deceased, each carriage carrying the body of the executed. My body is in a white casket, despite my wishes to be placed in the one that I have picked out, the casket within Nightmare Moon's castle but they denied that request since they said it was to dangerous to get it and that I do not even deserve that last request...bastards.
The slow march towards my final resting place took many hours to get there, the caravan of the dead and the families finally reach the last destination, Whitetail Forest Graveyard, a small graveyard with only 15 tombstones with a recent addition of eight open graves. Each carriage unloads its precious payload as the families move over the graves, the pastor says a few words as each casket slowly is lowered into the ground, the soft playing of bagpipes can be heard in the distance, the wailing and sobbing of ponies and the lone gryphon family. One by one the families leave the graveyard, weeping that their little colt or filly will never come back home to say good bye and go on with their lives.
Whitetail Forest Graveyard, Midnight
Cold winds blow into the graveyard as the soft sounds of flapping wings fill the air, the gentle thudding of hooves on soft grass as the pony landed near the tombstone in the middle of the seven others. The muffled pitter-patter of hooves slowly approachs the middle tombstone, next to the marble slab is a small vase filled with fresh purple flowers, a deep shade of indigo and lavender petals, the petals that have fallen off of it and landed on the grass has resulted it to die. As the pony moved closer to the slab she looked over at it and silently read it.
Here Lies Nightshade Umbraspark,
A loving son and perfect student,
Exile ofPonyville,
Protecter of Nightmare Moon,
Born 21st Fall's Apex ~ Died 5th Summer's Rise
May No Pony Disturb Your Eternal Rest.
"So...Nightshade Umbraspark...no wonder why Nightmare Moon choose you...thy ancestory dates back to Starswirl the Bearded, thee was once a good unicorn unitl thee lost it all, thy choice in joining her was a drastic one, but We understand your desicion...but we do not understand why did thou not take thee offer our sister has offered to ye...We do not understand." said the Princess of the Night, seemingly asking the tombstone why I did not take the offer when I had the chance. After a short pause she lets out a small sniffle and a single tear falls down from her muzzle and it lands on one of the nightshade flowers, the plant gives off a dull purple glow before it fades and goes back to normal.
Looking around to make sure nopony was watching or listening in, and being satisfied that nopony is around she continutes."We are sorry that We did not help you sooner...I will dearly miss you my friend, even though We were not ourselves, what we felt for you was real...if only it did not have to end on such a distasteful note. We will miss you...my lovely Nightshade." she said choking up the last words, trying hard not to lose control over herself but slowly breaks down and starts weeping over the grave of the only friend she had and the only pony that understood her even when she was Nightmare Moon, and had fully accepted her for being who she was.
Wiping clean her tear stained face she sniffles one last time before turning around and looks one last time at the tombstone, "Farewell my love, and may your rest be peaceful and your night be eternal..." after giving her last goodbye she gracefully leaps into the air and flies back to Canterlot, not wanting to let anypony notice that she was gone.
A Few Minutes Later
The trees rustle in the wind as quiet sounds of clopping can be heard approaching the graveyard, a bandaged hoof can be seen out from the bushes along the edges as a mare slowly trots out of the woodwork, an ocean blue body with bandaged wings and wrapped body slowly leaves the concealment of the bushes. As the pegasus limps towards the tombstones the faint whispering sounds in her head slowly grows in volume.
Come closer...We need you...Time to fulfill your oath....Just say my name...I will do the rest...You will be executed for the crime of murder...Farewell my little dove...I love you my little Bloom, we will set you free...do not give up hope...murderer....killer...exile...my name is Nightshade....Nightmare Moon....
The pegasus shakes her head to clear it from all the voices from her past and from a while ago, knowing that soon her future will be better than the past that ruined her life and her status has a noble, hoping that for what she is about to do will be redemption for herself and her family. As she gets closer to my tombstone, the sounds of clawing and scraping can be faintly heard, the sounds of something trying to claw its way out of a trap, the closer she got to the tombstone the louder it got until the sound stopped with an abrupt eep and somepony cussing as loud as they could possibly can.
The other two tombstones were next to mine each of them different from the others. My two allies that chose the noose.
Here Lies Greaves Heavyweight Here Lies Beatrix Lalumoon
Gryphon son to the deceased king Reus Daughter of Lily Lalumoon
Knowing that the dead are trying to claw their way out, Sapphire quickly backpedals away from the slabs of marble, fearing that the zombponies will get her as she quickly fleas back to the safety of the old castle that was given to her by her savior, the imfamous Nightshade.
As the injured pegasus limps away from the graves a gryphon claw slowly appears out from the ground than next to the gryphon a grey hoof, slowly and carefully the two rise from their graves moaning and groaning until finally they completely climb out, the grey mare coughing a bit while the gryhpon only laughs at her than at himself, both looking like fresh corpses and looking like real zombies. Moments later a silver aura appears on the grass above the coffin than suddenly being blown outward with an explosive force, and out climbs out a familiar figure. Me.
The Everfree Chronicles: Altered Chances
Interval 1 Chapter 1: Reawakening
Whitetail Graveyard, Midnight
I open my eyes up to a strange sight. The sight of a gryphon rolling on the floor laughing like a hyena to the point of holding his ribs as if they were going to burst and a grey mare pouting as she was sitting on the dirt and grass floor with her forelegs crossed, not liking being covered in dirt and having to scrap her way out of a coffin than having to dig out of the ground to freedom. The gryphon on the otherhoof was enjoying the fact that we three have basically busted a bunch of zombies rising from the grave to feast on brains of the living.
"Erm...guys, we might need to get going now before anypony finds us out of our graves and acting normal, and remember stick to the plan that if we see a pony walking just act like zombies and partially follow them, but as soon as we lose sight of them go straight towards the castle." I said trying to get my bearings, not entirely liking the fact that I was basically in a comatose state for a whole day and a half and was basically helpless to everything that happened, watching my parents weep over me, getting dressed up by some pony named Rosie Luck, than finally trying my hardest not to sweat up a storm inside of that coffin until after everypony left the graveyard...not the best way to escape but still worked.
I give a quick look over at the two until my eyes fell on the ocean blue pegasus that backed into a bush and was thrashing about appearently stuck. the gryhpon still laughing as I trot past him and flick him upside the head with my tail, not amused that he is laughing at a friend. "Sapphire Bloom so good to see you again. Now as you can see we cheated death so now, let us go home before anypony shows up." I said, basically marching up to her and giving her a quick hug before looking at her bandages, "Seems like your injuries have been addressed and that you are getting better, well just stay off your wings for atleast a week and you will be good as new. And as for our second chance at life...I have a plan for us that will not fail so everypony follow me, you too gryphon before I drag you over here" my voice stern and steel as Sapphire looked at me with a small smile now knowing that us three are not zombies but instead that we are very much alive and if found out, three escapee's.
"Come now...we must cover our tracks...we must first make it look like we have rose from the dead...we got to leave drag marks from our coffins to the woods to make it look like we left in that direction that way they will try to follow the trail, and we will be free once we have fooled them...I am going to need some of your feathers Greaves and Beatrix I am going to need you to get a bit dirty by dragging one of your hooves from the coffin to here. I will do the same." as I spoke we all quickly started our plan to evade any early detection of what really happened.
While we all got to our task of making it look like a zombie outbreak has started I looked over at Greaves to notice that he was busy ogling at Sapphire the entire time, not even once did his head turn to not look at her and it started to make me think that he has the case of 'Love at first sight'...might have to break that up real fast if it gets out of hoof.
"Hay...Greaves, stop ogling at Sapphire and make that open casket look like it was bashed outwards, I have to partial tear mine open to make it appear it was clawed out not blown out by magic...I just hope it works."
"Ya know Nightshade...tis ain't nice to tell me to stop ogling at her...cause I will make her mine, just got to get her a nice gift, maybe some flowers...or maybe a necklace that matchs her looks, what do you think?" he was completely oblivious to the fact that Sapphire Bloom was backing away from us and was trying not to look in our general direction...way to go jerk you just ruined my chance on getting to know her...
Sighing in defeat and from annoyance I resume my task by cracking the wooden planks of my coffin and covered the inside with dirt and gravel, left a part of my outfit inside on a piece of lumber to simulate that I got caught on it, left fresh hoof marks to the woods than for added measure of faking a zombie has risen, I dragged my hoof for almost a mile in the direction of Ponyville than came back to the rest of the group which did the same thing except in random directions. Greaves came back last since he flew back with a small bundle of roses...exactly what I told him not to do, stupid featherbrain, Beatrix on the other hoof looked jealous that she was not getting any of the attention which I helped her by giving her a quick hug than to avoid a hoof to the face I lept away from her reach.
"Come on everypony and gryphon, we got to be going now as we only have two hours before the sun rises and I rather be back in the safety of my home than be out in the open when the groundskeeper see's the mess we have made for him and everypony in Equestria, so move your flanks and get moving!" I shouted getting everyones attention than finally we all moved into the forest at a brisk pace, Sapphire Bloom was on Greave's back, Beatrix was on mine and the sounds of timber wolves and owls filled the pre-dawn air, keeping up with our current pace was slightly problematic since carrying a passenger meant extra weight and since both of our passengers were weakened by a spell and the another was weakened by intense beatings and injuries.
After a good while of troting, galloping and slow shuffles we finally arrive at the wooden bridge that leads to the castle, but after listening to Greaves complaining about how his legs hurt and that he needs to take a quick rest so we all stop ontop the hill where the repaired half of the bridge begins.
"So Nightshade...where the hell are we going? We are like in the middle of bum-fuck no where, like seriously where are we going, and you better not be leading us into a trap just so we can get captured again, cause if I do end up captured again imma kill you so bad that you wished I never killed you so bad." he said very annoyed while Beatrix also looked at me with the stare that quite literally said 'Tell me where we are going or I will toss you off the cliff side head first'.
I sighed deeply knowing that they might rather take their chances with the royal guard than deal with what I had in mind. "Well...we are going to the old castle of the royal sisters, and since that was where me and Nightmare Moon basically stayed for ten years before we were defeated, that place is most likely uninhabited but their might be a few manticores lying about. So just stay calm and don't do anything stupid." I slightly growled back not enjoying the berrating those two are giving me over where we are going, hell if it was my choice I would have stayed within the coffin for another day before the spell wore off but no they wanted out as soon as they had the chane to escape.
"And also, I have already set up your rooms so do not worry about all of you bunking with each other, so get to your rooms and rest until the morning is over, once the night rises again I will tell you what our next step is...our next step will be vital if we can do it when we are well rested and not falling asleep as we speak....damn it Greaves wake up!" looking over at Greaves he has fallen asleep in the middle of my small speech, the look of pure boredom was written all over his face, earning a few laughs from everypony but me, which he only earned a rough shove and was awoken from his nap. "Done sleeping?" he slightly growls at me, "Well good cause we are moving out again, get up and follow me."
After another hour of grueling shuffling towards the castle Greaves finally keeled over and decieded to take a short nap in the middle of the path with an injured passenger on his back, not the best of soft landings. I turn my head to look at the two and roll my eyes, not liking the fact that we are being slowed down but also because we just barely crossed the old rope bridge when he decieded to sleep at late noon. "Oh for Full Moon sakes...get your lazy ass up, and keep marching towards that castle unless you actually want to get caught by the royal guard because I know they will be searching this forest high and low just to find us. So get up, and keep marching." my small speech that was meant to encourage everypony instead was more of a command to them since Greaves kept falling asleep when we needed to be moving before any signs of the royal guard show up. Once again moving with a seriously pissed off sleep deprived gryphon, an injured pegasus, a slightly tired and pouty unicorn and myself who is currently on the edge of having a very painfull and mind-numbing headache from all of this crap that they are giving me.
Only one thought was in my head when we got to the castle.
"This is going to be one hell of a long ass night...*sigh* been only a week and I already feel like my heart has been torn from my chest by molten tongs.....damn you to Tartarus Celestia....damn you...."
Everfree Castle, Pre-Dawn
"Well...for a pony that lived with the Mare in the Moon...you sure as hell know how to live in style, that much I can say for sure. Just look at this nice crimson carpets and maroon tapistries! And look at those mirrors! So clear and shiny, I can see my reflection perfectly in it! And look over there..." Greaves was having a hay-day with the castle decorations that was currently in place when I was cleaning and fixing it up before the mares destroyed my love with a bunch of stupid ancient trinkets.
"Yes I know this place is awesome and yes thank you for telling me that this is all beautiful but first let me show you three to your rooms, and do not think about changing rooms because I already implanted the names of you three into the rooms that you are going to be staying in. Also each of your rooms are next to each other so please keep it down unless you want one of your neighbors to try and stuff your mouth with a pillow while you sleep right?" I said while trotting backwards towards their rooms, Sapphire and Beatrix were following me closely while Greaves was basically going to every single decoration and piece of art he could lay his eyes on. I swear he is some sort of uptight royal snob when he wanted to act like one.
After turning another corner and saying hello to the ghost guard as he floated on by past us, which he earned a few stares from my three friends, its not everyday that you see a ghost float by and say hello to. Looking back at my friends I noticed that the two mares are staring at each other, seemingly giving each other nasty glares and are practiclly clinging close to me as one of them snorts at the other...I smell a cat fight coming shortly...
"Wow our rooms! Finally I can get some rest before we do anything, in fact I am going to my bed right damn now, wake me up in like...eight to ten horus from now. See ya later in the morning!" as soon as he closed his beak he leaps onto his bed covers himself with a thick sheet and near instantiously falls asleep.
"Well I'll be damned...that feather brain was really tired. Well its best if you two also get some sleep, for in the morning we are going grave robbing." I said with a deep evil grin on my face, my eyes slowly turning to an inky black as the darkness slowly creeping towards me before my eyes go back to its normal teal color.
"Just get some rest, Beatrix your room is on the left of Greaves, Sapphire your room is next to mine on the left." as we went our seperate ways to our respective rooms, Beatrix closing her door loudly only to get a nice yell from Greaves. "DAMN IT! SHUT THE FUCK UP OUT THERE! I AM TRYING TO SLEEP!"
Going to my room I can tell that Sapphire was still next to me, easily passing her room as she followed me into mine. Not entirely sure why she was still following me but if I am guessing most likely afraid that Greaves might try something if she tries to sleep alone. "Let me guess..." I said as I turned around taking off my suit, folding it neatly and placing it within a dresser, than going to the bed before turning to face her, "You can't sleep because Greaves was ogling at you and you think he might go after you, am I not correct?" I said with a smug grin, knowing a ponies body reaction was one of the first things that Nightmare Moon taught me when she was giving me an education since mine was cut short.
"Yes...that...and I don't know how to repay you for saving me back in Canterlot...so...if I can just sleep with you for tonight...if..if you don't mind that is." my lord that face...those soul-crushing eyes of pure sadness....
"You can stay for the night in my room...you get the left side of the bed, I got the right side." I said in defeat, one does not simply say no to a cute mare that is giving the face that can easily crush the souls of the weak. After she walks in and just plops down on the bed I closed the door silently before going to my half of the bed before covering her with a blanket and kissing her on the forehead, a small smile I can see spread across her face before I hurdle over to my half and closing my eyes, slowly drifting off to sleep.
Above the doorframe to my room reads a dark purple placard, etched in it was quicksilver letters that spell out "Nightmare Moon's and Nightshade's Private Chambers" the words slightly dusty and covered in cobwebs except for the first half of the placard, my half is overly dusty.
Do not give up hope yet Young Mage...
Whitetail Graveyard, Early Morning
The sun was shining bright and early as the birds were chirping in the dawns early light, an old pony with a tombstone for a cutie mark was happily humming to himself as he made his way from his small cottage outside of Ponyville towards Whitetail Graveyard, having to keep it nice and tidy for the ponyfolk that visit the resting place of their deceased loved ones. As he made his way towards the graveyard the sounds of birds chirping was abruptly silenced as the air around the area slowly grows cold and thick, a deep fog slowly rolling down the dirt road and into the surrounding forest. Moving at faster pace he trotted towards the graveyard only to have the smell of rotting meat and decay hit him at full force, looking for the source his eyes stopped when he say the eight recent tombstones slanted at different angles but the one that that forces his eyes to open wide with fear is that all of the graves have been forced open by the deceased occupants.
"Oh sweet Celestia! What kind if dark twisted magic is at work here? The dead has risen from the beyond the grave!" was all he could say before he felt a rugged tap his shoulder forcefully. As he turned around he came face to face with his worst nightmare. He only had a few seconds to scream out for help before the face of a gryphon came down and bit him in the neck, tearing out a chunk of meat and flesh before he galloped off fearing for his life, only turning around only to see eight shuffling bodies slowly following him back to Ponyville.
In the distance after he ran off, the tall tell signs of chaotic laughter can be heard, the sounds of eight ponies laughing their asses off as their plan to scare the poor fool into believing that the dead have came back to haunt the living.
Everfree Castle, Morning
"Oh my sweet full moon did you see the look on his face! That was freaking priceless! Hahahahahaha my god my ribs are killing me!" I said while laughing my ass off back at the castle, and I was laughing all the way back along with the seven others that played their role in acting as zombies, and each of them played that role to a T.
"Dude did you see that face of his? I swear he shit himself when he saw the eight of us slowly limping after him ha ha ha ha, this was the best prank I have ever done to anypony ever since I tricked my headmaster to let me go out to get a bucket of cold water! OH this shit was funny!" said one of the slightly headless twins, appearently bringing them back from the dead was almost a total success as we can occasionally see their necks open and the smell of rotting meat was starting to get to some of us.
"Prism and Pylon, please remind me to complete the resurrection spell on you two and the other three before we go on with the rest of my plan, I honestly do not want to deal with the smell of decaying pony flesh in my castle and I really do not want you five making this place smell like its a corpse factory...which it will soon be for which this place will soon hold the bodies of my dark mistress's enemies.." I said scrunching my nose, the smell is Tartarus damned awful, just even thinking about it almost makes me want to gag and puke off the side of the castle bridge.
"Ya ya ya I'll remind you later, but for now just let me and the others get used to being alive again, having ones head chopped off than half-assly put back together than being brought back from the dead is a really bad deal...except when the one doing the resurrecting has a hot piece of flank...if you know what I mean." Prism said with a wink before flying off...not sure if he was trying to flirt with me or was talking about Beatrix...I just don't swing that way for him...kinda creepy now that I think about it...also not into corpses...maybe his sister...as long as she is fully alive and not trying to throw rocks at me all the time...eh maybe some other time. Right now I have a revolt to plot and dark magic to practice.
And I just know who to teach me about such cursed arcane arts...but first I need to pay a visit to the Canterlot Gardens...and pay tribute to a statue...
The Everfree Chronicles: Altered Chances
Chapter 2: The Beginning of the Grand Heist
Canterlot, Dawn, Five Days Later
All was well in Canterlot, the sun was beginning its slow accent into the blue sky, the clouds were slowly being moved into its proper position for the day, the ponies of the city were starting to wake up from their peaceful sleep as the the moon has finished its decent down past the mountians. As the ponies began the new day a cart being pulled by an ivory white gryphon and followed by a silver pegasus wearing gold-trimmed white armor along with an ebony black unicorn wearing matching armor set but with a helmet that was covering his face entirely from the base of his horn down to the beginning of his neck. The trio earned strange stares from the citizens of Canterlot and an occasional halt from a guard to make sure that they were part of the royal guard, which earned them an almost pass into the dungeons for one peagsus's screw up when giving the answer.
"Shit that was close one back there...just leave the talking to me, I really do not want to end up back in the dungeons for a third time this year.....and I expect this plan to go off without a hitch, so no more burps in the plan...you got that Seymour and Ocean Tide?" I said through the open parts of the helmet, having to speak louder since it slightly muffled what I had to say.
"Aye we got it, just don't be expecting me to be quiet the entire time, and I really hope these guards fall for your plan otherwise we might have to hoof it back home the long way and my wings are still sore from the magic and medicine that you forcefully given me..." Sapphire grumbled as she lazily flew above the cart, eyeing it to make sure none of the precious cargo fell out or was seen by the public.
"Oh come now, if it wasn't for my knowledge of medicine or my magic you would still be in bed complaining about the pain, the broken bones and the muscle cramps, and besides I thought you enjoyed our little magic therapy sessions...if you know what I mean." I said with a wink at her, Greaves was trying hard to stiffle a chuckle while Sapphire basically donkey punched me from above, almost knocking my helmet off my head which would have been at the worst possible moment since we are in the thick of the marketplace and if we make to much of a scene our cover would be blown before we even make it inside the castle.
"Oh that is funny hehe good one Lunar Shield, but seriously what did you two do when I was asleep when we first got home? I only heard the sounds of two doors openning and closing, not three? You two wanna tell me why one of you slept in the others room with the other, or do I have to ask Etri about it when we get back?" Greaves said trying to get an answer out of us, grinning evilly knowing that if either of us answers him than he will get the pleasure of embaressing us in public secretly.
"Oh go buck yourself Seymour...nothing happened...something happened in my mind but that was it...besides my thoughts chewing me out other than that nothing. So stop trying otherwise imma take all your feathers and turn it into a pillow." practically growling at him since he is starting to push all the wrong buttons on me.
After our verbal battle of wits and pointless stupidty we reached our destination, Canterlot Castle. Now time for part two of the plan, to get in and get an audience with Sun Tyrant Celestia and Lovely Princess Luna...I mean Prisoner Princess Luna who is holding Queen Nightmare Moon within her body...good thing all that was in my head otherwise that would have been embaressing to have heard outloud.
"HALT! State your business you three."
"Well our business is that on orders of Princess Celestia...*cough Tyrant cough* to recover any and all artifacts that we can find at the Everfree Castle and to immediately return back here once we have found what she has been looking for." trying my best not to choke up on my own well thought out lie and not to fuck up and blow our cover infront of four guards, a barracks most likely filled with guards on break and also one very powerful alicorn with one currently regenerating weak alicorn.
"Than may we look at said cargo before allowing you entry, we must make sure that you are not lying to us, ever since we got reports that zombiponies started appearing inside the Everfree forest. So tell your little gryphon friend to hold still while we take a look." Awwww shit....
"Alright, Seymour hold still while they look at our payload. And do stay still and not fidget so much, I rather not want to pick up any more spilled cargo than I already have to."
As the guards come to look at our semi-precious cargo, Sapphire and I quickly back away and simply wait for them to get over with the search. One of the guards pulls the cover off with his teeth revealing the artifacts under it, a spare set of my old armor, rare moonstone ingots, a fake copy of Nightmare Moon's arcane sword, and even a portrait of Nightmare Moon herself, painted by my hoof and magic, and which is why it brings a tear to my eye that I had to take it from the castle and basically give it to the enemy.
"Well would you look at that, moonstone ingots and even some Eternal Guard armor, that must have been a good find...Nightmare Moon's own sword? Well i'll be damned I thought a lowly guard like me would ever see the demon's blade itself. And what is this? You took a portrait of Nightmare Moon from that castle? Why would you even take such a thing? Let me guess you thought it was pretty and you wanted it for yourself. Well nice try but this is going to be placed somewhere in the Lunar Wing of the castle. Nothing seems to be out of order, go on your way than, go inside with the found artifacts and other treasure and wait out in the lobby until Princess Celestia calls for you three." After the guards leave us be I let out a deep sigh and almost a shudder of fear of getting caught by the same guards that were our executioners, oh the irony that would have been if they knew who we were.
"Yes sir." I said with a full salute, not wanting to alert them to early that we are spies and that we are here to steal something of great value to me.
Seymour simply nods in agreement and Ocean just looks bored as we go past the gates and into the castle lobby. After unhitching him from the cart we all sit down on the benchs to wait our turn, and as I look around the lobby I notice that there was at least 15 other ponies here waiting to meet the Princess and talk to her about some Tartarus forsaken topic, me on the other hoof is trying to retrieve a certain set of artifacts and get the buck out of Canterlot before we are caught.
Waiting in the lobby was so far the single most boring thing I have ever done in my entire life, right next to waiting patiently for Nightmare Moon to speak to me after waking up that one day that was overly bright. That day was pure hell since I was alone in the castle and had no idea where anything was at the time. Taking another look around I noticed that Twilight Sparkle and the rest of the Elements of Harmony were also here which made me realize that if my plan goes south than not only will I have an angry princess and a palace filled with guards to deal with, but now also those six to go through and I am not in the current mood to fight them since I basically stolen some priceless loot from the castle on a gamble for what I need.
"Hey Lunar, isn't that Princess Celestia's protégé across from us? And who are the five with her?"
Slowly turning my head to look at them again with a cautious stare I was immediately looking eye-to-eye with an overly zealous pink party pony, and being that close to a pony that fast was something I was never trained for and my first instinct was to fall backwards with my forelegs flailing about and landing on my back. My little display got myself a few fits of laughter from my two friends, the other ponies waiting and even from the other five mares that are Pinkie Pie's friends, not the best way to make a false good impression on them.
"Thanks for warning me Ocean Tide..." I said grumbling unhappily as I pulled myself back up off the tile floor. Looking back I saw that Pinkie Pie was still standing directing in front of me, Greaves was holding onto his ribs while he was laughing at my misfortune and Sapphire was grinning at me for flailing about like a wuss.
Looking back at my surprise attacker I saw that Pinkie had that look on her face, the same look she gives any pony she recently meets, the look that just utterly screams "HiI'mPinkiePieWhatsYourNameWeHaven'tMeetBeforeWhichMeansWeAreNotFriendsButThatMeansWeCanBeFriendsAndWeCanBeTheBestOfFriendsAndWeCanThrowYouAPartyAndThereWillBeCakeAndCupcakesAndPunchAnd-" was suddenly silenced by me placing my hoof into her still talking muzzle.
"Is this mare always like this? And does she have an off switch or something cause not once in my life have I ever heard somepony talk that fast and without ever stopping." I said slightly disorientated by the barrage of words and hoof-gestures she was making while talking, my god that was a buzz saw of words flying at me.
"I take it that this is your first time ever dealing with Pinkie Pie darling, it's alright you will get used to it after a while. And I must say that you must be a new guard since most know about Pinkie's antics and tend to ignore them, you on the other hoof clearly was shocked, we were too when we first met her." Rarity said while looking me over casually, thinking that I might need a redo on my mane, since I left my mane in a disheveled mess, just the way I like it when I am in a hurry or to lazy to even get it done.
Sighing a bit and eventually pulling my hoof out and slightly wiping it off onto a small towel that was nearby, not liking somepony elses saliva on my hoof unless it was my own when I usually stare at pie or at something that attracts my gaze. "Sorry about that Pinkie Pie but I am currently not in the mood for talking, me and my comrades here just got back from the Everfree Castle with acquired items that we thought was deemed important to be brought back here." I said while eyeing Rarity than turning my zombie like gaze over to Twilight, hoping that she doesn't recognize me for who I really am under the stolen guard armor and illusion spell.
I let out a semi loud yawn while making sure to cover my mouth with my hoof, still wanting to act civilized while the presence of other ponies are nearby. During my small yawn Twilight was looking at the cart and actually moved over to it while trying to take a peak inside of it to get a glimpse at the contents, which earned a snort from me, Sapphire and from Greaves. "Don't think so Twilight Sparkle, this cargo is for our own eyes and the eyes of Princess Celestia. If you want to look at what we have acquired from the Everfree Castle than you have to wait until it is placed within these walls or Princess Celestia herself gives you permission to see it." I said with a grin while Twilight gave her best impression of a sad eyed puppy face, I have a steel will and my mind is an impenetrable fortress along with...oh damn you Twilight...the captain of the guard is coming this way and he does not look happy with me...shit.
"What is going on here and why is Twily giving you such a sad face?" Oh bollocks...why must she give me the face when he was marching over here...fate must really hate me today. My ears flattened when he started to speak since he most likely knows every single guardspony presently here and will blow our cover since he is in charge of everything that goes on here.
"Nothing is going on here sir , just that Twilight Sparkle is trying to make us divulge information about what we have acquired at the Everfree Castle, and under our orders from Princess Luna we were told not to tell anypony anything that we have found, only the Princess herself and between ourselves. I am not sure if we are allowed to tell you what we found but if that is the matter than you can ask us but in the meantime I sorry to say this but you can not look under the cover." I said slowly since Pinkie Pie was still talking to herself, moving my left hoof over the cover to keep it down while sitting on my rump, not wanting to get surprised again by the pink menace, knowing Pinkie she will most likely pop out of no where and cause me to flail about again.
"So you are telling me that not only can neither me nor Twily can look under the cover of the cart, but you were ordered by Princess Luna to go back to that castle of where the imfamous Nightmare Moon and Nightshade stayed and to retrieve whatever items of importance. Am I not correct?" I simply nodded in response to what Captain Shining Armor said. "Not to be rude and all but that is a load of horseapples. It has only been a week since Princess Luna has returned and she is already sending out a Lunar Guard, a Solar Guard and a gryphon? When did Luna even hire a gryphon to assist the Royal Guard on such matters?" Shining Armor was easily not buying our story, seems like he knows more about the guards than us, this might not end so well.
"Well she didn't hire him, he owes me a favor for saving his feathery hide from something stupid...and I called in that favor almost two days ago...*yawn* I still think we should have slept in that castle for the night, I now feel like imma pass out from lack of sleep...I just gotta stay awake till we are called in than I can finally get that well deserved rest..." I said while yawning again, since I forced myself to stay away for two days straight before getting here, wanting to make my story of staying up believable if they dare question me on the spot.
"Your not going to let us rest until we show you what is under the covers...aren't you sir..." I said groaning in defeat as he gives me that smug look that tells you that you can't win no matter what you say, as for me it meant that I had to show him or my cover would be blown...damn you to hell Shining Armor.
"Fine...you made your point, just do not be telling anypony of what we found, or by the Full Moon I will strangle the lot of you with my bear hooves! And I will not be gentle with neither of you, I will be so rough that you will beg me to be gentle!" I said while wiggling my eye brows in a playful manner at Sapphire who in response simple punchs me in the shoulder while Greaves was busy snickering under his breath.
"I knew you would see it my way, alright Twily get over here you we can see what these two guards and company of what they have gotten from that cursed castle." Hey buck you Shining Armor, that castle is not cursed, in fact it is the opposite of a curse it is actually quite a blessing since it is now fully repaired, has its own armory and smithing quarters, the royal library, the royal kitchen, throne room is slightly damaged, the astral observeratory in the rear of the castle along with the slightly dis-repaired dungeon which will soon be filled with the enemies of the night.
After grumbling to myself in defeat, I showed Shining and Twilight the loot we recovered, Shining was impressed with the fact that we got a spare set of the armor, he said that once the armorer takes a look at it and see's the difference in the two sets he might fidn a way to improve the current generation of royal guard armor. Twilight on the other hoof was impressed about the fake sword we brought back since I had to use a bit of my magic to give it that dark cold aura that was around the real sword, and to my luck Twilight did not see the difference since she was busy taking in ever single detail about it, studing ever scratch, dent and ornate details put into the blade. Another thing that she looked at was the painting, she never knew that I was a painter let alone the fact I basically painted the entire thing with magic, a spell that Nightmare Moon taught me when it was time for me to capture her image in her royal robes after she has taken over all of Equestria, but that time never came thanks to her and her friends. After spending at least two hours waiting for our turn to be called it was fairly afternoon and it only was made worse when us five realized we haven't eaten anything during the entire two day awake and travel ordeal.
Hearing Twilight's, Shining's, Sapphire's, Greaves's and my own stomachs growling out for food, and I could have sworn that my stomach was basically telling me to fill with food or it will force me to pass out in front of everypony and make my spell lose its effect and reveal myself to everypony present. "Er..hehehe I guess we should go eat something while we wait...does anypony know a good place to get a quick bite to eat?" I said meekly, my ears going down since asking for food made me look weak and if Nightmare Moon was here I would get such a beating I would be wobbly for weeks...that last beating still hurts.
"Yea, actually we can always go to Pony Joe's while we wait, since it seems there is still 6 other ponies waiting to meet Princess Celestia, so yea lets go."
"Last one to Pony Joe's has to pay! ReadySetGo! was all I heard before Sapphire Bloom launched herself into the air and took off, slightly clipping her wing on a hedge before rocketing towards the small donut shop. Rainbow Dash followed right next to her, Pinkie Pie mysteriously vanished, Rarity, Fluttershy and Applejack simply shrugged and just trotted over in its general direction. Greaves shrugged and lazily flew after them, not even caring about food at the moment, leaving me behind with Shining Armor the jerk and Twilight Sparkle the buzzkill.
"So..." I passively said while eyeing the cart, making sure they leave it alone before we go over to the store, "Heard any news about the graveyard at Whitetail Forest? I heard that zombiponies crawled out of those 8 new graves, appearently that Beatrix had one last spell on her that somehow resurrected herself and those nearby back from the dead, now it seems that even the dead can't get any good rest...well I am staying behind a bit to make sure everything is in perfect order with the cart and nothing has been moved out of place or taken." I said while marching over to the cart, flipping over the sheet to ensure nothing was taken or moved, and to my satisfaction nothing was out of place except for the painting, and under my scrutinizing eyes I tilted it a bit back into its spot, blowing some dust off of it. Both of them were looking at me as if I was crazy since I just blew dust of a painting that was Nightmare Moon's portrait. Forget them this portrait I made with my own two hooves and my horn, it took me at least a week just to finish it with magic and my hooves were sore since I had to keep myself very still while doing it.
"Okay lets get going, my stomach is growling at me and I need something to shut it up, and since its just the three of us, one of you two is gonna be paying! See you three slowpokes later!" I shouted while teleporting myself outside than started to gallop in a random direction before turning a corner and waiting for the two to gallop by, appearently both of them do not want to be the one to pay the bill...cheap.
Chuckling under my breath I return back to the palace, the guards thought I left something behind and they allow me back in, but to my surprise there was no pony in the lobby, only myself and a silver unicorn in a maid's outfit who was staring at me with a partial warm smile, which got me to think a few thoughts. One. Why was she smiling at me like that while wearing that dress. Two. Why does it make me feel like I want to get her. Three. Why does it feel like I am so lonely? And Four. I want to knock her out just so that warm smile doesn't make me want to choose the guard duty assignment. And why am I talking to myself about a castle servant that is giving me a nice smile in the first place?
"Sir are you ready to present yourself before Princess Celestia?" she said with that damn warm smile...I think it might be contagious since the other servants I have seen also have it. Coughing a bit as the bite marks from the alpha manticore start to act up again I grudgingly move forward, hitching myself into the cart before moving into the throne room, and just in time also as Princess Celestia looks over as Luna walks into the chamber slightly yawning as her mane wavers lazily about. Good thing for me because I know that she is coming to her old office like she did from the old books I used to read but still not the official ruler of Equestria.
"Welcome back Lunar Shield, where is Ocean Tide? I thought both of you were going to be presenting your findings to me and my sister together? Did something go wrong?"
After taking in a deep breath, trying to calm down my nervousness and the fact that I was face-to-face with my greatest enemy, ya nervous wouldn't have been the first word I would have used, more like straight up scared shitless.
"Sister why hath thou awaken us so early in dusk? Luna said in her old equestrian dialect, seemingly odd that Nightmare Moon was speaking modern while she wasn't...wonder if there is anything to fix that.
"Well Ocean Tide is currently grabbing a quick bite at Pony Joe's along with the other Elements of Harmony along with Captain Shining Armor. And as for these objects we have acquired back in the Everfree Castle is currently..." as I was speaking my horn lit up a bit levitating a small clipboard along with a scrolls pressed down with a list running down it, "One set of Eternal Guard Armor, 30 Black Moonstone Ingots, Nightmare Moon's Arcane Sword, and lastly One Magically Painted Portrait of Nightmare Moon by Nightshade. This is what we managed to get into the cart before the manticores that was patrolling the castle chased us out...almost lost my tail back there by their claws..." I said in response, and it was a good thing that I managed to interogate the real Lunar Shield and Ocean Tide, this illusion spell also masked my voice to sound just like his, it matched every detail that was on the subject that was being copied, even down to the cutie mark. Only down side was it was an exhausting spell and that it only lasted a single day before having to recast it on the subject than yourself.
Princess Celestia seemed rather glad about my answer and even more satisfied about some of the supposed items that was retrieved, even Princess Luna was smiling that something from that castle came back, for me I am hoping that she will take the painting I made for her and brought it back, knowing her she is probably going over the feelings that Nightmare Moon/herself had for me and other thoughts that they shared.
"Now before we go over to why you picked these items I have one thing to ask you." Oh shit...this can not be good. "Why did you bring back a fake sword that is obviouslly resonating with Nightshade's magical aura?"
This is gonna be a long ass day of stupid questions and half-assed answers...
The Everfree Chronicles: Altered Chances
Chapter 3: Memories of the Past
Canterlot, Pony Joe's Donut Shop, Early Night
"And that was when he said 'That's what she said' and Seymour just started laughing his flank off! I can not believe the nerve of that jerk!" Sapphire Bloom said while throwing a small donut ball at Greaves who was busy chuckling to himself which everypony present saw.
"What are you talking about? You were the one that fell for that little joke of ours and I thought it was freaking funny as hell! You should have seen the look on your face it was priceless! If only I had a camera to take a picture of that moment just so I can mount it up on my wall so I can always have something that will let me know that you guards are easy to embaress hehe." Greaves was laughing while eating an overly chocolate bar donut, trying hard not to choke on it while laughing his ass off.
"Oh shut up Seymour before I tie your wings up, lift you into the sky and drop you...see how funny that is when you realize that you can't fly with bound wings."
As the two were bickering and going all out on insults at one another, the the other seven ponies that went with them were watching them yell at each other, Rainbow Dash and Applejack placing bets on who would win the verbal debat on who was a jerk, whose breath smelled of rotten fish, and overall who got laid first which to everyponies surprise was Greaves when he unknowingly slept with another gryphon which at that point had no idea that she was in fact was the daughter of a rival noble, last thing he heard from her was his name being called out for execution. Lets just say that he flew his ass off like there was no tomorrow, for him that was true, there was indeed no tomorrow if he was caught.
Meanwhile Elsewhere
To everyponies surprise Seymour just looked away and ate his donut whole before taking off into the early night sky, humming to himself as loudly as he could just to be obnoxious to every rich snob in Canterlot. Ocean Tide left a bit later after paying the tab and flying after him, trying to keep pace to stay on their already very thin time table. Me on the other hoof was busy dealing with two princesses and their seemingly infinite questions about why did I pick this item to take back, what purpose does it have, and also why did I pick a painting of Nightmare Moon when I could have gotten something more valuable or important.
"If this is all you have to report back than you are dismissed, go back to the barracks and rest. You deserve it as much as your partner since I heard you had to deal with the manticores that roam that haunted castle since Nighthshade somehow managed to create a spell to calm down and control them into obeying his will. That spell might have been enchanted onto them and they still serve his will even in death, we might have to send you and Ocean Tide back to try and capture one of them. Consider this your next mission after a three day break. You may leave now Lunar Shield." Oh thank you gods above that she did not catch anything that I have been thinking...and now to get the buck out of here.
As I bow down to them and turn to leave, Luna slowly gets up from her throne and glide over to me, two things come to my mind when that happened. One. OH MY GOD! IM GONNA DIE and Two. Well my cover is blown...
"So Lunar Shield, while thou were at the Everfree Castle, hath thou notice anything strange? Anything that was out of place or should not have even been there? We need to know if anything in that castle moved on its own or moved by another pony?" the distance that seperated us was starting to shrink as she gracefully moved closer and closer, the gap now only three feet apart and that seperation is only made worse by the fact that her wings slowly wrap around myself in a slightly protective manner. Since Celestia was watching us I knew it was only a matter of time before she knew something was wrong and come quickly to investigate, she was always a killjoy since she ruined my plans a almost two weeks ago...what a bitch...just had to ruin my plans for Nightmare Moon...
Just as I was about to respond with a fake answer what she said next and in such a manner made me realize that something was indeed wrong...it is not everyday a ruler of Equestria gives anypony a magical embrace while whispering in your ear...well...it happened already to me twice, today marks the third time.
"We know it is thou Nightshade Umbraspark...We have always known it was thou ever since we first laid our eyes on you when We walked into the throne room. Not the most subtle way to enter the palace but thou did get past the guards undetected and even fooled my sister, but We want to know why thou is here? Is it to ask us to go with thou, are thou here to kill my sister, or are thou here on your own accord?" I can tell she was studing my face, trying to figure out why I am here but I can not simply tell her that I am after something that belongs to her otherwise she might wise up and have it guarded better, so for now a half-truth will suffice.
"I can not tell you my princess...for what I am planning wil endanger you if you are somehow caught up in it. I can not watch you get into harms way if it is by my actions...for what I am planning is highly dangerous to the point of it being suicidal...I am sorry but I cannot tell you yet...in due time."
"If thou can not tell us...than thou must be doing something that is highly...unorthodox. But whatever thou is doing please tell us...We want to help thou...but we can not if you do not tell us. We know that thou loved Nightmare Moon...who is also I, but thou must be willing to tell us the truth otherwise We can not protect thee incase of something that goes wrong..." My gods...she knows...
Looking into her eyes as she looked into mine I only saw the endless ocean of the night sky as she looked into my distorted teal tinted slits, the look of a monster was more of what my eyes are. Luna knows about me and Nightmare Moon...she knows everything that we did together...everything...
Everfree Castle, 3 Years Ago, Midnight
"...So let me get this straight...you want me...to brush your mane? But isn't it you know...etheral? Can not be touched by solid matter only by magical or otherworldly means? A black ivory brush with dark silver brisels can not touch your mane...unless you make your mane solid or enchant this brush to be able to have physical contact..." I said trying to be the voice of reason at the castle, the ghost not knowing what is going on, the two manticores patrolling the gate don't even know what a brush is let alone what it looks like, and Nightmare Moon is just playing hard ball with me since she easily knows what makes me tick.
"Oh come now Nightshade...you should know by now that my mane is in fact able to be physically touched by the brush, you are simply being overly technical about it. My mane can be touched by solid matter at anytime but even it can be a tangled mess as you have obviously seen last night after our little...session as you call it, even you said that I looked adorable with bedmane, which was funny since I did not give you permission to look at me when my mane was a mess of spectral strands of twinkling stars." she said while laying on her queen sized bed, laying down on her belly while reading an old book called 'Equestrian History: The Everfree Forest', clearly amused with a smug look on her muzzle, knowing that half the things in the book are straight up lies or just plain pointless, even the tales that forest moves on its own and those that enter can never leave without going insane. That particular part made her laugh to no end while I was busy trying to straighten her mane with the damned brush with my teeth...now I know why pegasi and earth ponies have a hard time brushing their own mane.
"Well how else do you expect me to brush your mane? With my mind or with my horn? I already tried that once remember? You tossed me out the window when I accidentally poked you with my horn...my neck still hurts when it hit the top of the window before landing in that pile of poison joke...I hated being all white with normal eyes...it just reminds me of that tyrant...and also tell me again why am I growing poison joke in the first place?" I was clearly annoyed that I had to grow the garden of poison joke near the back of the castle, sure it was fun putting some of it into her tea or sneaking into Ponyville and placing it into someponies drink or food and watch the magic happen to them. Was even more annoyed that I landed into that pile of poison joke...it took me a week to return to normal...and by normal I mean not white coated and normal eyed, I mean black coated with two different color eyes with dagger slits.
"You do know that being a smartass will get you on the couch for the week and a bucket of poison joke over your head, so keep it up otherwise get to brushing, and one more thing. Be gentle with my mane or I will turn you pink for the rest of the year."
"Alright alright...sheesh...I rather not sleep on the royal couch...damn thing is annoying as hell when it squeeks from the slightest of movements, I rather sleep on the stone cold floor since its more stable and with the proper amount of blankets can be comfortable. But than again I rather sleep in this bed than that couch...and your mane still does look cute when its all fuzzy and scattered hehe..........I'm sleeping on the couch again...aren't I?"
"Yes you are and you are doing an excellent job with my mane...maybe you won't sleep on the couch but you will not get any blankets tonight, or any other night for the next week."
"Well at least I tried to get out of it...eh.." I said with a shrug as I kept brushing her mane, getting it all straight and with a keen sheen that could probably blind somepony if they looked at it in the right angle of light...that would be funny to see somepony get blinded by her beauty...wait that already happened...I got blinded by her mane when she came out of the royal bathroom that one time...I couldn't see for an entire week. Totally worth it.
While I was brushing her mane with my teeth since I was trained on how to properly brush her mane without the use of my levitation spell, it was a simple task, but getting distracted while working on her mane causes me to accidentially tug on her mane a little to hard which to me should be impossible since its etheral. That slight tug made her slightly let out a small moan which in turn got me tossed down onto the other side of the bed by her starry mane grabbing me and giving me the all too familiar weightless feeling before going face first into a pillow.
Only after pulling my face out of the pillow did I see what happened, Nightmare Moon was giving me a seductive stare which set off only one warning in my head, the tall tale warning of: 'Gonna have a rough night tonight or a very very painful hug'. Swallowing whatever pride I had left for the night and whatever fear I had of getting tossed 10 stories down a castle spire into a patch of blue flowers of poison joke, I stare back into her eyes with a look of slight fear and worry for my own flank.
"You know Nightshade...ever since I took you under my wing in both meaning of the terms, you always meet or over exceed my expectations. And for going above and very rarely beyond my expectations you deserve a reward, but from that flushed look on your face and the way your fidgeting tells me that you are nervous for what we are about to do, but you are only fooling yourself. You are still to young for that and how you know about it makes me wonder if keeping you in the royal archives during the teachings was a good idea, afterall I know how you love to wonder about and read every single book you can get your tiny hooves on." Nightmare Moon said while keeping up her stare and facial expression, and tiny hooves...me? My hooves are not tiny...okay maybe they are but that still doesn't mean they are tiny...maybe small but not tiny.
Exhaling loud enough to be heard I simply shake my head and turn around, being foolish was one thing, but thinking of that while she gave me that look was my reaction, I mean honestly who wouldn't have thought of that when somepony gives you that seductive look?
"So this reward...let me take a grand guess...its me being allowed to sleep on the sofa that does not squeek whenever you move on it?" I said with a bit of sarcasim, knowing that if I was right she would say I was wrong and if I was wrong she would say I was wrong but while messing with my head...nothing ever comes out good when I am right.
"You are wrong, you are not sleeping on the sofa, I already told you that you shall be sleeping on the bed with me but without any comfort of the sheets. Instead my little apprentice you shall recieve a much better reward...a warm reward." she said with the same smirk she has been giving me this entire time. Why is she messing with me like this, its making my head hurt and my body strained with all the stress she is giving me.
As I was thinking to myself again, my thoughts all screaming and yelling at each other, telling me what I should be thinking, what my facial expression should be, why am I not trying to figure out what she wants, and my the last thought I heard was 'she is coming closer to you'. Coming back out of my mental state of non-awareness, I realized that my thoughts were telling the truth, she was coming closer to me, and by that I mean she shifted from the spot of the bed she was resting on to a position right next to me. The sudden shift in weight on the bed made me fall over right next to her left wing which it has brushed my shoulder, and let me tell you something, the feeling of something soft as a feather and something warm as a gentle breeze, that made me relax near-instaniously. Even while I was relaxing next to her I felt myself being lifted up again but instead of being tossed again I was sitting upright, and Nightmare Moon was also sitting up but instead of her smirk and stare she was wearing a few moments ago, she now instead was giving me a genuine smile and before I knew what happened next, she pulled me into a hug, and no not the 'strangling-a-pony-of-all-life-giving-air-hug' it was more like the 'you-are-such-a-silly-pony-but-you-are-my-silly-pony-hug', that hug made me feel happy, cared for, and above all else, special.
During that hug I tried to wrap my forelegs around her to try to give her a hug in return but since I was still a bit to young to even try it I instead only manage to get my little hooves to reach her wings, and those wings of hers along with her own forehooves wrapped around me, pulling me closer into her body, and the heat radiating off of her was enough to make me sleepy, and that feeling was strange to me, the feeling of a real embrace instead of half-hearted hugs that my parents used to give me.
"Now Nightshade...go to sleep, you have much to study and prepare for, for tomorrow night, I am sending you off to find a group of diamond dogs, and do not worry about them for as long you are wearing that armor that is stored within the armory you will not be in harms way...unless you are foalish enough to take it off. Now...sleep." she said next to my left ear, whispering into it while exhaling hot air into it, causing me to slightly wither up and let out a weak groan, and for added insult to injury she nibbled on my ear before my eyes close on their own accord.
"But...im not even....*snore*" I said before going face first into her chest, my head slumped over and snoring softly as I was put under her sleep spell. My head landed between her rear legs as she let go of my from the warm hug, my head brushing something soft as it went down and onto the pillow that was to be its destination. Nightmare Moon loved using that sleep spell, she always uses it on me everytime I try to act out against her when I am tired, when I stay up for to long studying or just to mess with me when I am working on the poison joke flower patch...mostly when im working on flowers.
"Sleep well Nightshade Umbraspark...your future ahead of you is dark and grim...you will need all the rest you can get...
Canterlot Castle, Throne Room, Present Time
Snapping out of the memory I quickly look around and notice that everything was where it was left except that Princess Luna was now going back to her throne while Princess Celestia was approaching me with two guards flanking her.
As I watched her approach me I quickly try to think of something to say incase she knows it is me instead of the Lunar Guard I captured, before I can even make up something to say Celestia nods at her two guards as they salute and go to the grand doors behind me and wait until she calls for them. "You have done well Lunar Shield, you may now go rest in the barracks until you are called to return to duty, you are now dismissed."
"Yes your highness." I said while bowing, getting back up I turn around and follow the two guards to my temporary quarters which are surprising perfect reflection to my room back at the castle except it is meant for the Solar Guards...I guess I get to sleep with these ponies until I can make my move.
"Hey...Lunar Guard, what are you doing in the Solar Branch of the castle? Shouldn't you be over at the Lunar Branch and be resting in those barracks instead?
"I was told by Princess Celestia...*cough tyrant cough* for my actions on bringing back relics from the Everfree Castle that were presumably important, I am temporarily allowed to rest here until my old room in the barracks are fixed up. And besides...it seems these barracks on this side are much better and more properly built than on the Lunar side."
"Well while you are here lets just set some ground rules. 1:Do not steal anything or move anything that is not yours. 2: When we say something that is an order you follow it to the letter. And 3: When we play poker or dice you will join and you will like it. Do you understand that private?" the mare wearing the captians uniform said from the other side of the room, appearently putting her armor on along with three other guards before they sat down around a table with a stack of cards on it along with poker chips.
"Yea...wait poker? You gaurds actually play poker here?" I said somewhat surprised, I expected these guards to do nothing but sleep, eat, protect, patrol, eat than sleep, in that order. But instead it seems when they take their breaks they actually have some fun...this might be usefull.
"Yea we do play poker, why? You Lunar Guards don't play poker when you are off duty? What do you ponies do for fun than, sip tea and tell bad jokes?" One of the guards said while pulling the cards out of the card box with his teeth, laying the box near his stack of chips while leaving the cards in the middle of the table.
"No, we go to the bar and have a real good time, and come back to sleep it off, if you catch my drift" I said while giving the female captain a wink and wiggle of my eyebrows, trying hard not to laugh my flank off in front of them.
"YOU DO WHAT!" She yelled while faintly blushing and looking away almost in shame, sitting down on her cushion
"Lucky bastard... All of the male guards said while giving me a stare that is the equivilant of the middle finger. They all sat down at the table while one of them shuffled the cards with his magical aura, seemingly bored.
"Don't need to be yelling over nothing, all we do is just go to the bar, get drunk, dance a bit, one passes out while the rest drag each other back before passing out in a hammock or on the floor." Yes I was lying to them but since the two different guard groups have different and similiar rules I could have somewhat spoken the truth if I payed more attention.
"So you wanna play some poker or what? You chicken to lose your flank on a friendly game of poker or do you think you are above us? And by the way, this is strip poker, you get a bad hand and lose, you must take off one piece of your armor." The mare say while smirking at me along with one of the male guards, that creepy ass grin he gave me almost gave me the thought that he was a colt-cuddler.
"Oh yea I'm down for some poker, just don't be sad that I walk away with all your bits and your armor cutie." I said blowing an imaginary kiss at her only to piss her off which it worked, she was red in the face which would be hard to tell if she was not already red coated.
This was gonna be a real good game of poker.
View Online
The Everfree Chronicles: Altered Chances
Chapter 4: Black Vault Heist and Gambling Night
Three Hours Later
I just realized that all of these cards that we are playing with have mares on them in sultry and hot poses along with the random stallion doing the same pose...mare cards I don't cover up, stallion cards I cover it with my hoof. Grinning from my hooves holding my cards up, I see a Spitfire Ace of Spades, a Surprise Queen of Clubs, Soarin King of Diamonds, Echo Jack of Hearts, and finally Nurse Tenderheart Nine of Diamonds. Showing them my well drew hoof I hear the sounds of moans and groans as the others throw their bad hooves of cards onto the table in defeat.
"And I do believe those bits are mine." I said while floating over a large pile of bits over to my side of the table along with a pile of chips. I turn my gaze back to the guards as each of them take off the last of their leg-guards and tossed them over to me, my face forming into a grin as I levitate the thrown leg pieces into my already growing pile of guard armor, a neat pile of six pairs of leggings. Myself on the otherhoof still wearing my entire armor set except for my helmet which I lost to the mare captain, she seemed happy that she took it away from me, not sure why though...
"Oh sweet Celestia...you got to be kidding me...
"Oh fucking Tartarus..."
"Your enjoying this aren't you Lunar Shield..."
"You have no idea, I never knew you guys were this bad at poker...maybe if you were good as me than maybe you could win hehe, these bits are all mine!" I said with a grin that said 'I am better than you and I know it'.
As I shuffled the cards back into the deck and passed them out I noticed that the mare's horn flashed a bit and her cards gave off a faint pink glow before going back to normal. 'So this mare wants to cheat well two can play at that game than.'
"So what are you fine fellows and lovely lass gonna take off next when I win this hoof, your chest plate or your helmets? Whatever you think of to lose just take it off and now, lets see who has the better hoof." Knowing the mare cheated I decided to let her cheat but instead distract her, and by distract her I mean by using my magic to give her a real good time.
Grinning boldly while tossing them there cards, getting a Princess Luna of Queen of Spades, not sure how they got a picture of her laying down on a bed wearing purple socks with stars on them but still this card I am going to be keeping. Passing more cards out to the others I get a Big Mac Three of Spades which was immediately covered up by a Trixie Three of Hearts, wearing sky blue stockings with her cape and her hat being held in her hooves, a Nurse Redheart Queen of Diamonds, and lastly a Ditzy Doo Three of Clubs. Some of the other stallions of the group were smiling and grinning at their cards, most likely not because of the great hand, but more likely because of the mares on it...or the stallion on it, whatever floats their boat.
Turning my gaze to the captain, otherwise known as Captain Starbolt, and to me she is a crazy unicorn mare that loves to mess with others, well it is my turn to mess with her, in more than one way hehe. "So Captain Starbolt, how is your hooves faring? Anything good that can beat my good luck streak or are you about to lose the last of your gear so we can all see you in all of your glory? *wink*"
"Since you say that you are going to win this round why won't you make this more interesting by betting all the armor you are wearing and half your bits, unless you are a coward and are afraid to lose it all in one fell swoop! I am going to get my armor back along with my fellow guards."
"Good luck with that Captain Fine Flank, and when I win I want you to give me a victory dance, and don't forget to wear that special socks that you are hiding in that hooflocker of yours, and if you think you can skip out on that than you can also forget about that secre-" before a hoof was shoved into my mouth by Starbolt, her face blushing madly that can now be clearly seen past the red coat of hers, funny thing how I was making all of that up and it turned out to be true, seems like this mare was hiding something that she didn't want to get let out.
"Oh yea Private Shortie (Ouch low blow) well when I win I want you to give me and all of these guards a private dance of our own, and you must be wearing my socks, if you chicken out than I will just tell the rest of the royal guard on how you ate half of our ice cream rations." Oh you are a real bitch...how dare you say that out loud...do you have any idea how hard it was for me to extract that particular piece of information out from the real Lunar Shield's head...I guess he really did steal half of the royal guards ice cream rations...sucks to be him.
"Oh...it...is...ON! " I shouted while taking off all of my armor, my helmet, chestplate, neckplate, leg guards, even the most useless piece of armor that half of the royal guard has to offer, a tail guard, to ensure that your tail doesn't get cut off by accident and also acts like a blunt paddle when used right. Tossing all of my removed armor onto the table and placing half of my pile of bits, somewhere around 3,000 bits into the middle along with my armor, glaring the entire time at all of the others at the table, expecting one of them to pull a fast one and magically change their cards to get the upper hoof against me.
"Three Three's and a Pair." I said grinning with a slight hint of smug in it, thinking I just won myself a free lapdance by the captain, to bad I forgot that there was better hooves than mine.
"Read it and weep, Royal Flush. Now I do believe your armor and 1,500 bits are mine, and pretty colt, you go but on my frillies while me and the other stallions get ready to make this your last day as a royal guard. Boys get the camera's,chips and beer! This is gonna be awesome! said Starbolt as she threw her cards down onto the table and levitating my hard earned bits and my armor over to her side.
As I got hold of her cards, the images on them faded and turned back into their original forms, those cards were not enough for a royal flush, hell all of those combined didn't even make anything, nothing but random cards, a nine, a three, a two, a six and an ace, nothing could have even came close to a royal flush.
"Fine Flank don't even think about taking my bits and armor! Look at the table boys and see that your lovely captain was cheating under the table, seems like somepony was scared to lose their dignity, should have backed out while you still can. Well boys, keep getting those goodies of yours while I sit back and watch, not even going to bother with my armor, I'm getting the whole show!" I said gloating at her while taking my bits and armor back, the other stallions at the table look at the cards that are back to normal than at her, than back at the cards than to her, giving one last look at the false cards before sighing sadly and in defeat they all slowly shuffle to their belongings, the guard Stone Wall brings back a bowl filled with chips and salsa, another brought over the camera's, while I took all my bits and placed them within my small bag that I enchanted earlier with a small temporary portal that allow it to hold more contents without making it burst as long as the contents are not sharp or jagged.
Moving a chair over to the table and placing a spear perfectly placed in the middle of it, I re-arrange the other chairs farther from the table and brought over the another table from across the room over to the octagon shaped poker table that Stone Wall managed to sneak in. After a while I finished making my little strip of tables for Starbolt who by the way from my current angle on the floor, looks hot in her orange socks with fire embedded into it, the way her mane flows across her shoulds was enough to make me grin and the other stallions to whistle at her, she in return glared at all of them making a one of them cringe from the sight and look away. Coward.
"Lets get this over with before a group of guards comes by to relieve us of duty until our next shift comes up..." grumbling incoherent words that are not meant for the weak willed or for the faint of heart, she walks slightly with a pop in her step as she walks by everypony in the room, one of them slaps her flank which she gives him a bone shattering buck to the jaw, breaking it and knocking him unconscious, seems like she is really displeased with this. Eh not my fault.
"Oh why the sad face lovely Starbolt, turn that frown upside down! And by your looks alone you can probably give any stallion a run for their bits, hell maybe even give a few pegasi a bad case of the stiffies if they see you like this. As for me well hehe, I smell the faint traces of ozone in this room hehe." I said smuggly as I sit down onto my chair and turn to face Starbolt as she mounts the stage giving me a soul-piercing glare the entire time, wanting to rip my heart out and show it to me before I die. Well good luck with that one baby.
As Starbolt slowly approachs me from the otherside of the tables I give her my evil grin, not the same grin that the real Lunar Shield gives but my own evil grin, the same grin that I used when I was about to strike down those six mares back in the Everfree Forest before they all fell down that cliffside. Giving her my signature grin I simply raise my head and float a small bag of bits over the stage and let it stay there for the time being, returning my gaze back to the mare before me I get a good nice, long look at her, a look that to me said 'I want you...to give me the best dance you can before I send these pictures of you all over the different guard posts of the castle', and that she did.
"Your enjoying this aren't you...you sick bastard." Starbotl said while giving a small twirl around the pole earning a few whistles from the guards before she glares at all of them, marking my turn to speak before things go from 'enjoyable but crowded' to 'perfect pairs night'.
"You have no idea sweetie hehe and guards that is your cue to leave before she decieds to kills everypony in here with a rusty spoon and a bow tie. So please get your sorry flanks in gear and leave the mare to her slightly temporary job."
"When this is over I am going to murder you...toss your body into the lake, and say it was an accident, mark my words you will not be enjoying this night you bastard. she threatningly said while flicking her tail across my face, her face says she wants to rip my spine out and mount over the fire place but those cute dark green eyes of hers says she is enjoying it, I better give her my response with a heart-felt action on my own term.
"Keep telling yourself that, I am sure that you won't be enjoying it now but later on this night, you gonna be loving it, that much I will ensure." I said while giving her tail a light tug with my magic, earning a slight whine from Starbolt than in response a light buck in the jaw, didn't hurt much but I guess she didn't see that coming. Worth it.
As the little dance went on I decided to kick it up a notch by making that bag I levitated earlier to start raining bits all over the stage and onto Stabolt. Small gold coins start falling onto the stage and as they fall I can tell that she is enjoying this, maybe a family member of hers or somepony she knows of does this for a living down at one of those saucy bars down in the older parts of Canterlot, either way I am getting a grand show for free!
During the entire dance I heard a couple of knocks that went unnoticed until a few loud ones can be heard, until when I turned my head back just in time to get my head next to her plot...dat plot! Only two things came to mind when that happened, 1. I can now sleep a happy stallion for having my face in someponies warm plot, and 2. Why didn't I lock the door? Just as my thoughts came to an abrupt end Starbolt was looking at me with a sly look on her face as she wiggled her plot closer to my face brushing against it, and in that sly look was 'gotcha!' but unfortunately my fun time was coming to an end as Ocean Tide and Seymour walk in as I threw a hoof full of bits into the air with my horn wavering from ozone leaking out of it. The looks on my comrades faces.....priceless.
"Wrong place wrong time......"
Later That Night...
"...What? I can't get a lapdance by the captain of the Solar Guard while making it rain bits in the room? So what if I spent about 500 bits on her and so what if you saw me with my face in her plot, it was rather that or completely blow my cover and make this entire castle alerted to our presence...sweet Luna you never let me have any fun..." I said pouting while putting on my guard armor quickly as Greaves was busy laughing like a mad man and Sapphire was busy yelling at me for messing around with guards. In all totally worth it.
"We are never going to let this down dude! I mean come on while we were distracting Captain Shining Ass Hat you were going to get laid by one of the captains of the guard! And spending our hard earned bits in the process! Come on dude! At least you could have waited until I got there! Greaves was obviously butt hurt that I didn't wait for him to show up, not my fault that he wanted a show along with getting his face full of plot...and I did not know that he wanted a show also.
"I still can't believe you did that...you couldn't have stayed out of trouble but noooo you just had to go start some...well we should be glad that she is keeping this quiet from everypony else...but now I have to be careful around you Lunar...can't seem to trust you now." oh great...lady problems...perfect.
"All of this, all that you just saw was part of the plan, I now have something to use as leverage against Captain Starbolt and the rest of her group of guards, also those bits I earned from the gambling, that will go to us and besides will be needing money soon otherwise when the time comes we will be short on funds...now be quiet or go home, my patience are near its end because of that tyrant and our reduced queen's endless questions...so many pointless stupid questions..." I said grumbling at them in disdain. 'Who are they to judge me? It was by my power and my mind that kept them from rotting in the fire pits of Tartarus, they should be thankful for that and more, if it wasn't for me than they all would be suffering a grim fate, I just gave them a second chance...if they keep getting in my way or question my motives...they will know my wrath.'
"Really now? And what leverage do you have besides having your muzzle all up in her plot? All that will do will just get her fired and dishonorably discharged from the royal guard, but she also has enough evidence against you to do the same, even worse is that we wasted enough time with the enemy that our illusion spells will wear off and reveal ourselves to them. So whatever we gotta do we better do it fast."
'For once she is right, we gotta move fast and quietly, otherwise our cover will be blown, will have a castle on high alert for three of Equestria's most wanted criminals, and will have to face a royally (pun intended) pissed off princess with a most likely just as equally pissed off princess. I hate it when she is right about these things...'
"Alright than. Ocean, Seymour, you two go to the Royal Archives, Star Swirl the Bearded Section, and stay there, I have to get something real quick, I need to get the key for the vault and there is only one place that has it and it is currently being watched by somepony, so whatever you do, do not get caught, do not blow your cover and for bucks sakes, don't damage any of the books while you read them..." I said before doing a complete 180* and galloped off towards the Lunar Wing of the palace, Sapphire and Greaves both give each other confused looks and shrug, slightly picking up the pace from a simple trot and pad to half-ass galloping and running.
Royal Archives, Star Swirl the Bearded Section, Midnight
"So tell me again why we are waiting for Lunar Shield in the worlds biggest place for nerds? I mean sure all of these books are priceless and irreplaceable but come on, he could of just asked us to wait in the lobby of the bookroom, I read only one book just one! And it was about how Star Swirl found out about the elements of harmony...and now I wish I remember where I placed that book..."
"Oh come now it is just a book! It's not like that book was made of gold and the paper was made of the finest silver available at the time, how important could that book be? And besides he told us to wait in this section for a reason, he wouldn't have asked us to be here unless he planned on us getting caught when the magic wears off. Another thing I have to ask him is how did he manage to get that mare to strip herself of her armor and poll dance in front of him? What is he the love whisperer?" his little comment earned him a rough hoof to the gut, slightly knocking the wind out of him.
As those two were talking in the excluded section of the library, Feather Touch, a pegasus maid, was tending to the library and was dusting all the bookshelves and books, not once missing a single speck of dust or cobweb, always looking closely at the books and the shelves to ensure the destruction of the dust of evil and grime, also known as someponies food crumbs that was left behind while reading. As she turns the corner to continue her quest of eliminating dust and cobwebs from the ancient books, she accidentally bumps into Greaves as he turned around to hold his ribs from the gutshot he took from Sapphire, and in that moment in time both Feather and Greaves had only one thought in their little heads.
'Oh sweet Celestia not again...'
'Is it me or did somepony hear my prayers about wanting to hug something adorable?'
When the two collided Greaves rolled over ontop of Feather and was hugging he while Feather was busy trying not to lock up from the sudden embrace and scream for assistance, or yell that she was about to be raped. But as the two are hugging each other they both notice that both of them are blushing and are not even looking at each other, Sapphire was busy with her mouth open and her jaw on the floor from the two of them holding each other in a warm embrace. What happened next made Sapphire laugh so hard that her helmet fell off. The sounds of two pairs of wings launching out like spring loaded traps.
FWOOSH
FWOOSH
"BWAAHAHAHAHAHA WING BONERS! Oh sweet Celestia this is rich! I can't believe you two would do such a bold thing in a private place! For shame Seymour put those two boys away before the lass here gets any very bold ideas and plans to take you away! Oh if only Lunar Shield was here this would be priceless!"
In unison both of them spoke at the same time with their faces red from both embaressment and shame.
"Shut up Ocean Tide!"
"This isn't what it looks like!"
The sounds of somepony laughing her ass off could be heard throughout the archives before it was abruptly cut off by the sounds of somepony jumping ontop of said pony than the sounds of somepony getting strangled was heard followed by something being knocked over and something heavy whacking somepony upside the head before one last thud could be heard than there was silence.
"Well he be alright?"
"Yea lass he will be fine, he will just need to catch a quick shut-eye before we do anything else, he has been up for the past three days with no sleep ever since we left the castle for an expedition. So no worries he is gonna be alright, maybe not when he wakes up since I did hit him very hard with my hoof upside the head but then again his head is to thick to break with just a hoof, maybe with a frying pan...but eh I bet you like him more than you are letting on now right?" she said while giving her a smirk before gently rubbing Greaves on the back making his wings shot back out, obviously being a wing-tease to him while he is drifting off in the void of the unconscious land.
"Oh...good...wait what!?! No no no I do not like him like that...he justs...he looks like this one gryphon that I like...he looks almost exactly like him except for the color of fur on his chest and his eyes...if it was the same then...he would look exactly like Greaves..."
'oh shit...she can see the resemblence'
"Greaves? You mean that one gryphon that got hanged a few days ago? You two were an item? Well i'll be...never knew that a maid would fall for an exiled gryphon prince, nice catch though."
"How did you know he was a prince? Greaves only told me that bit of information because he trusted me enough to say it...what else did he tell you? Was he keeping you on the side lines? Was he cheating on me with you? Tell me now!" shouted Feather Touch, she was absolutely furious that Sapphire Bloom knew that Greaves was a prince but was even more furious that he did not tell her about anything they did together. Relying on quick thinking she says something rather foolish and stupid as a reaction.
"Well I was the one guarding his cell the days he was held captive by us, I was not aware of any crimes that he have committed but during his stay he told me who he was, and how he came to be here but left out the charges pressed up against him, so don't worry lass I didn't take him away from you, and besides it should be you that I should be looking out for, you could become a liability to Equestria if anypony found out that you dated the enemy...those gryphons are ruthless when it comes to getting what they want, and our lands is what they want, so if you tell them anything I will throw you into the nearest dark cell I can find and throw away the key!"
'Oh Sweet Celestia this is gonna be a long day...'
Lunar Wing, Princess Luna's Royal Bedchambers, Midnight
"I knew coming in here alone was a bad idea...sneaking past guards easy, breaking into a locked room that is protected by magic easy, looking through a mare's drawers hoping to find the key to a secret vault...impossible." I said while openning another drawer and pulled out Luna's royal regalia, quickly looked around before neatly folding it and stuffing it into the small bag that I had enchanted earlier that week. Inside of that bag was around 2,500 bits, a sweetroll, a loaf of bread(stolen), a silver candle holder(also stolen) six sets of Royal Solar Guard armor(might be stolen since I won them in a bet), two orange socks that belonged to Starbolt(still warm and stolen), one Princess Luna Queen of Diamonds poker card(stolen), and lastly one Playmare Magazine with the Wonderbolt's Captain Spitfire on the cover(stole it from Stone Wall when he wasn't looking).
"Okay maybe taking that magazine might have been not such a good idea...it is starting to distract me...eh forget i'll give it to Greaves when we get back to the castle, he is just gonna love this, maybe even ruin it on the first night!"
Laughing at my own little bad joke I shake my head with disgust against myself I go back to searching for the key for the so called 'Black Vault' that rests under the Royal Archives, well that was what the crazy servants kept talking about in their downtime at Pony Joe's Donut House, I also heard that those sevants are crazy by the way they take their jobs at the castle a little to over zealous, that or they are just crazy because of all the stress the job comes with.
Turning my head to look at the drawer to my left I see that it has a brush on it, a brush that I am very familiar with because that brush was the very same one back at the Everfree Castle...with the same magical aura that I placed upon it when I turned 12, the first day I became Nightmare Moon's attendent and personnel servant. How did Luna even get this brush?
'What is this doing here?!? I thought that I had this secure and locked away in my private chest under the floor in my room! How did she find it? I thought that this would never be used again...'
Staring at the brush in utter confusion I forget to thoroughly look around to make sure that there was nopony present in the room, that included the princess herself.....
"What art thou doing in my room. Speak quickly guard before I hath thines head on a platter!" Princess Luna shouted as she walked out of the room next to me, and the appearent sound of water dripping out of a faucet was all to real to listen to...I walked into Princess Luna's room while she was taking a bath. Her form was still dripping wet from the water in the bath she took but her mane and tail, while etheral were somehow sticking to her coat, a mystery that will forever elude me, but to the task at hoof, not getting throne in jail or worse, face the gallows again but this time with my horn removed and die for real this time.
"Tell me now Nightshade or thou will face the ultimate punishment for breaking into My room! Tell me now!"
"I came here...*sigh* I can't lie to you my love, I came here looking for the key that leads to the Black Vault. I want my love back and I will stop at nothing to achieve that goal, I don't care if it leads me to my own demise but that is my own choice and I will carry it through till the end. So Princess...please tell me where the key is so I can return you to your true glory and rule Equestria...I will not ask you again because if I must...than it will not be the stallion that you fell in love with that will be in control, but the monster that was created by Ponyville."
"We are sorry Nightshade but We can not tell thou where the key is...so please leave us now, I will not ask thou a second time..." Luna said solemnly before preparing herself into a defensive stance, her horn pointing at me.
"Those that you call the darkness is your salvation through destruction, you have the attention of those that are infinitly your greater...I will defeat you even when you are in your weakened condition for you have failed in your goal to conquering Equestria together, theirfore we will find another way." my voice said litterally dripping with inky venom falling from my mouth before the darkness of the room consumes my body and transforms it into an alicorn of a smaller stature, a body created by shadows and darkness, a body that is now nothing more than pure hatred of all things alive.
Moments later the sounds of something crashing onto the ground followed by the sounds of a potted plant breaking, a loud yelp was later followed by another clatter of ceramic bits hiting the floor before silence filled the room as two Lunar Guards bash the door down and can ownly witness as a black beast dripping with shadows glare at the two intruding guards, exposing its fangs of pure darkness before fading into the floor and disappearing, leaving behind Princess Luna withering on the floor in pain and muttering incoherent words.
"Somepony get the medical staff over here now and somepony alert Princess Celestia that Princess Luna was attacked by an assassin...get every guard on high alert and seal off the city, do not let this assassin get away..."
Royal Archives, Starswirl the Bearded Section, 15 Minutes Later
"And that was how I found my fondess to chocolate." Sapphire said to Feather Touch as she was dusting a random book, seemingly not paying much attention to the fake Solar Guard as she was pre-occupied with cleaning the archives of dust and cobwebs until a dark blob formed on the floor and rose from the ground until it formed into a rough shape of a pony with a bent horn that looked like a nearly straight 'S' with two liquid like bat wings, both wings fading from view and the horn going back to a normal unicorn's horn as I reappeared in my true Eternal Guard armor.
My sudden appearence scared Feather Touch and when she saw my armor she almost screamed for help before I shoved my hoof into her mouth and knocked her out with a sedative spell that I had set up before I left for this castle. ""Sapphire Bloom, Greaves, you two go back to the Everfree Forest now before the city is sealed and shielded, our cover has been blown by Luna herself, she does not wish to be herself so we must go with the ritual...I will meet you back home so go now!" I shouted still giving off a cold sickly aura around myself, waking up Greaves and saying what I just said the quick and short way 'Shit has hit the fan and you two get your fat asses in gear and leave me behind'.
Before any of them tried to reject my plan I smack both of them hard in the flank, immediately they took to the air and flew out the windows and flied as fast and as hard as they possibly can towards the Everfree Forest, and just as they got over the palace walls my illusion spell faded off of them and our true cover was blown.
"What the Tartarus? I thought they were dead three days ago? All guards capture those bastards before they escape death again! On the double!" shouted a particular guardspony standing near the balcony of the royal guard barracks, my eyes fell upon him as he looked from where my friends exited from and looked right at me, and began a stare-off between us, our eyes not wavering in the twilight of the dawn until the faint rays of light broke out onto the skies forcing me to look away and retreat into the safety of the archives and to the entrance to the Black Vault, my destination and my salvation. The same guard that I was staring at galloped down the wooden stairs and out towards the palace with a small detachment of equestrian soldiers following him. As soon as the guardspony entered the archives it was eerie silent, the tall white unicorn looked around, he was wearing steel armor that was missing several parts that was worn by traditional guards, no leg protecters or helmets, his triple toned shades of blue mane was longer than standard regulations of the guards and as he strode into the archives the guards that was already there stood at attention. The guard in question was none other than Twilight Sparkle's older brother...Knight Shining Armor.
'Time to step up the plan...these guards will regret getting in my way.'
Hiding in the darkness of the archive I laid out faint traces of magical energy throughout the area, leaving those traces to be easily detected by the unicorn guards and by Shining Armor himself, said energy was all linked to hidden glyph's each of them ready to activate on my command. The guards along with Shining Armor separate and spread out searching for me, all of the guards pull out their weapons from their respectable sheaths and get into a defensive stance, ready for me to pop up, but they won't get that pleasure just yet.
"Everypony listen up, get your weapons ready and if you hear anything tell your partner about it and tell anypony else about it, we can not let this last one get away, by the looks that he gave me he was a unicorn and have most likely used a spell on them to evade easy detection by the newest guards, but whatever you do, do not engage this particular unicorn head on, wait for reinforcements to arrive, we do not know how powerful or how much magic he has stored up. yelled Shining Armor to all of the guards under his command.
Almost on cue a creepy voice was heard in the archive, the voice was dripping with venom and hatred that was long thought has never existed since the time of Discord's rule over Equestria before he was overthrown.
"Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
"How I Wonder What You Are"
"Up Above The World So High,"
"Like A Diamond In The Sky"
My voice suddenly being heard saying an old ponies rhyme was enough to quickly unsettle the nerves of the newest of the royal guards and send one of them into a nervous breakdown which he had to be slapped to snap out of it by his partner.
"When The Blazing Sun Is Gone,"
"When The Nothing Shines Upon."
"Then You Show Your Little Light,"
"Twinkle Twinkle All The Night."
As I kept singing the foal rhyme, more and more of the guards start to slowly shuffle back to the center of the archives, Shining Armor himself snorting in anger that his guards are scared of a single unicorn chanting a rhyme that he has heard when he was just a little colt. But to the rest of the guards a single unicorn that was back from the dead that has infiltrated the royal palace with only a gryphon and a pegasus as back up means they came here as spies or came here as assassins, either options were both trouble for them.
"Then The Traveler In The Dark,"
"Thanks You For Your Little Spark,"
"He Could Not See Which Way To Go,"
"If You Did Not Twinkle So!"
Just as the verse ended I roared from my hiding spot from on top of the hourglass in the middle of the room and tackle Shining Armor onto the floor knocking him off balance and onto a royal guard, knocking him out from his head hitting the stone floor suddenly. As quickly as I came I faded from sight as my body turned into globs of darkness and shifted into the dark crevices of the bookshelves and vanish. My voice returning to the room as the guards scramble to form a phalanx around their fallen captain and fellow guard.
"In The Dark Blue Sky You Keep,"
"And Often Through My Curtains Peep,"
"For You Never Shut Your Eyes,"
"'Till The Sun Is In The Sky!"
The darkness slowly started to fill the room as the magic that I left behind started to take effect, turning the sparse magic trails into actual black smoke that started to fill the room, slowly creeping towards sources of light and snuffing them out, candles and open lanterns quickly being extinguished, closed forms of light fending off the darkness revealing twisted broken forms of ponies, gryphon's, zebra's, even a dragon's form was seen by the guards. The twisted forms moving freely in the darkness but as soon as one entered an area with a source of sunlight, it slowly started to fall apart revealing nothing but magical tendrils and bones until fading from existence completely.
"Nothing but shadows and false images! This unicorn is just trying to scare us! We can easily beat him! Come on Everypony! Use your magelight spell so we can fend off this madness!" Just as he said that, a dark tendril of pure black magic reaches out from the darkest corner of the archives, grabbing the guard by the throat and yanked him into the darkness, only the sounds of a muffled scream was heard before it went silent with dread and fear. Moments later the guard slowly crawled out of the darkness but his armor was partially melted and whatever fur was exposed was burnt off and his hooves were cracked and chipped from whatever beatdown he has received, blabbering incoherent words and with his final breath died as black clouds of magic left his open mouth drifting back towards the others.
"As Your Bright and Tiny Spark,"
"Lights The Traveler In The Dark."
"Though I Know Not What You Are,"
"Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star..."
The last verse of the rhyme ended and the darkness slowly began to retreat back into the darkest corners of the archives, taking with them the magic that was lingering in the air and from the freightened guards, the darkness siphoning off of them as they huddled close to each other for protection from the beasts that was created from nothing but hatred, anger, and the darkness of ones heart.
"Is Everypony alright?" shouted Shining Armor as he slowly stood up from the floor, his body aching in pain from my surprise attack that left him with a dis-located shoulder and a painful headache. I wasn't prepared enough to fully tear off that leg, guess I gotta try harder next chance I get.
"Yea...most of us are alright, but Stone Wall is gone...when the darkness came out it grabbed him by the throat and dragged him in...we only heard his screams of pain and anguish before he crawled out...talking nonsense before dying...whatever that unicorn is it is not natural...we might be dealing with somepony that is using chaos magic...a pony that was a disciple of Discord..." said a guard that was obviously beyond scared-shitless at this point, even saying 'disciple of Discord' was enough proof that he fucking lost it.
"Do you know how much of what you just said was a load of horseapples?" said another guard, a mare by the looks and sounds of it, pretty little thing, green coat, orange mane with red stripes running down its length, her cutie mark was what looked like a few carrots but was in front of a banner of a larger carrot, my guess she was some sort of carrot farmer or something.
"Yea dude, really now a 'disciple of Discord'? You do know that he is still a statue out in the gardens and he won't be getting out any time soon, so whatever you just said did not make any sense." another guard said, a steel grey pegasus with a crossed cutlass over a wooden shield cutie mark. His voice filled with both fear for his life but caution about the darkness, he might prove as a useful spy if I can get to him.
"Really now....a disciple of Discord....I am not sure...if I should call...out horseapples on that....or give you a...reward for trying so hard. But anyways...good luck in trying to....stop me in my plans...foolish royal guards....the night shall last forever....and when Tartarus is full...the dead shall walk amongst...the living...." the dead corpse of Stone Wall spoke up from his position on the floor, his eyes glazed over black, his jaw moving up and down ever slightly from its half open position. The corpse slowly rose off the ground and sauntered over towards the living guards, who in turn raise their weapons at the deceased pony, fearing for the worst.
"Heed my words fools...the darkness shall cross this land....like a creeping plague that never ends....the night shall rule over this land....and only the moon shall be in the sky....soon all will love the glow...and embrace its cold loving embrace...now run and cower foals...because the night will last forever!" the corpse of Stone Wall spoke with our combined voice, leaving nothing out of it, two voices acting as one for a host with no will of its own. The corpse started laughing on its own will now, finally free from my temporary control and being brought back to life only to have his faint flickering flame snuffed out as he lets out a ragged cough before dying from the wounds and from the manipulation that I have done to his body.
In that moment of silence the darkness quickly returned back from the corners long enough to distract the guards to allow me to open the archives concealed doors, granting me access to the infamous 'Black Vault'.
Canterlot Archives, Black Vault, Twilight Apex of Dawn
The doors behind me seal shut as I stepped past the colossal midnight black doors, closing tightly behind with an ear piercing hissing sound as the double doors sealed up any and all traces of its existence only to leave behind nothing more than the night sky behind me, the stars on the walls and ceiling twinkling brightly at me, glowing a dull silver blue to illuminate the room. The entire room was cold as ice as my very breath itself formed a fog of warmth before being devoured by the bone freezing coldness of the room, the room itself releasing the cold in waves, chilling me to the bones as I moved deeper and deeper into the vault, looking at the artifacts that was left inside that was told to be to dangerous to be allowed to be seen by the common eyes.
The beauty of the room was beyond belief, the eternal night sky was all I can see in any direction, even looking behind me was nothing more than darkness with the sparkling lights of the stars, acting as my source of light and a guide in the black void of the vault. Trotting quickly down the path that is being illuminated by solar crystals on the floor, counter-acting the blissful darkness with its bright light, creating a pathway of solar light and lunar darkness, the perfect twilight of day and night.
"Now...where the flying hell is it! I mean first I barely find the stupid vault doors, then I find all of these worthless relics that I can not use without the proper magic, and now solar light in the void! Why must that sun tyrant ruin this perfect realm! Damn her to Tartarus...I need to find that armor...those shreds and armor is all I need to bring her back from the deep void...I will not stop till it is found." my darkened voice now nothing more than echo of its former tone, each word sounding like a deep growl with another of its kind speaking at the same time, double voice.
Looking at each artifact made me realize that once Nightmare Moon has returned she might know of what each of these do and will be extremely helpful when we go on the march to overthrow Celestia...if only I could tell if these are magically trapped. Turning my gaze from a mini-statue of an alicorn standing up at attention looking into the deep void of the room, not sure what this will do to me but I am willing to bet it is cursed in some way or form, and after a good time of my mind arguing with myself.
'Just take it and go, whats the worst that can happen?'
'Maybe this thing will turn us into an alicorn or turn us into a statue and we end up like Discord.'
'Ahh you are no fun...fine just take the strange looking gems, place them in a separate swag-bag and move on, honestly am I like the common-sense part of us?'
'No, you are the common-sense when dealing with common things, I am the common-sense when dealing with things that will rather grant us immortality or turn us inside-out and set us on fire in the process...in fact being set on fire right now will be bad since we do not know a water spell to put us out and no water in here means we will be nothing but ashes if anypony finds us...which is relevently impossible in here...'
'So no stealing of precious loot that might be cursed? No taking of royal swag?'
'No, we will steal some, just after we got the armor of Nightmare Moon, once we have it we will steal everything in sight as quickly as possible.'
'YES!'
After the mental battle was won in my favor of stealing from a royal pain in the flank I finally came across the very back of the vault, a large jet black ponyquin wearing a chest plate, comprised of grayish purple metal, with a turquoise crescent moon set in its center, horseshoes to match the chest piece, and an armored plate for the back of her neck. The final piece of armor, a helmet made of the same metal as the chest piece rests snuggly on the fake horn of the ponyquin's head. The armor of Nightmare Moon, resting peacefully on the fake alicorn and yet still has that aura of cold fear radiating from it, the remnants of her powerful magic. In all of its beauty it was right there, resting peacefully and yet it gave me the feeling of wanting to be free, wanting to get out of the coldness of the void I heard whispers in my head, whispers of freedom and promises of revenge against the ponies that destoryed my perfect world.
A whisper that I absorbed into myself, a promise to destroy is a promise to take lightly.
"Welcome...home...Nightshade..." the gentle whisper said into my ear, a calm whisper that promised everything that will be alright in the end of our conquest.
"Glad to be home, now lets get you back to our castle." I said back, grinning evilly before putting my armor away back into my enchanted bag, setting said bag down before taking off piece by piece the royal armor, and placing those piece onto myself.
"Now we are together....forever...make us whole again..." said the whisper, but this time this whisper was more soothing and seductive, and with each addition of the armor to my body it only got louder till it drowned out the noise of the crickets in the night and the chirping of the lunar birds.
Finally attaching the last of the royal armor, I know look like a near exact copy of Nightmare Moon except for height, wings, mane and correct eye color, other than I look just like her, and the strange part was that the armor fit just right, not even sure how but the feeling of ancient and powerful magic flowing through me was enough to make me aware that the vault door has opened up.
"Time to greet our guests..."
"Time to greet our guests..."
All Tartarus is about to break loose.
The Everfree Chronicles: Altered Chances
Chapter 5: Shadows and Echos
Play this song for this chapter, it sorta fits well into it.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=u2uubCz3uaA#!]
Canterlot Archives, Black Vault, Dawn
"SPREAD OUT! We can not allow this traitor to the throne to escape with anything of value inside of this vault! Every artifact in this room is priceless beyond comprehension! If this traitor was allowed to escape with any of them Celestia knows what could possibly happen to Equestria and beyond! So if you see him, beat him within every inch of his unholy life but leave him alive so he can be properly executed! The other two that escaped our reach are the same ones that were executed a week ago but came back to life! Do not let this one escape!"
"Yes sir!" all of the 20 royal guards said at once, their voice of approval of their captain's plan was overwhelming to the weak but to a pony that defied death twice, defied two royal princesses, and also gave lord of Tartarus an invisible middle finger if he had digits.
'Oh this is going to be so much fun!'
As the guards slowly spread out into the vault's interior, the chirping of the lunar birds died down as they phased out of existence at the presence of the guards slowly moved into their home, the noise of the crickets also died down as they winked out of the universe by the invading guards physical form, only to leave behind the echos of their iron-clad hooves on the stone floor and the shuffling of their armor.
The movement of the guards has also awakened my magic strings that I left behind, and with each step closer the guards make towards me, all the artifacts in the room slowly move out of their way to move closer to the walls of the edges of the vault, making room for the end.
The utter silence in the vault was unnerving to the guards as they slowly fanned out to search for me, and as a few walked by a large statue of an Ursa Major, I made a clicking noise with my hooves on the cold stone floor to get there attention, alerting the guards to come to the 'ponyquin' wearing Nightmare Moon's Royal Armor, only for them to gaze at it in shock and awe as all of the guards have never even seen a better Nightmare Moon replica, only for them to rear back in terror as the ponyquin moved ever slightly, the trap has been set.
"Sir I think we found something! The statue that is holding Nightmare Moon's armor slightly twitched!" one of the guards, Iron Hide said while holding his shield spell up against anything that the statue might use against him, or his fellow guards.
"Alright, all guards form up on me and keep an eye on that statue! Do not let it out of your sights and for Celestia's sake do not let this thing escape!" Shining armor shouted to the rest of the 15 guards that are not near the statue, three of the guards currently placing bets that they will all be killed when they get near me, another saying that they will all be turned into zombie ponies and be under my hoof of obedience. These ponies are so foolish that I will even do such a thing, zombies last only for so long before decaying away into nothing but bones, all life is precious but it is only precious if they have something worth fighting for, as for these guards, they have something worth fighting for but they are fighting for the wrong side for the right reasons, time for me to change their minds, and their hearts.
As they slowly got closer to me, a few of them drew their spears and pointed them in my direction, others raised whatever weapons they had or whatever spells they have prepared as their horns glowed an array of lights. All of them preparing for the worst.
'Come on...just a little closer...'
Just as they come up the first set of steps to my resting place, they immediately fan out around me, thinking that if I am surrounded by spears and magic that I will give up and go peacefully with them, well they are mistaken that I will go quietly into the night. One of the guards, a unicorn with a turquoise coat, lavender/blue mane and tail, and her cutie mark was a tower shield with the medical symbol as its emblem. A combat medic perhaps or maybe just somepony that heals others when they are in battle...she may have a use...
"Should we poke it to make sure it is actually a ponyquin or just stab it to make sure that if it was alive that it is no longer breathing? Just a thought since we might be falling into a trap?" said the mare, apparently she is called Anesthesia, a name that probably means she will put me down under if she manages to land a spell on me...might be a problem, but of course a problem that can be solved.
The trap has been triggered.
The moment the guards and Shining Armor step onto the last set of steps leading up to my resting place I use what little magic I can use without alerting the guards that the ponyquin was actually me, and what small amounts of magic that I can possibly use was actually worth the risk of getting caught. As one of the guards slowly prods my flank with a spear, the shaft of the spear slowly begins to corrode and melt away as he prods my left flank, noting that it was softer than what it should be before shouting that it was me.
The trap has been sprung!
In the moment of the guard backing up and shouting to the rest my eyes open up revealing its true colors of turquoise tinted red and amber shades, my eyes looking right at Anesthesia, and looking past her, Shining Armor. What happened next was literally a battle of life and death.
"Oh holy shit! Kill it! Kill it! Kill it with fire! Just fucking kill it!" shouted the guard that prodded me as his entire spear that was in his hooves exploded everywhere sending shrapnel of wooden splinters and molten metal globs onto nearby guards, sending them in mass confusion and hysteria.
For Anesthesia it was a nightmare, her comrades were screaming in pain from the splinters lodging into their coats and the molten metal giving them third degree burns and melting part of their armor from the intense heat.
For Shining Armor it was an ambush in which he ordered the guards to back away from me as I slowly began to move from the podium, my legs cracking from being stiff for only thirty minutes, the remaining guards following his command block off the only exit I had, but not the only entrance.
As I gaze at my enemies I slowly began with a low chuckle, growing louder in sound and intensity until finally it turns into a full-blown insane cackle as the room begins to shudder in fear of my insanity and fear for its own existence. My cackle comes to an end as I began to speak with my dual voice of my own and Nightmare Moon's.
"Hello my royal subjects, it has been far to long since I had any real fun since my last little battle I had with the Elements of Harmony and those pitiful mares! I bet you all think you can best me and that you will bring me to justice by the sword? But you are incorrect, you all shall die by my hooves and I will paint my red room back at the palace with your blood to make it even more red and I shall line your intestines all over the walls as decorations! Your bodies will make a nice ponyquin for my new royal attire and maybe your cutie-marks will make lovely napkins!"
"Hello my royal subjects, it has been far to long since I had any real fun since my last little battle I had with the Elements of Harmony and those pitiful mares! I bet you all think you can best me and that you will bring me to justice by the sword? But you are incorrect, you all shall die by my hooves and I will paint my red room back at the palace with your blood to make it even more red and I shall line your intestines all over the walls as decorations! Your bodies will make a nice ponyquin for my new royal attire and maybe your cutie-marks will make lovely napkins!"
The sudden outburst was enough to send a single guard to charge at me at full speed with a spear and shield raised up, thinking he can end this with reckless fear I respond by grabbing both spear and shield from his grip with my magic and to add insult to injury I hit him over the head with his shield to knock him off balance and tumble to my hooves before punting him with his spear like a golf ball. And just to be a jerk I yell out, "FORE!" the exact magical strength I put into that whack was enough to send him end over end into the rest of guards knocking down five of them, and as they scramble to get back onto their hooves, the guard that I punted stood up for only 10 seconds before his spear came back to him, but only to end his life as the tip of it impaled him in the throat as he gurgles up his blood, spewing it everywhere onto the cold floor as it freezes over upon touching it. The guard hastily tries to dislodge the lethal spear from his neck only to go into shock and die with a glazed over look in his eye, an image in his eyes was me, staring at right him with sadistic glee.
"Anypony else wants to play hero?"
"Anypony else wants to play hero?"
At once the five guards that I bowled over with the now deceased guard look at me then at the dead, then finally back to me, which in the time they were looking at me, I created two swords, both made of arcane energy, one sword was a basic dual-edged long blade made of silver/blue metal with my cutie-mark made onto the hilt, the other blade was none other than Nightmare Moon's sword, a large single-edged sword, a blade that was three feet long, serrated, and at each foot was a spike that extended slightly out of the blade to act as a sword-breaker.as the guards reform back into their staggered line I lick my blades and stare into the eyes of the guards who are in my way, my eyes piercing through them as if I was looking into their souls.
"So its treason than against your new king."
"So its treason than against your new queen."
As the guards slowly advanced up to me I start to laugh at their show of force, slowly my laughter turned into a low cackle until finally reaching the peak of insanity as it echoes throughout the vault, causing the room to vibrant and rumble under our voice. The guards were visibly shaken by my insane cackle but what really drove it home was the fact that I was going to enjoy killing them all.
After my cackle the guards all charged forward throwing their spears at me while shooting bolts of lightning at me while I stood still and took it all, the spears breaking upon hitting my armor and the bolts of lightning exploding upon contact and scattering traces of lightning everywhere, metal fragments clanging onto the floor and bouncing off the guards armor. Staring at them with eyes filled with unparalleled rage and insanity I slowly advance towards them as tendrils of pure darkness sprout out of the open parts of the armor and latch onto the five guards that tried to make their stand against the true king and queen of Equestria and failed.
Looking into the eyes of the guards I can see that they are all afraid of what is about to happen to them, their worst fears since joining the guards is about to happen. Dying by the hoof of another.
"You five have fought valiantly for your princesses...but for nothing you have fought for. You all fight the coming darkness that will embrace Equestria with its tender loving cold embrace, one that will bask in its glow of the moon, and yet you resist us...why? Do you desire to be slain by me or are you fighting out against the darkness because you fear what you do not understand...either way your lives are forfeit."
Starting with the first guard on my left, a deep emerald green coat with sandy mane and tail and red eyes, as I brought him close to my face he spat at me with malice that we did not deserve so he was the first to fall of the group of five. Removing all but one black tendril from his body we raised him above the floor and brought his body down upon the ground, and raised him up again only to slam him down, repeating the process numerous times until his body was broken and twisted, his mouth hanging open a bit as he tried to plea for mercy, mercy that he will not receive. Raising my sword I swung with only a portion of my strength as I cleave him in two below the rib-cage as his body starts to spasm out of control within my grasp, his voice calling out to his mother to end the pain as I swing my sword again to cut off his front-legs. His body now hanging limply within my grasp as he looks at me with his half-glazed eyes, his eyes begging for mercy, the same mercy that I was denied when I was only seven years old, but I will grant him mercy as I ripped out all of his organs that was still inside of his rib-cage. Immediately his eyes rolled over as his heart sat there beating on the ground until I crushed it under my metal-clad hoof as I look at the other four guards who were all pissing themselves out of fear for their own lives.
"Who is next?" I said while baring my fangs at them as each and every guard in the room now stare at me with hate and malice that would normally kill a regular pony, but I am no regular pony, not anymore.
The second guard brought to my face spits blood onto my face as he was close enough to try and bite me but I push him back and than with an idea so simple that came to my mind I just had to do it. Grinning ear to ear I set him down onto the floor as I splay out his legs, than with a swing of my sword I remove each limb until he is nothing more than a body with a head, his screams of pain and misery is like music to my ears as his screams slowly die down and turn into whimpers as I bring the other sword down upon him, cutting him cleanly in half the long ways, from muzzle to tail he falls in half onto the floor now slick with gore and blood.
Turning my gaze to the other three I smile evilly as I saunter over to them and as I do so they all flinch and try to wiggle their way out from my grasps, only making it worse as I tighten it around their bodies, slowly crushing their armor and their bones. Two of them stop as they feel the pressure increasing but one keeps thrashing and twisting, trying to break free which only made it worse on him as the sounds of metal bending, screeching under the extreme stress I am placing upon it until finally the sounds of bones breaking can be heard past the armor. The screams of pain came next as he felt his body being crushed by his movements, unable to stop thrashing the sounds of bones shattering and snapping from the now metal coffin that he is wearing now seals his fate as slowly squeeze the life out of him. The crushing grip of the tendril increases even after his brash movements have ceased, as I kept the pressure against him as blood starts to seep out from his mouth and the gaps of his armor until finally the loud snap of his spine can be heard as he goes limp within my grasp, sighing sadly that his torture was over to quickly but laughing as I threw his crippled body aside as he hit the side of a pillar, the partial scream of pain was a verbal bliss to my senses until I drew his sword against him and stabbed him in the heart to end it. The other 15 guards in the room just glare at me as I was standing there toying with their friends.
It was wonderful...
The other two that was left from the original five I decided to sit back and enjoy it this time. Letting my voice rumble out to meet them I said with a clear and yet venom filled tone, "Now that their are only two of you left, it is time to play a lovely game of 'Sole Survivor'. The rules of the game are simple. Kill the other pony before they kill you. If you do not wish to play than speak now so I can just gut you where you hang and watch your blood and organs fall down." after my little speech I dropped both of them and set up a wall of black flames separating them from the rest of the guards and throwing a two swords at the both of them and letting them decide their fate.
Watching the two for only two minutes until finally they both dove for their weapon and started to swing at each other in reckless fury and desperation as I sat on my haunches and laughing as the two swung at each other for survival, not knowing that whoever lives will be called a traitor by their own kin and I will simply teleport them to their new home. The loud clanging of metal-on-metal was brilliant and sharp as the two combatants charged, sliced, slashed and stabbed at each other to live and fight another day but knowing that I might kill them means they won't get that chance. After nearly ten minutes of the two fighting, it ended when the second guard, an earth pony mare, Rosary Mason, threw her sword at the other guard and when he was distracted, took that split second to crash into him and stomp repeatedly on his head with her hooves until his head popped like a grape within his helmet. The sickening crushing sound was heard above the audible gasps from the other 15 guards and Shining Armor as they watched the two guards fight each other and watched one stomp the others head into oblivion and without even looking back.
What came next was a blood bath for the guards.
As soon as she saw what she has done and looked to see the guards looking at her than back to Shining Armor, immediately they all charged forward except for the two medic mares that are standing near Shining, trying to provide any manner of healing spells to the guards but the injuries that they were receiving was beyond their capabilities to to heal or patch up within seconds.Rosary was busy trying to comprehend what happened until she took a spear into the side of her body, sending her into the floor and before she was killed by a sword to the throat I grabbed her with my tendrils and shoved her behind me and casted a barrier spell on her along with a lockdown spell to prevent her from escaping the shield I placed upon her. Staring back at the guards they now realized that they were fooled by me and that I was waiting for them to come closer and within my reach of my tendrils and magic glyphs that are scattered all over the vault floor.
Immediately after they noticed that they were being grabbed by my tendrils those that were still free from my grasp started to back up until Shining Armor charged past the glyphs and slammed right into my chest, knocking my flank down and making me roll over until my shadow wings popped open and stopped me in mid-roll, landing back on my hooves I charge back at Shining with both blades poised to strike as he brought his own sword up to block the strike. As the two of us strike at each other and our blades scraping by each other sending sparks and metal shards from his sword until finally striking hard enough his sword exploded and the concussive force was enough to knock him out. His limp body hitting the floor was a sign for the remaining guards to make their final stand and attack full force with all that are left, a move that costed them their lives and their bodies.
As the guards all charged at me with their spears poised to be thrown and their swords at the ready they all fell into line and formed a seemingly impenetrable line, only for it to be broken down in seconds as they step near the magic glyphs I laid down and get caught by the black tendrils that were sprouting out of the darkness of the room, and at my command the screams of the guards began a sweet symphony of cries of pain and screams of agony and with a wave of my hoof I directed this orchestra of ponies and cursed black magic. Waving my hooves around like a mad man I began to twist and turn the glyphs and tendrils to my will making them all tighten and squeeze the guards as their cries of pain grew louder and with a slight twitch of my hooves I gave them slack to have a temporary respite and as quickly as that recovery came I threw all of them on the stone floor hard enough crack their armor and any limbs that hit the floor first.
"So...all of you think you can stop me if you all just stand together. Do you really think that unity you all stand a chance against me? Your life is fleeting and your hopes of living are gone with the wind of despair." they all looked up at me with fear and hate in their bloodshot and teary eyes not knowing their fate as I slowly trotted up them, glaring down at them like the pathetic insects that they are. "My most foolhardy subjects, it saddens me to say that you all have failed your duty to Equestria by dying by Our hooves but your actions can be redeemed to Our eyes if you choose to join us, by joining us you spare your pitiful lives and the lives of your family as they will be watched over and protected by Us, as your duties to Equestria will be shifted over to the Everfree. If you think you can stop me than please get up so we can keep playing our little game, but if you know that you can defeat me than stay on the floor."
Ten guards slowly got up off their injured and broken hooves as they painfully got to combat stances and gave me leers of hate and disgust as the five on the floor just gave me eyes of anger and wrath that I have only seen on fouls that have lost their candy to a schoolyard bully. Those stares brought a smile to my face as I brought my swords to bear on the ponies that were still on the floor until my horn started to glow as it surrounds the ten guards and brought them over to me, each one giving me a confused and yet frightened look. Looking back at the five on the floor I saw that they were deceived and started to get off the floor to charge and skewer me on their swords but as soon as they all took a single step forward I bound them all in infernal black chains, as they try to shake the chains off of their legs the darkness slowly started churning and shifting around me until it spat out a beast of my past, the manticore that I killed.
"Hello Avreix...welcome back to the realm of the living...Come. Get your prey. They are waiting for you over their. Helpless prey that have been tenderized and are ready for consumption." I said while point over at the helpless guards that are now resorting to slashing at the chains hoping that their swords can chip the metal long enough to cause it to strain under pressure and snap, but their efforts are to no avail as each strike they make only brings them closer to their deaths. The shouts of those guards started to bounce off the walls as they tried to plead for their lives, pleading to spare them and pledging their allegiance to me. Those words fell on the ears of their former comrades and onto the ears of the shadow beast that is now sauntering over to his first meal in weeks.
"Oh Celestia...please....oh please spare us!" "Please! We will do anything for you! Please just spare us!" "Nightshade please! We are only following orders! We have nothing against you!" "I hope you burn in Tartarus for this!"
"Your words fall in deaf ears plebeians, as all your words will fall upon except your screams of pain and agony will linger on forevermore into the realm of Dusk and Dawn and the lands of the Void! Face your deaths will pride and courage you cowards! You still have your swords and your magic to fight this beast! Prove to me that you should be spared of your act of thinking that you can best Us and you will be spare of a grim demise!"
With those words ringing in their ears they all looked at the beast that was slowly approaching them from the front and gripped their swords and steeled themselves for a fight with a beast that is now nothing more than bones held together by dark magic and shadows, they all saw this beast and swallowed what little courage and honor they had left and waited for the end to come for them. As soon as Avreix came within striking distance the sounds of more beasts crawling out of the shadows slowly came to existence as more shadow manticores and timber wolves started to rise from the floor, each one pitch black with eyes red as the smoldering flames of Tartarus itself.
"Did you really think that I will allow you traitors to join me? You five all thought you can easily slay me and with your arrogance laid low and allowed these ten to be taken away hoping that they would have died and you be spared, but I worded it just right to the point where if you had stood up against me you still have the strength in your hearts to obey me, your princesses have forsaken you all and now you five shall pay for your failure with your lives! Beasts! It's feeding time!" with that shout the packs of shadow wolves and manticores moved onto their prey.
A guard was grabbed by two manticores as they fought over their tasty meal, hoping to get the largest chunk of pony flesh as he was torn in half by the pairs of claws gripping into his coat and leaving bloody trails leading away from the chains as screams of agony and pain filled the air until he breathed his last and died knowing that he has failed his county. The next guard to die was fighting with abandoned honor and swung at everything that moved even if it was the upper half of a guard being dragged away, his wild swings only earned him a few seconds of life before four wolves saw their chance and all jumped onto him as his blade was recovering from a wide slash, he was torn apart in seconds as the wolves fought over the juicy pieces of pony meat. Next to give their soul to the void was a mare that was trying to use magic to teleport away to safety but instead had her horn bitten off by a small hydra as the other four heads bit into her body tearing chunks off along with pieces of her armor in which they swallowed whole until they finally started to tear at her organs, she only lasted a minute till her heart was ripped in half and was eaten by two heads of the young hydra. The other two guards that were left were back to back to each other as they stabbed and slashed at the beasts that have killed their friends and ate their corpses as the last survivors watched in horror and anger that they were helpless to save them. They just looked at each other and before they started to keep swinging at the enemy one of them had their lower jaw ripped off by the stinger of a manticore while the other had his eye blown out by the other manticore's tail, going through his skull and coming out the other eye, both dying near instantaneously as their bodies were torn apart.
"Fools...now." turning my back to the shadows feasting on their lifeless bodies "You two mares...you both cowardly stayed back while the others fought and died to keep everypony safe from me, but you two. You both just stood their scared for your lives, therefore I have no use for you..." as soon as I began to trail off the beasts turned their heads to the pair, both of them holding each other in an embrace that they prayed that would protect them from evil. "P...p...please...just...s..s..spare us....." "I don't wanna die...I don't wanna die...I don't wanna die!" Music to my ears. I grinned at them as I waved my hoof at the beasts who started to advance onto the pair until they slowly disappeared into the Void and leave behind puddles of blood, chunks of flesh and bones.
"Your words have swayed me...you two shall be spared...at a price....and I know of what you two are capable of doing...so be expected to carry out those tasks to the letter and if you can do those than you shall be spared." I smiled widely at them, the smile that was filled with dagger pointed fangs and teeth that scared the pair even more until I finally brought them over with my magic, encasing them in a bubble and placed them alongside with the other eleven ponies that gave in to my demands. "Now, that you thirteen are now with me, I shall send you away to my palace in the Everfree, but for Captain Shining Armor...I have a surprise for him...he..he he...he he he he...ha ha ha ha...ha ha ha Ha Ha Ha HA HA HA HA HA!" my laughter filled the vault as my horn started to glow a miasma of colors varying from my silver to Nightmare Moon's dark purple and every shade of both as all thirteen teleported away from the vault and into my home.
As they disappear from the vault the tall tell signs of moaning can be heard from within the center of the room, the moaning of a pony that had just had his his body shocked and was on the verge of falling down with what little strength he had left.
"Ready for your date Shining Armor? We wouldn't want to see you away from your duties...so...I will leave you with a little gift from me to you...you see...your little sister Twilight Sparkle...she is...such a lovely mare." I said while slowly circling his crumpled form, his attempts of getting onto his hooves to fight me are dashed as I kick out his legs beneath him forcing him back onto the ground. "Your little sister is such a grown mare...she has the beauty that can catch any stallion or mare of her choosing...she can easily get whatever she wanted...if she only strives to it and yet she squanders her gift of beauty for knowledge." as I kept speaking he just glared at me with each passing word about her sister and of the things I was describing her as, "Dear little Twilight Sparkle...she was such a lovely mare that she is...I was watching her when she came to Ponyville all those days ago...I sensed that she was our dearest Solar Tyrant Celestia's top student, and as she was her student I was Nightmare Moon's student. Complete opposites of each other and yet drawn to one another..." with each circle around Shining he slowly began to feel weak and tired, his energy slowly training from him. "Your sister is weak and pitiful...she has no friends to call her own until they forced their ways into her life and made her into their friends. If it was not for those five mares the night would have been eternal and Nightmare Moon would have became Queen of Equestria! As she should rightfully be so and yet they bested her with those Tartarus damned Elements of Harmony!" my rage started to flare as I stomped on his tail and lashed out at him with the blunt part of my sword, "But it does not matter...soon...the Everfree will be true to its word and every corner of Equestria will be free from the tyrant and her little sister's weakness! Soon all of Equestria will bask in the loving glow of the moon and every single pony will love Nightmare Moon as they should have a thousand years ago! But for now...we must return to our home...but for you...I have plans for you...now..." as I was talking I pulled out a very large carrot out of a saddlebag that I had prepared for this occasion, "You are only going to hate me for doing this but, I am sure that mare you are dating will think twice before asking you out again....now...sleep."
"No...I..I must be strong...for Twilly...for Princess Celestia...for Equestria..." Shining's eyes start to falter as the sleep spell starts to take effect on him, making his response slow and slightly sluggish.
"No. You will not stay strong, in fact you will stay weak until we face each other again, and by than I will have an army with me to take Canterlot and smack it out of their little hooves. But for now....SLEEP!" and with that his will finally caves in as he falls asleep into a magic induced comatose state.
"Hehehehehe....perfect!" I said as I moved over to his rear and lift his hind legs up, moving his tail out of the way, I smirk evilly as I levitate the carrot over to me as I cover it in a simple water spell to get it wet. "Think of this...as a parting gift, and revenge on Celestia's behalf. And I know you will enjoy this plenty." I quickly shoved the carrot up his ass and with enough force that he his legs buckled and fell over, quickly hiding the deed by moving his tail back where it was and for the next step of my twisted revenge I cover his body in poison joke leaves and sticky tree sap, grinning one last time before pulling out my bag and going over to the artifacts that line the walls of the vault I began to pillage and plunder away taking what I want and taking what I know of, occasionally laughing at Shining Armor as he rolls around in the sap and poison joke.
Finishing my plunder of Equestrian Royalty treasure I step over to the vault door and slowly pushed it open and found that I was surrounded by Celestia's elite guard and Celestia herself.
"Did you miss me cutie?"
"Dear sweet sister...I missed you, but did you miss me?"
Our response was a barrage of spears being thrusted at us as it just phases through us as it painlessly does nothing to our incorporeal form.
"By the authority embodied within me, you two are to be banished to the moon for the rest of your days for actions against Equestria and her people...any last words Phantom and Nightshade."
As I stare at her I begin to laugh as she calls Nightmare Noon a phantom, she has no idea that she is still alive.
"Yea I got a few things to stay to you, you royal pain in my flank. Why won't you just take that large shiny crown of yours, turn around, lift that pretty tail of yours, and shove that so far up your tail hole that you can taste the metal on your tongue!" with that rude remark she blasted a bolt of arcane energy at us only for it to miss entirely as we stay in our ghost form. "Surprised Celestia? We are in the realm of the Twilight Skies. You can not harm us..and we can't harm you...but we can most certainly harm your guards!" and with that I pulled out my two swords and cut through the first three guards in front of me as I bolt for the closed window and smash through it to take to the skies with my new wings and fly away to the Everfree Forest.
"Nightshade...when we return to the palace...can...can you sing me a lullaby to me?" said my queen in her sweetest form of innocence. Her innocence that I can not say no to because she is my queen and her lover, a lover that will never do anything to sadden her.
"Yes my sweet Moon...how about the lullaby I stole from Celestia's diary?"
"You are the best Nightshade...my gleaming Nightshade..."
"My lovely Moon....what is the music of life?"
"The music of silence dear Poison, a music that we will play at Celestia's funeral when she lies dead by our hooves."
And what a glorious funeral that will be...
The Everfree Chronicles: Altered Chances
Chapter 6: Deceptive Plans
Everfree Castle, Nightmare Moon's and Nightshade's Chambers, Midnight
After placing the armor of Nightmare Moon on the bed I covered it up in the finest of blankets the castle had to offer, and singing the stolen lullaby to her was a beautiful sight to behold when her spirit was laying in her armor trying to retain her form while fighting to stay out of the spirit realm.
Looking her over I saw that as long as she was weakened she could not do anything to stop anypony from harming her, so a plan must be made to ensure her survival...and my own.
"Good night my little queen, for the next night shall bring with it a glorious sky filled with the stars that you have created and with the moon that shall be the sigil of our reign." I bowed as I left the room, making sure our new guests were comfortable in their new home for the rest of their lives.
Trotting down the hall I saw that the darkness from the halls sprang to life and animated the old suits of guard armor that was lining the walls and at the passing of each set of armor they all saluted me with the armored skeletal shadow hoof as each one stared at me with their glowing red orbs, each suit of armor a shadow of a former pony that moved onto the afterlife that swore service to the Nocturnal Queen...now they come back knowing that the night shall last forever.
Nodding at each one I moved silently into the Guards Barracks and saw that each of the new ponies that I have 'recruited' are shaking in place as four of the shadow guards are standing at attention with their spears pointing at them incase they tried to escape. I waved them off and told them to wait outside until further ordered, they saluted and marched out without emitting a single sound, true professionalism.
Slowly walking past each one I looked into their eyes, looking for their fear, their dread that if they tried to back out of it now that they will know that they will be put to the sword and meet a fate worse than dying by a blade. Staring into their eyes I also saw that they are afraid that if they died now than their families might suffer a similiar fate or that they could actually do better than the Solar and Lunar Guards and do the things that they couldn't do. Satisfied with my looking I turned to all of them and motioned for them to sit down, half of them did, the rest just stood there, waiting for me to say something.
Clearing my throat I spoke loud enough for all of them to hear my words and to know my anger against them.
"Welcome new recruits...you have betrayed your country and your throne to serve Us, you should know that if you back out now that you will be killed, maybe not by me or maybe not by the pets of my forest, but by the blades you once stood by, the blades of Equestria will strike you down if you back down from your new post. You now serve the Queen and King of the Eternal Night, Myself and Nightmare Moon. Follow our commands to the letter and you shall be spared from out wrath along with your families, disobey them and you shall know pain on an entirely new level. Are we clear with each other?" I said while eyeing every single pony in the room, Greaves and Sapphire were standing behind me while smirking at the rest of the recruits.
Turning my gaze to my two friends I smile and nod at them, "My friends...I have succeded, I have the armor and most of their ancient relics, take the bag to the vault and drop it off onto the alter. It will do the rest, and do make haste, I want you two here to train the new recruits while I tend to our undead comrades." they both smiled at me as they raced off to see who is the fastest of the two, hearing them yell at each other.
"Move it featherbrain! You have no chance against this gryphon!"
"So says the peckerface that couldn't even handle a mare in bed!"
"Why you little! Get back here you whore and say that to my face!"
I suppressed a deep chuckle as I heard the two bolt down the corridor down toward the vaults to secure our new prizes, turning my head I saw that one of the recruits, a dark blue mare that went by the name Corrosive, was looking at me with a blank stare the entire time, a stare that had a sparkle or a glint to each pass I made around my recruits until I saw a flash of green in those brown eyes of his before it went back to normal. Thinking of it nothing more than a trick of the light I than began to instruct them of their new roles.
"Listen up and listen well recruits, this training is alot worse than the one up in Canterlot. This regiment will drill you to the bones and to your very core, if you fail this it will kill you and I will be there to watch it happen. So train hard, rest when you can, and if you break a hoof or a leg, snap it back in place and keep going since the magic in the training room will fix it immediately." I sat down on a cushion before yelling out, "Master Joint Breaker! Train these maggots till they drop from exhaustion!" and with that a spectral pony rises from the stone floor and bows to me before he began to bark orders at the ponies, all of them scrambling to get up and to get into formation before the drills began. Their scrambling was amusing and once again made me smile before I wiped it away before any of them saw it.
Quietly leaving the room I stroded down the halls before I met up with Prism and Pylon, both of them now mostly alive than dead but their skin still was grey and had the faint scent of decay amongst them. Quickly looking them over I moitioned them forward until they were within ear shot. "Prism...Pylon...I have a mission for the two of you...I need the two of you to find us more recruits for our army...we both know that the Solar and Lunar Guards outnumber us ten to one....even with our shadow soldiers they are still weak to the light and that they are limited to certain areas. If you have found a pony that meets our requirements drop off a letter at their homes and resume duties, we need as many ponies, gryphons, diamond dogs, and other beings that exist out there...I don't care how you manage it just get it done. Are we understood?" they looked over at the letters and grinning darkly they nodded before leaving me alone again in the room. Turning quickly I exited the small quarters before entering Beatrix's chambers, the room is filled with odd objects that confuse me, voodoo dolls line one of the walls as one of them was covered in glass casings filled with perfectly preserved body parts from many species that I know and don't know.
Taking a deep wiff of the air I smelt something most odd and at the same time most foul, the scent of decaying meat and lavender oils, like someone was trying to mask the smell of something dead with the odor of a fragrence most sweet and strong. To me it was an experiement that was in mid-process and that if I honked this up than I would have to deal with an angry mare that would never stop complaining to me if I did ruin something. Gingerly taking a step into the room I heard the sounds of whispered chatter until the yelp of somepony getting stabbed
"Beatrix...when you are not to busy putting together whichever of our undead friends back in one piece, I need to speak with you." my voice echoed in the room as if it was an expansive cave, even though it felt like it since the bloody room was converted from an old storage chamber to one of scientific endeavers and the occasional madness-induced laughter.
What would have been two-to-five hours of waiting has actually turned out to be five minutes of me trying to figure out what this lever does on the wall, not once have I seen it there or not once even build the thing, following my gut instinct I placed my hoof on it to see if it was rigged, it wasn't, slightly putting pressure on it to move, it snaps in half like a twig. Quickly looking around I throw the broken lever near a box of...unmentionables...I would have to later ask her why that box is even inside the science lab.
"Yes Master Umbraspark...what is it, you were lucky to catch me fixing up that idiot's head, he did a sharp turn and nearly snapped the bloody thing off at the base of his neck...I almost had to use tape to keep it on since we nearly ran out of stichings and thread." Beatrix said while whipping the blood and dark ooze from her head with a towel, not even wanting to know what some of those fluids on her head were...
"Beatrix...I would question what you two were doing...but for now I have a request for you..." I said while passing over to her a letter, and as soon as she opened it a large devil grin forms on her muzzle.
"Ha ha ha ha, this I can do, this and more! Master Umbraspark how much time do I have to be able to create this formula and get it test ready?" she said with a glimmer of scientific brightness in her eyes.
"You have two months...after that it must be ready for the Gala...we will show ourselves to them on their most special of days...and when we do, they will know that the night will be respected and loved...or they will suffer for their insolence." and with that I got close to the door before turning my head back and coughing a bit. "You know...that box of dildo's near the boxes of limbs is never a good place to hide them...hehe...seems like you need a stallion real bad, maybe when you are done patching those two up you can probably get them to be alive again. I bet they would love to see how warm you are hehe." I said until a large butcher knife flew by my head and embedded itself into the wall followed by three more and an axe.
Closing the door I return to the barracks and to my eyes was a wonderful to sight to see.
Every single recruit was passed out tired on the floor while Greaves and Sapphire were positioning all of them in different, sometimes funny, and from what I just saw Greaves do to the two mares, sexual positions.
"Greaves...don't mess with the recruits like that. We are giving them a chance to worship the night, not have them rutting each other to wits end. Put those two back where they were...you can mess with them later." his groan of annoyance was followed by a loud smack as Sapphire hits him upside the head. Music to my ears.
Ponyville, Umbraspark Residence, Midnight
"Now Scootaloo, we know you are trying to learn how to fly but is chasing that mare Rainbow Dash really going to help you fly? You should be like your step-brother Storm Kicker and be constantly practicing and flapping your wings. Not to be rude Scoots but...your wings are small as a foals...they should be larger at your age." said an older mare resting on the sofa in the living room.
"But..but I have been practicing...its just...they haven't been growing is all...I can barely hover...its just not fair." a small orange filly said while looking down at the ground, her eyes red from crying and from a few bandages all over her legs from a fall.
"Ha ha! Scoots is a grounded pegasus! I was right!" said a colt that was flying over the orange filly's head, teasing and laughing at her.
"Storm! Apologize to her right now!" said the older mare, yelling at the young colt.
"Fine. Sorry Scootaloo...chicken" the colt said while still flying around room.
"Now Scootaloo, go to your room it is way past your bedtime." the older mare said, her voice sounded disappointed.
"Yes mother..." said the filly as she slowly shuffled her way to her room.
As Scootaloo got to her room she slammed the door shut and locked it by pushing a drawer in front of it, keeping it closed to anyone wanting to get in. In the few weeks she has been in her new room but to her it still felt that it belonged to the only pony that knew what she went through in life, and actually showed any signs of care for her. The pony that rescued her friends and herself while putting himself on the line to keep them alive and prevented them from being turned into a meal for a rampaging manticore. Her older brother.
Sighing sadly she climbs onto my bed and lays down on the pillow, sad that I was sent to prison to be executed just for trying to help some mare with her plan, but even she wanted to know what it would be like if the night did last forever. Would there be school or would it be canceled, would it be cold or still be warm? So many questions are buzzing around her head that she didn't notice that the lamp in her room slowly dies down until it is dark. Reaching her hoof to the lamp she finds that it is encased in a dark barrier made of inky smoke, and as she tries to figure out what is going on she felt a presence behind her and as she was about to scream she stops herself when she recognizes who it was.
"Big brother!" was all she said before she pounced ontop of me, actually knocking me off balance and onto my back.
"I came to check on you...I heard a bit of what my family said...your wings are too small...they need to grow but because of what you had to go through...never had the proper training..." I said as I gently poked her wings, making them slightly make a flittering noise as they tried to get away from my hoof.
She looks down at her hooves as I said that her wings were too small, and I hear a small sniffle come out of her.
"It's true....what everypony says is true...I can never fly...my wings are so short they can barely even lift me up...I will never fly..." she begins to cry as she curls up into a ball and tries to cry herself to sleep.
"Do not cry my little Scoots...just because you can not fly at this moment does not mean you can not fly in the future....believe in me Scoots...on your birthday...come to the Everfree Castle...I will have your present for you...and you will fly...with me...and Rainbow Dash....anypony you want to fly with...just do not cry...do not show anypony weakness...you are strong and brave...you must be both for your friends...." I heard the sound of hooves knocking on the door, and quickly glided over to the door, moving the drawer out of the way but leaving the door locked.
"Scootaloo...do not tell anypony that I was here....everypony but Celestia and Luna believe that I am dead...do not tell anypony about me..." she nodded before going to the door, about to unlock it, she turns to look at me and I was already gone.
Canterlot Castle, Throne Room, Morning
"Lt. Moonbloom....what is the status of Captain Shining Armor." said the solar princess from her throne, looking down at the temporary replacement for the Captain.
"Well...he is recovering...but he is pretty bucked up ma'am...whatever Nightshade done to him....he broken something from within...it will take a while...maybe a few months....I don't know."
"Than until the Captain gets better I hereby place you as the new captain. You are in charge of Equestria's defenses, and during any events with the elite of Equestria, you are to be by my side, schedule the patrols and routes, and ensure the safety of everypony. Am I understood Captain Moonbloom."
"Yes your majesty." she bows and is waved off, to start her new role.
On her way to her room she stops by to check up on Shining Armor, and just by taking a peek she can see what the traitor has done, all of his legs are broken, his horn cracked, his body damaged, almost completely wrapped up in a cast.
She shakes her head and sighs, goes on her way and finds her new chambers, nods at the two guards at their post, goes into her room and locks the door behind her. As soon as the door is locked she quickly moves to the desk, pulls out a scroll, ink and a quill, and starts writing down.
From: Captain Moonbloom Solis
My friend, it has been a long time since we have spoken or seen one another, and it is good to know that everything is going well on your end of your life. You have done much to make us proud and even more to ensure that everything that was planned will go well and without any hinderance. I have been promoted to Captain of the Guard until Shining Armor is fully healed and back on his hooves, and to what he has done to him will ensure that will not happen until after the Gala is long over, we can move ahead with our plans.
Your Most Loyal Servant
Moonbloom Solis, Child of the Night
"Send this letter out at once Private Smiles, to Ponyville."
"Yes captain."
Ponyville, Mail Center, Afternoon
It was almost lunch time in Ponyville Post Office, the workers slowly troted over to the town's local eateries, seeing what would fancy them for their mid-day meal until one worker was called into her boss's office for one last deliever.
"Ditzy, we have an express letter that came in a few minutes ago, sent all the way from Canterlot, and I need you to take this letter and give it to the pony who is on the recieving end. You got it?"
Ditzy on the otherhoof, did not get it, her eyes were looking at two different directions until she saw the seal on the letter, and in an instant it flashed from the golden seal to the dark grey seal before going back to gold. She nodded rapidly before taking the scroll and jumping into the air and taking it to the proper pony.
The mailmare was not used to flying into the Everfree Forest unless the letters were for the town's local zebra who prefered to live out in the forest than with the rest of the ponies, but the instructions for the letter says otherwise and without even blinking properly, she does a quick corkscrew before landing near a randbom stump, placing the letter on it, and than flying off, not even knowing why the directions says to leave it at that stump.
A few minutes later a shrouded pony comes up to the stump, picks up the scroll and undoes the seal, reading it quickly before looking up and reading it again, finally understanding the letter he begins to laugh to himself, laughing like the crazy pony that I am, in all very crazy at this point.
"Yes...excellent....soon...three months the Gala...hehe...good work my minion...Moonbloom...you shall be rewarded once this is over...for now...let us celebrate."
In three months, the shadows and the night will rise...forever.
The Everfree Chronicles: Altered Chances
Chapter 7: A Dark Knight to remember
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."
The Everfree Chronicles: Altered Chances
Interval 2 Chapter 8 Chaos in bloom
"We may be through with the past, but the past ain't through with us." - Nightshade
As the sun slowly crept its way into my chambers from the crack in the door leading to the balcony, the small rays of light land on my face, mainly my eyes as the blinding irritation slowly gets on my nerves until I finally yawn myself to partial alertness as my eyes open up just a crack to get blinded by the sun. I grumbled as I rolled out of bed before going around to give a light kiss on the cheek as Nightmare Moon cutely mumbled before moving the covers to cover her eyes from the sun.
Moving over to the slightly open door, I moved the handle till it closed all the way and sighed as I felt like utter crap, the sun already on my nerves for waking me up rudely as I slowly moved at a snails pace toward the kitchens for a helping dose of 'wake-me-up' elixir of black coffee.
"I'd settle for a few castings of revitalizations with a side of snuggles from Moon if we ran out of coffee already..." grumbling more as the sun creeps its way into the halls from the slimmest of cracks and each ray of light only makes the march worse and worse as my irritation gets to its breaking point.
"Horseapples....what a headache....this is what Celestia must feel like after she gets through with the upstart nobles that come up to her for their stupid requests...." I said as I trotted past the barracks with a few guards walking in and out as the posts are swapped out for the day.
"Hey Nightshade how-" Greaves said as I watched him for a moment stretch himself out as his wings flutter open knocking off loose feathers from his wings.
"Can't talk." I said as I rounded the corner and resumed where I left off, "Need Coffee."
As I find myself to the kitchens I smiled weakly as the coffee pot is resting in its holster, filled to the brim with rich black energy, just begging to be placed in a mug to be drunk. And just as I got to the pot I smelled something foul and revolting but I paid it no heed as I levitated my favorite '#1 Pony' mug and poured myself a mugs worth of the dark liquid and when I took a sip I gagged and placed both the pot and mug down on the counter.
"Gah! Oh, gods, what the hell kind of crappy coffee is this? It tastes like someone filtered this with an overly sweaty gym sock!" I shouted as one of the guards came over to see what it was and he found what was the cause and showed me the box the coffee came from.
"Is this really what the zebra's really drink? Damn this is rank, but it sure as buck forces the consumer to wake up...now I need to spend the next thirty minutes cleaning the taste off my tongue...."
Later That Day
"Okay class that is enough, let us move on with the class lesson." Mrs. Cheerilee says aloud as her class reforms itself and follows after her, the three fillies in the very back continue to argue about what the last statue was about, not once regarding their squabbling being the key to its occupant's release.
Watching the class walk away from the statue I made my way over to it, disguised as a janitor and picking up pieces of paper and other trash that I find with a sharpened stick and placing the collected trash in a bag for disposal as my thoughts are currently directed at the statue of the infamous Discord, the friend of my father and sadly my uncle who never showed up at any of my birthdays.
Walking up to the statue I can see a few cracks are randomly spaced out, my eyes tracing a few of the cracks and to my surprise they started to expand and grow and eventually I heard the tall tell sign of criminally insane laughter in the darkest corner of my mind and it was only than did I hear his voice for the first time.
"Ah haha haha haha haha, yes finally, my imprisonment is so close to being over! And do we have here? A janitor pony picking up garbage for another ponies pleasure in a clean garden, oh why would you even do such a thing?"
"Yes, obviously I am doing this for those stupid ponies no, I am doing this as a means to an end, and you Discord, is my end."
"And just who are you my little cleaning pony would believe that I would help you?"
"Because I am your nephew Discord, my god don't you ever remember anything about what my father has told you? I swear your mind must be filled with nothing but candy and cheese doodles all the time." I shouted as the statue of Discord started to crumble before my eyes and before long it completely disintegrated into dust and standing before me was Discord in all of his chaotic glory.
Watching Discord stretch after his long time stone imprisonment, and watching another dude stretch and contort his body in different shapes forced me to avert my eyes as I realized that the both of us were standing in the open and that at any moment Celestia would appear to see that Discord is free and more than likely sense my magic signature and probably tear me apart with her mind so this was the worst possible moment for me.
"Uncle, its time for us to go, I rather not stay in one place longer than I need to and that you are now free we can now overthrow Luna and Celestia to take over Equestria for ourselves." I said with a deep evil grin and my uncle, who my father regarded as a trusted friend looked down at me before laughing insanely before teleporting off, leaving me behind and nearly getting caught by a small contingent of guards that came over to find the source of evil laughter to find an empty garden and a missing statue surrounded by rock bits, which leaves me hiding inside a bush to avoid getting caught.
Poking my head out of the bush and taking a quick glance around and seeing that the coast is clear I clambered out of the bush and brushed myself off of the dirt, twigs and leaves from my mane and janitor's jacket. Thinking that I am home free I started to make my way out and around the castle gardens, hoping to avoid detection by the solar tyrant and her poor misguided sister and any other unicorn that knows about detection magic.
Trotting at a normal pace I came to the front gate and simply walked out like I owned the place, smiling to myself as I felt the weight of the world get lifted off my back and before long I was halfway into Canterlot when I saw the train pull up into the station and out came Twilight Sparkle and her motley crew of friends, all of them galloping past me towards the castle, my guess is that they will use the elements of harmony on Discord to seal him again, and seeing how they were running with all possible haste I can tell that watching them try will be enjoyable and with that I made my way back home to grab a few things.
2 Hours Later
Placing my lawn chair down on the ridge alongside the one I placed for a certain someone followed by my telescope, a cooler filled with soda, sandwiches, and even a champagne bottle for if what I am thinking happens and the elements of harmony are rendered permanently useless. Taking my seat down on my chair and casting a glance at the ghostly form of Nightmare Moon, a pair of ghost sunglasses resting on her muzzle as she relaxes and sighs happily as we both watch Celestia talking to the girls, I think explaining who Discord is and what he is capable of, but when she stopped and took an assertive stance I only let out a mocking laugh and zoomed in onto the moving window piece that is Discord working his magic. The way he is messing with their little heads is priceless and just watching it all happen is one hell of a way to enjoy a day that will mark as a preemptive victory for us.
Putting my eye to the lens to see what was going on I smirk evilly as I watch the spectacle unfold before me. "Oh honey look, they are heading to the hedge maze now....wonder what they are...okay I see them talking.....they just lost their horns and wings....and now they just got separated by hedges...wow good job Discord." clapping my hooves together happily as I watched the six mares rush off down the path before them, laughing a bit as they all hit dead-ends and only become more and more lost in the hedge maze. Discord on the other hand is no where to be seen and only after looking up and down the garden area and the exterior of the castle did I make a mental note that Discord is the master of hide-and-seek so actively searching for him would be redundant and a waste of time.
"Hmm it seems that yokel of a mare has fallen for one of Discord's tricks."
"Really? Where is Applejack located?" turning my telescope to where my lovely pointed to, and with the assistance of having her hooves gripping my head and tilting it a bit to finally find Applejack, I started to laugh as three piles of different colored apples started to dance around and talk. "Oh this is rich! Of course she would fall something like that!"
As the mares continued their galloping and eventually turning against their true self by Discord's chaotic magic, we laughed and smiled with sadistic glee that our enemies, the only ones that could truly stop us were turning on one another and it was soon enough that only Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle remained their true selves.
"I can't believe Rarity believes that giant rock is a diamond! Oh ho the generous is now the hoarder, the truth teller is the spontaneous liar, the happy-go-lucky, downright rude and the shyest mare on the planet is a raging bitch! Can this day get any better!" I said with evil glee and it was at that moment did something happen. A grey blur flew past us at breakneck speeds leaving behind a grey rainbow and an overturned umbrella.
"Well...looks like those mares lost. The elements are now useless against us and Discord, which now means we can not be stopped just short of getting killed, but we both know that Celestia and Luna don't have it in themselves to go that extra step...but we do." smirking to Moon as the hedge maze collapsed on itself steadily revealing the five mares and Discord in the middle of a large dirt bowl.
Taking the telescope around and zooming in I smiled as he started talking to them, his lips moving and just from reading Twilight's facial expression of shock and utter defeat told me that she made a mistake and when I looked back at Discord he pulled out an umbrella for some strange reason and upon opening it the fabric unfolded inside-out and that was when things started to get weird.
Large pink clouds rolled in out of no where and it started to rain chocolate milk and that it was constantly switching from day to night and back to day every five minutes told us that this was not part of the plan for us both.
"Uh....Discord shouldn't be doing that.....Equestria is ours to rule not for him to turn into his little.. ..oh...my.. ...bucking... .....god............" I said quietly as my eyes fell onto the sight of my beloved Everfree Forest transform into a complete and utterly sugary abomination.
"DISCORD! Nightmare Moon yelled as she got covered in chocolate milk rain and turned her partial ghost silhouette into a muddy colored illusion.
"DISCORD!" I shouted as I watched my forest turn into a candy cane monstrosity as every single tree trunk went from hard oak and yew to mint-flavored candy cane with chocolate chips as the leaves.
I grabbed the a rag that was under the umbrella at the time of the chocolate shower and levitated it over to Moon who was busy sulking on her lawn chair, clearly unamused by what Discord just did but she can clearly see the raging inferno going on in my eyes and she can only sigh and shake her head sadly, pitying Discord for what I am about to do to him.
"Nightshade...sweetie...what are you thinking of doing to Discord?"
"He just messed with my home...I allowed him to remain free because of the distractions I created to give him time to set up, I told him that we can stay at peace as long as he doesn't do anything that would ruin my plans and yet he does it anyways....this is where I draw the line. Go back to the castle and wait for my return...and expect a cream pie to be slammed on my face...or anything comical for that matter." I said as I flared out my wings and materialized my armor and rushed off towards the giant dirt bowl my eyes focusing on the only thing that my rage fueled mind can only see.
And just as I was about to ram right into the little bucker he hops into the air and vanishes, leaving me with ramming head first into muddy chocolate, and straight up embarrassing myself in front of my enemies. Yanking my head out of the mud and forcibly levitating my helmet out of the dark chocolate soupy mixture and slapping the muddy residue out of it and as I placed it upon my head I turn to face the five mares, minus Rainbow Dash, who quite literally just dashed away as a traitor to all five of her friends.
"Well...this is surely odd timing....I can clearly see you met my uncle Discord, master of all that is terrible jokes and puns, and also the master of being a real peckerface." I said as I took my helmet off to slap more chocolate mud out and as I slipped it back onto my head I felt something wetly smack me on the back of the helmet, and turning to see who it was I was faced with another glob of mud.
"Nightshade! Girls quickly we can't let him-"
"Yes yes I heard this before, blah blah I am evil, blah blah threat to Equestria, blah blah we will destroy you, blah blah harmony will be restored. I get it, you hate me." I said while rolling my eyes, clearly remembering all the cliché sentences that the hero's usually say to the villain. "But this time its different, I need your hel....I need your hel-" I tried to say 'help' to Twilight but it was coming at as if I was tongue-tied to something foolish or that my tongue inflated by one of Discord's tricks.
"You need our help? And with what exactly? Taking over Equestria is out of the question." Twilight said with a defiantly smug grin, thinking that I came here just to ask them to betray their own nation.
"No not that! Cause if it was that than this would have been way to easy for me and that I would be trotting into a trap! No, I am talking about helping me take down Discord." I said growling at them, Twilight's stupidity showing at what I think is one of the worst possible moments in the history of Equestria.
"And why should we help you?" she said still clearly not convinced of what I am thinking of as I just stared at her like I just said something so stupid that I needed to be smacked for even saying it aloud.
I facehoofed at that question as I trotted up to Twilight, grabbed her head with my hooves and than pointed to the chocolate rainstorms, the candy cane forest of the Everfree, the freakishly tall rabbits and also the crazy weather.
"Oh..." Twilight says as her ears fold back and she shyly rubs the back of her head with a hoof, somewhat feeling stupid as to why she said that.
"Yes, that is the reason why, would you rather live in a world where Discord is in charge or would you live in one where its just Equestria and the Everfree fighting for control and eventually peace is restored?"
"Sadly...I see your point." she said dejectedly as I grinned widely and gave a hoof pump to the sky.
"YES! I finally got someone to say that! Take that Greaves you owe me 15 bits!"
Twilight just looks at me funny for a while before I calmed down and returned to my superior self and motioned for them to make with the walking home as I followed behind them, sticking close to Twilight.
"You know that your carrying a boulder right?" I said as she stopped for a moment to give me a cold stare from her lower point of view.
"I know..." she said as I merrily shrugged and resumed walking alongside her.
Ponyville Outskirts, Chaos Standard Time
The walk from Canterlot to Ponyville was annoying already, the dancing buffalo and tall critters was terrible, but the constant irregular shifting of night and day was driving me crazy !
"I swear to the spirits above and below....if that sun rises again within the next thirty seconds I am going to murder Discord with my mind!" I shouted as the sun once again rose over a hill than quickly retreated a minute later to be replaced by the moon.
After a good few minutes of more walking the moon was replaced with the sun and I sighed in relief to finally have a somewhat normal time interval of day and night at exactly five minutes from sun up to sun down and repeat, the bad news was that I cant sleep on exactly five minutes.
"I wonder....what is Discord doing at this exact moment. Nightshade do you have any ideas?"
Looking at the sky than back at the ground to give it some thought I shrugged and kept on going, "If I was Discord I would be turning everything that is normal into something that would make even the most wisest of ponies scratch their heads in confusion....that or just annoy the hell out of them for defying every single law of physics known to ponies." I said while keeping my eyes peeled for the mismatched uncle of chaos.
Thinking of where he could possibly be I started to wonder what his plans are for Equestria and the world, and by plans I mean what he is doing at this exact moment in time.
The end result was disturbing.
"Uh....Twilight....when did Ponyville get a checkerboard style road?"
"It never did...why do you ask?"
"Because were stepping on it...and when did it get covered in whoa!" I shouted as I slipped on the road, my body spinning out of control before I ended up crashing into a bush head first and came out the other end with a pie on my face.
As I opened my eyes to see the creamy white frosting drip off of my nose and to feel my hooves barely brush against the grass below me I felt something crack beneath me as I fell to the side of the bush and landed face first on another cream pie, my anger was quickly rising until finally I heard two ponies laughing behind me.
"I hate you Discord!!!!!!!" I shouted just as I burst into black flames, the pies, bush and tree bursting into fiery splinters and the six mares behind me jumped back from the sudden explosion that I created.
By the time the wind came by and blew away the smoldering embers and leaving me behind as I stood their simmering and smoking next to a pile of ashes and fresh glass. And as I stood their raging quietly to myself I started to think of happy thoughts of the things I am going to do once I am ruling Equestria with my beloved Moon, and the first thing would be taking Discord's statue and burying it so far underground so that it will never be seen again.
"Nightshade...are you okay?"
"Yes Twilight....I am....just a little spontaneous combustion is all....an angry, spontaneous combustion..." I said while shaking my head of any soot that has lingered on me from the breeze that had strangely came by but I am not going to question normal weather, especially after what it did to save me last time.
Looking at the road I placed a hoof on it and gave it some weight to find it sliding a bit forward and when I brought it to my face for a sniff check I found it to be odorless but upon a taste test I ended up spitting and gagging from how horrible it was.
"Wow, I really mean it wow, Discord putting dish soap on the road...lots and lots of dish soap...so now his plan involves turning roads into one colossal slip-n-slide fun park...he has truly lost his mind if he is doing this....that or this is just something small compared to what he is about to d-" I said but was cut off by me bumping into Twilight who for no reason stopped trotting forward but when I looked to see what was the cause of it I just stared in awe and fear.
As I stared at the sight before me, my eyes trailing up from the checker-spotted and dish-soap lubed road, my eyes going up to the sight of houses upside down, floating in the air, I saw buffalo's wearing tutu's and dancing around, rabbits with obscenely long legs roaming around and overall chaos happening within and outside of Ponyville.
"Wow...I am so glad that his not my hometown anymore...well look on the bright side Twilight, if things don't work out here than you can you always go back to Canterlot to wait for the darkness to take over the world that.....or you can just give me that glare and try to defeat Discord with your friends being as they currently are..." I said as Twilight simply glared at me the entire time I was talking but upon entering the town I felt severely strong chills racing up my spine as I can feel something watching me.
"Ever get that feeling that something evil is watching you?" I said as we all walked into the town square, watching the chaos unfold around us.
"Besides you? No...why?" Twilight said back as I stuck my tongue out at her, the mare simply can't appreciate evil at its finest.
"I don't really know....it is just that I have this funny feeling that something is about to happen....five bits says that Discord makes a dramatic appearance to greet us home." I pointed to the obviously out-of-place cannons and restrained balloons, than looking to see if he was going to make his entrance now I kept going forward until I was on the other side of the square only to be disproved.
Sighing and lowering my head I levitated the five bits over to Twilight who looked smug about me being wrong, and seeing how Discord must be saving those for later, or maybe Pinkie placed those for when they returned victorious that she would throw them a party....either way I was proven wrong.
Grumbling angrily to myself I dragged my hooves along the checkered road toward my old home, wanting to see if it was just like the rest of the town, upside down and floating and probably riddled with pranks just for me waiting to happen. As I arrived at my home I found it to be somewhat like the rest of the town, except it wasn't upside down but it has been through a color dye job, it went from its pale baby blue to a neon pink and green swirl, and I felt a bit sick seeing it all over the walls since I grew up inside that building and to see it desecrated made me want to strangle Discord a bit more than I wanted to a few minutes ago.
Flapping my wings a bit to get to my old home I lifted myself off the corrupted floor to rise to the floating mini-island and landed gracefully before making my way to the door to find it missing in action. At first I found it odd that the door was missing from the frame but upon entering my old home I found it even more strange that the clock was upside down, the table was on the left wall, the cushions on the right where the stairs are, and lastly the potted plant we had is on the ceiling fan.
"Mother? Father? Lil bro? Scoots? Where are you? I swear that if this is a prank than I am going to cut off your horns Discord!" I shouted as no words came back to me in the form of a response but instead I get nothing. Snorting a bit in anger that my own family would ignore my return I started my search first in the kitchen only to make a hasty retreat when the toaster inside started firing burnt toast at me, and one piece of said burnt toast managed to impale itself on my horn and just as I got around the corner I looked up to see the burnt slice of bread and flaring my horn I removed the piece of ruined wheat and after thinking it over quickly I brought it to my hungry maw and consumed it with extreme prejudice.
It was good, but if it had jam would have been better.
Ignoring that arrant thought I proceeded up the stairs to my old room and to my parents room, thinking that they are cowardly hiding away somewhere, maybe not Scootaloo hiding but more like using my room as the last line of defense or something. Just as I was halfway up the stairs it strangely turns into a slide and just as I started to slide backwards I spread open my wings and flapped them a few times and got airborne and flew the rest of the way up and landed not so gracefully since the hall was not meant for my wings to be flying in, the resulting impact of my wings hitting the edges was me landing on my chest.
'I swear when this is over I am going to be burying a statue or a corpse...' my inner voice said as I pushed open the door to my parents room only to partially close my eyes as I find it to be as empty as the goodness in my heart.
'That we can agree on...' I said alone to myself as I closed the door behind me and went to check on my brother's room to find it equally empty.
Huffing in growing anger I slowly made my way to my room but the closer I got to it the more I felt dread slowly creeping up my body, the feeling itself slowly unnerved me and when I placed my hoof on the doorknob did I realize the mistake I made but was to late to close it shut as I saw the four figures before me.
In the far corner of my old room, holding one another tightly, was my family, except, that each one was in a terrified pose and all of them were made of marble, all turned to stone in sheer, bloody terror written clearly on their faces as the edges of my mane started to shift from its ethereal form into one of pure inky black flames.
When I first saw the statues I thought it was just a prank on me by Discord but as I got closer I saw that it was no prank and that they were real as I was. I felt a stone drop in my gut as I felt tears sting the edges of my eyes forcing me to look away at first in sadness, than in pain, than finally in broken defeat as the dark blaze that is now my mane fully engulfs my form as the floor beneath me crackles from overwhelming pressure and near-instantaneously I exploded out through the roof into the sky in a fury that has never before seen in the past one thousand years.
Meanwhile Elsewhere, Everfree Castle
Nightmare Moon's POV
By the time I had returned to my bedchambers I felt lonely that my Nighty was off chasing that pig faced monster for trying to interrupt with our plans for unifying Equestria under a single banner of the real moon and bring an eternal night to everyone so they can see for themselves that the night is truly a beautiful sight to behold. Throwing myself onto our bed and resting my weary head on the overly large fluffed up pillows as I waited eagerly for his return, victorious and with Discord's head on a gilded silver platter but the dreary sight of candy forest made me gag in disgust that my old friend would revert to his old self so quickly after being placed in his prison.
And it was at that moment did I feel the magic in the air grow thick and the pressure it was exerting on everything was causing the two guards outside the room to falter and kneel to the ground that I thought at first it was in pain but what I felt next was that they were giving themselves away to somepony and it was at that exact moment did I see outside of my window a large spire of black flames rise in the direction of Ponyville.
The cry that followed it told me everything that I needed to know and it was something that made me proud and afraid.
"Please be safe."
Back in Nightshade's Old Home
'BUCKING KILL HIM! TEAR HIM APART LIMB FROM BLOODY LIMB! MAKE HIM SUFFER ETERNALLY!' my mind shouted as I shot myself out of my home right through the ceiling and the roof, my entire body coated in black flames that was leaving behind a trail of flames and embers as I arced towards the sound of Discord's voice.
'He will not escape from me....justice will be met out by our hooves and ours alone!'
My eyes scanned all of Ponyville and in only a scant second I saw Discord give a single fist pump in victory as I watched Twilight Sparkle slink back to her home, now completely grey and dragging her hooves and tail across the cobblestone road in defeat, the rest of the elements going their separate ways, leaving behind their respectable element behind on the floor.
'THEY FAILED TO SEAL AWAY DISCORD! DESTROY HIM NOW AND FOREVER CLAIM YOUR RIGHT AS RULER OF EQUESTRIA!'
Flying straight at Discord, I angled my head as to where my horn would act as a spear and that the flames surrounding it would cause his insides to melt and boil away till their was nothing left but ashes and burnt flesh hanging off my horn and when I watched his eye trace the resulting fiery inferno that I left behind in my fury did he notice that I was coming right at him, the sun was partially blocking his sight of me but the black flames served him well enough to see me.
In time to take my horn into his chest and the force behind it plowing him through a tree along with a food cart. I was roaring in a blood curdling rage that by the time Discord dislodged me from his chest did the damage start to take its toll on him as he used his special brand of magic to heal and seal up the wound but it did nothing but give me another chance to kill him.
"Okay now, take it easy nephew, we can talk this out. I know you are probably mad about the whole thing of me turning your precious forest into delicious candy canes but it doesn't mean you have to rip my head--" he was cut off as I made my two-hooved sword appear as I gripped it with my fangs and swung at his head and missing by just inches.
Taking another swing followed by three more he dodged each one but each swing was getting closer and closer to his throat and eventually this turned into a game of cat-and-mouse, and I was winning.
"Come on now sonny! Take it easy! This isn't funny anymore and I know funny when I see it, calm yourself or Uncle Dizzy is gonna send you to time ou--" I cut him off again by bringing the sword over my body before crashing it down by his feet, splitting the stone beneath the blade and destroying the blocks near it as they splinted from the shockwave of the impact.
"YOUR DEAD!" my mind shouted out as I let it take control and sat back to watch the carnage that was going to release on the poor fool that is my uncle.
"Oh dear..." was all he said before he flew back in time to avoid the sword that nearly created a new hole in his stomach.
At that moment in time that Twilight reverted back to her original self and was using the scrolls she got back from her teacher and using that knowledge to free her friends from the curse that Discord placed on each one. And by the time they got to Rarity and when we both passed in front of her store did the large boulder get tossed right out a window nearly crushing the both of us as I shouted out in anger.
"HEY! NO KILL STEALING!"
But of course the mares inside didn't seem to hear that as they chased down their other friends to relieve them of the corruptive powers that is chaos. Our fighting eventually led us all the way back to Canterlot and straight through the castle, the guards already on high alert for Discord but when they see him flying right at them they braced for impact and for the worse but when he flew by them they scratched their heads only to get thrown aside as I flew past them with heated speed.
Each time we turned a corner I took a swing that resulted in the destruction of a flower pot or some guards spear and/or helmet, and every single time I took a swing Discord tried to say something to try and calm me down but it only resulted in me taking a swing at his tail but with each swing the tail fluff starts to look more and more ragged.
By the time we got to the throne room Celestia was waiting for him but when he flew behind her and held onto her like a shield and closing the doors with magic I just slammed through them, leaving an alicorn-sized hole of molten metal and wood.
"See! I told you he is bat shit crazy! He is trying to kill me just for turning his home into a floating island as a joke!" Discord said to Celestia who than looked at me as if I went over the deep end of the morality scale over a joke.
"Out of the Celestia, this is between me and Uncle, and I will not be shedding your blood today, not if I can help it but for no get the buck out of the way before I run you through just to kill that motherbucker!" I roared back as I started to slowly make my way to the throne but Celestia's and Luna's guards create a phalanx of spears and shields in front of me, goading me to keep going into the wall of metal.
"Yes, I see that now Discord, now stop using me as a wall between you and that traitor, and Nightshade, you should be ashamed of yourself, if Luna can see--"
"Don't you bucking dare use her name you whorse, all Nightmare Moon wanted was the appreciation of the ponies she protected, to have them to love the night she works so hard to create and all of you just threw it away when it was time to rest your heads to sleep! I stayed awake for several hours and days to enjoy the night she made for us all. But you, tyrant of the sun, you ignored your younger sister's pleas for change and those simple changes could have prevented all of this." I yelled out while waving my hoof at everything that is happening around everyone.
"Because of me? It was the corruption within Luna that forced my hoof to banish her to the moon for a millennia alone and you blame me for it?"
"YES! I do blame you for it! While you went about ruling Equestria and gained the love and admiration of the ponies around you, your shadow fell over Luna and as you kept gaining all the glory and love for running Equestria alone it was only making Luna's sadness grow more and more until it was to late to prevent the outcome of your inept failure as a sister to watch over your little one! I knew you were lamenting over the lose of your little Luna because your inaction to help her when she needed you most has caused her banishment and for me to stand by her side, making me the one to pick up the pieces that you created."
Looking at Discord I snorted hard enough for eerie black flames to project themselves outward burning the carpet beneath me and when I took a step forward the guards tightened up their formation and took a step forward themselves only to incite a laugh from me.
"Last chance Celestia, remove your guards and yourselves from my path and none of you may die, besides Discord of course, his head will be mounted over my fireplace in the royal bedchamber....maybe even a gift to Moon. Move or Die, those are your only options." and when none of them moved I sighed softly before getting a firm grip on my heavy sword and got myself into a charging stance, the guards themselves brace themselves for the inevitable impact that never came.
Charging forward at the wall of shields and spears I kept my piercing glare on Discord the entire time and as I was within mere inches of the wall I leapt into the air and using my magic I teleported behind the phalanx and galloped right at Celestia and before she had a chance to defend herself I thrust my heavy blade at her, the metal sinking deep into her throne, missing her head by three inches on her left. The stab missed Discord but it caused him to flee by flashing away into thin air, but that stab also had a second reason behind it.
Throughout the entire room everypony stood their silent as the grave as they just watched me nearly kill their leader without being stopped by her own detachment along with her sister's best guards, but they all saw that my attacked missed her on purpose.
Leaning close to her left ear I whispered quietly enough just so only she can hear it.
"It is not your time yet to die by my hooves my little mare." and with that I blew into her ear before teleporting myself out as well before reappearing outside of Ponyville, just next to the edge of my precious forest.
"Now...where could he be..." I said to myself as I watched a re-harmonized Rainbow Dash fly overhead followed by her friends in a hot-air balloon, and each of them were back to themselves and were wearing their elements.
Thinking on what I just saw I shrugged at first before having it hit me like a ton of bricks that my enemies are back to their old selves and that they were now once again a real threat and that Discord was going to be reverted back to his prison before I had a chance to enact my revenge on him.
Flaring my wings and launching myself into the air I tracked after my ex-allies with all haste as to avoid them sealing him away before I had a chance to stab him through for turning my family into marble.
Upon arriving behind the mares I can see him taunting them by creating a target on his chest and with his eyes closed, simply thinking that it wouldn't work again since it obviously failed the first time, but what the mares didn't know was that I was standing right behind them all and just as they started to float in the air by their necklaces and crown I stormed under them, the sound of my hooves thumping on the rough ground nearly muted out by the high whining of the magic being generated in the air and when the beam shot out from the six I lunged at Discord and when my blade connected with his chest, piercing the thick fur the beam made contact with the both of us and his eyes opened in time to see the beam hitting his body and of my eyes vibrating in pure rage and my sword stabbed into his chest.
But for me I was not just screaming in rage but also in pain as the elements of harmony was going into overtime trying to cleanse both Discord and I of this world, and its judgment has been passed for Discord as he started to turn to stone from the feet up, but for me the pain was unimaginable.
I was screaming louder and louder in pain as I felt the pure energy burning me away, my fur burning and disintegrating away as I felt my wings shutter and crack before going limp to my sides, my hooves were burning as well as I smelt the enamel starting to mix into the air before finally my horn cracking from the pressure being exerted before I was viciously launched away from Discord, my body landing far from his steadily changing form as I laid there on the ground limp as a bone fish.
And just like that it was over, the bright light was gone to be replaced by a magical blast that removed Discord's influence on the land returning everything to its proper place and making everything what it once was, but for me it only served to bring more pain to my already burnt and cracked body.
Weakly opening my eyes only to shut them closed from the bright intensity of the sun's rays beating down on me I groaned out in pain as I ever so slowly moved my hooves, the slight movement sent unimaginable sharp lances of pain throughout my body and it was only made worse when I felt a hoof step on my throat making me weakly yelp out in pain as the pony stepping on me created a shadow large enough to cover my eyes.
Opening my eyes again I saw that it was Rainbow Dash and she was somewhat holding my sword in her mouth, having it resting on my lower throat as she slowly crushed my throat preventing me from breathing properly but it gave me enough air to utter out a few words to the mare just as her friends arrive behind her.
"Go ahead and do it, be the one to kill me and be a hero to Equestria....be the one to strike down the threat to harmony within Equestria and be forever remembered...."
The mares around me just looked in shock and in slight disgust that I gave them the privilege to kill me without remorse or any resistance to it, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie looked away and it was Twilight and Rarity trying to talking down Dash from doing it, Applejack was stuck between the three and trying to figure out what was the right thing to do.
"Strike me down and kill me or forever stay your hoof and leave me!" I shouted at them and it was right there when Dash raised my sword and brought it back down, the blade sinking deep into the ground neck to my muzzle as the sharpened blade cut my nose making it bleed.
Looking at Rainbow Dash I stared intensely at her before sighing a bit and raised my head a bit before flashing my horn making the sword disappear into wisps of smoke and with what little strength I had I pulled myself off the ground and somewhat dragged myself towards the edge of town, the ponies that were under Discord's influence were just now poking their heads out of their homes to see me on my walk of shame out of town, but it was when I was in the middle of the street did my magic flare once again to create a duplicate of myself to give me company.
A shadow pony, one created from my very own shadow was trotting next to me in broad daylight as it wavered from time to time but what most ponies don't know about shadow magic is that when creating a shadow pony you must use a shadow that is your own or of somepony that was once alive. My shadow was from my past life, one of pure innocence and foolish laughter, a shadow that was pure and smooth, no hints of evil or corruption stemming from its new life host. This new shadow pony looked exactly like me in every way possible before I was exiled except for being a few shades darker and that it kept shifting from the sun's rays hitting his body.
And it was by the time we got to the forest's edge did the shadow vanish into the trees as I felt my shadow guards grab me with their magic and transported me back home and straight to the medical wing but the damage that I have caused was done.
The six ponies were made into national hero's for their actions and for saving Equestria from Discord's brief reign of terror, but what nopony else knows besides me and Celestia and the guards that was in that throne room that day was that I had a chance to execute the sun goddess but instead I spared her from death, the very thing that she sent me to those many months ago.
It was when I was starting to recover from my wounds from the elements of harmony did I see an increase in recruitment that the damage I did to Celestia's image take root and hold strong.
"Only a matter of time....oww....only a matter of time."
The Everfree Chronicles: Altered Chances
Chapter 9: A promise to keep
Everfree Castle, Midnight
"Now as I was saying Moonie, we give them some time to recover from Discord's rampage, let them think that the damage that has been done to me by his chaotic magic was enough to suspend any operations against them so that they would be complacent and have their guard down and once we see a large enough opening we strike hard, sink our fangs in deep, twist like crazy than viciously pull out to watch the aftermath." I said with a warm smile, Nightmare Moon sighed out as I continued to rub her back, her wings twitching ever so slightly whenever my hoof would go near them.
It has been a month since Discord has escaped from his prison only to be forced back into it by my hoof and of those that belonged to the Elements of Harmony, it was after I was treated by the doctors and nurses in our castle and after a hair growth potion from a certain zebra who for some reason was helping me and at the same time those Equestrians, but at the moment I didn't care since I was shaved down and smelled like a sweaty sock wrapped in leathery burnt bacon.
Nightmare's reaction to seeing me on death's doorstep was absolutely livid, and she would have done something to those mares if she wasn't a specter or as she currently is, missing her back half. With all the magic she is absorbing naturally and also being pumped into her by me she is ever so slowly regaining her form and was truly ecstatic when she found out that she was so close to being back to her completed self but was sad when it was postponed until I was back to my normal self, which took a full week of laying in a hospital bed with IV's hooked up to be, mostly to get rid of the residual chaos magic lingering inside my system, which has me sadly sneezing out streamers and confetti.
I have let the Equestrian ponies take back Discord since I was in no condition to levitate and teleport us both back home but came nightfall I had a few of my Shadowbolts fly to Canterlot, take exact measurements of Discord to make a fully scale model of him for the purpose of replacing the real Discord for the fake one. I rather keep my failure of an uncle close than have him in the hooves of those traitors.
One thing I learned about Nightmare Moon was that, she eats meat. At first I thought she was just yanking my chain but when I came back from the hospital good as new I saw her on our bed with her fangs in a chunk of meat still on the bone. We sorta just stared at each other for a few seconds before I came over to her and asked if I could have a small bite, the look on her face was priceless as she handed me a small piece and fed it to me. The taste was something that was yet to be acquired but the fangs that Nightmare gave me let me eat it without gagging on it or trying to throw it up to get rid of the taste, but than again it did leave me hungering for it a bit more than usual.
Anyways, as I was saying to my Moonie that we had to give the Equestrians some time to think that we are going soft from my injuries and that we are slowly becoming not much of a threat but in truth our strength was continuing to grow and everyday ponies continue to show up into the outlaying villages and towns to join us but we know that Celestia has been sending in spies to try and undermine our efforts and it is easy to find these spies with a bit of mental intrusion, the ones that are nervous are the least susceptible since they have every right to be afraid of having their memories looked at but those that aren't afraid are the ones we really look for. Seeing how those that are not flinching at the mention of a mental probe tells us a few things about them but they think we do a quick look through but in reality we get a copy of their entire layout of their mind, give it to our mental experts to sift through them and once we find the ponies with even a hint of Celestia talking to them about what they should do we pull them aside and than promptly execute them.
The executions of those spies may make us look bad for doing it but knowing that they would do the same to us so we preemptively strike first, and seeing how the few we execute have relatives living within our borders now since they have accepted our gift of a new beginning we than use them as a bargaining chip when we want those spies alive to work for us. Ah, the sweet taste of holding ponies ransom to get what we want.
"But Shady, that will make us look weak and they might use that to invade our lands and destroy everything we have worked so hard to create. And besides I don't think that they will just lower their guard since you were injured."
Looking back at her I sigh quietly before crawling back into bed and getting a nice warm hug and a kiss on the forehead before feeling the long days of medical treatment...and the constant alerts from the outlaying scouts and spies within Equestria's borders.
So many reports and all of them varying on the readiness of Celestia's army, strength numbers, supply routes and how many of each supply they have, and almost worst of all was that they were asking for outside assistance from the Gryphon and Diamond Dog kingdoms to the north and south of them. I know that the Gryphons might help Celestia with her cause but at the cost of the border lands and more than likely Hoofington and Trottingham but the Diamond Dogs...Celestia would have to bribe them the few gem mines she has left and seeing how we had stolen quite a few of them along with the quarries and lumberyards but bribing those dogs would harm her more than help seeing how the two still hold a grudge against each other for failing to reclaim their mines from me.
But it is for the best, can't have those grubby idiotic dogs reclaim our gem mines after all the hard work me and the Shadowbolts have done to reclaim them into our hooves, that and I love my new magic powered gem lamp, the pretty colors that thing makes is amazing. Our research ponies have been studying gems for the past year and have found that gems can be used to store magic and with the stored magic it can be used to power everyday devices but recharging them is simply but overfilling said gem would result in it exploding violently.
We have yet to find a way to safely overfill it without the damn thing from exploding in our faces.
My gryphon friend Greaves, he has left our company to keep the gryphons in the north distracted and be of no use to Celestia or Luna, hoping that we can finish this 'rebellion' as he calls before the gryphon army catches up with him and ends his life.
Scootaloo on the otherhoof is always happy to see me whenever we get a chance to meet at night, my flying lessons for her have been doing wonders for the poor filly, her wing strength is still low but she can now hover for a full two minutes before she starts to get tired. My little filly is doing great in her schoolwork and her cutie mark adventures with her friends never cease to amuse me, hearing the three doing everything they can think of to get their cutie marks, even more funny that Scootaloo finally gave Diamond Tiara a piece of her mind.
That filly made me so proud when she told me that she broke her tiara and gave her a black eye, my parents on the other hoof punished her by having her grounded for the next two weeks but I gave her more flying lessons and even a sneaky trip to Canterlot with me disguised as a lunar guard. Doughnut Joe really knows how to make a good chocolate sprinkled long bar.
"Equestria can try to invade the Everfree but even they know that it would be a one way trip to their end to their deaths. They will be walking into a trap if they try to enter from the ground and if they try to fly their troops in than they will be brought down by our crossbows. They can only hope to win if we fight them unprepared in the fields of battle but we are not so foalish are we now my dear." I continued as I kept stroking her back, my hooves doing wonders on the knots in her back, the stress of being locked away on the moon than to get blasted into oblivion is enough to warrant a much needed massage.
'Nearly ten thousand ponies at the standby and between them and Celestia is a castle on a mountain and a long road up it...teleporting my soldiers in would tire both me and Moon out and leave us defenseless...a war of attrition than actual combat...this just might work.'
The Following Day
Walking down the halls of my castle early in the morning, holding a stack of letters by my head with my magic and today's newspaper under my left wing while wearing fuzzy slippers and a bathrobe. My eyes looking over the large stack that was given to me by hoof from Miss Ditzy Hooves, the bubbly mailmare from Ponyville has been given the special privilege to fly directly to the Everfree Castle and with an escort to get her here safely.
"Lets see now...junk mail, junk mail....horn enlargement....wing accessories....junk mail...junk mail...jury duty? Buck that, junk mail and more junk mail...oh yes that is lovely, good old fashion blackmail and a letter from Scootaloo, can this day get any better." I said as I opened the door to my study room, a fresh cup of coffee placed by my lounging chair on a small coffee table adjacent to it.
Opening the first junk mail letter I skimmed it before tossing it into the fireplace, the letter was from Celestia for me to surrender and stand trial, the next four junk letters was the same thing. When it came to the horn enlargement and the wing accessories I just moved them to the side and sputtered out a confused mumbled response, not entirely sure on what I had just read let alone opened up but when I opened up the letter for jury duty against Blueblood for harming another noble for talking back to him I made a note to attend it in a disguise.
Looking at the last two letters, mainly the blackmail letter and Scootaloo's, I picked up the blackmail and popped it open, the letter saying that if I don't hand over the southernmost gem mines back to their rightful owners than we are in for a nasty surprise. Levitating a mirror, quill and inkwell I started to a reply letter back and with the mirror I moved it over to my flank and started to look back at the mirror and the letter while making a near exact copy of my flank and cutie mark before leaving behind one final sentence.
'Kiss my flank diamond mutts.'
Moving the reply to a fresh envelope I placed it inside before licking the edges and covering it with my seal before moving to my little Scoot's letter.
Reading it slowly and scanning it even slower to see if what I was reading was real and after finding out that it is genuine I scribbled down a hurried response before sealing it up and sending it off with a small smile.
Next Day
The first scant rays of sunlight that peeks into Nightmare and I's bedchamber, my eyes groggily opening before snapping shut at the invasive brightness that is the sun. Moving the curtains until the light is gone I shifted a bit before rolling over to give my Moon a loving kiss on the lips as she partially returns it before hitting me upside the head with a pillow, still not used to waking up this early in the morning but seeing how it is a special day today she made it an exception just this once.
Rolling off the side of the bed I slowly dragged myself to the bathroom and with a flick of my horn I turned on the sink and filled it near full and grabbed my toothbrush and toothpaste, both were discreetly given to me by Colgate back in Ponyville as a few of the mares and stallions in that town have sided with us but are staying there on my command, acting as spies and scouts along many others in the other towns and cities within the Equestrian border. It is truly amazing how much faith these particular ponies had in their precious Celestia, seeing how they quickly flocked to my side for protection from the coming storm that is rapidly approaching from the south.
After giving myself a proper cleaning and a thorough combing of my mane I stepped up to my wardrobe and pulled out a rather tasteless suit and top hat, one that I only wore once and it was during the Gala, said suit still had the nightshade flower in the lapel. Going over to my disguise kit that I had 'acquired' from Pinkie Pie I fumbled through the many false mustaches, beards, goatees and even a fake unicorn horn was inside.
'Hello old friend, good to see you again.' my smile returning as I picked up the classic false mustache and monocle piece, fitting it on nice and secure on my face as I maneuvered the top hat to its rightful place upon my brow and with a bit of swagger I levitated a cane over to me as I looked in the vanity mirror. Thinking how that there isn't really many ponies that have facial hair I decided against my original plan and decided to leave the false bit of hair behind.
"And that silly mare said that black doesn't look good on me. Hah!" I said in a mocking tone, Rarity once said to me that wearing a black suit with my colors would not make any sense but seeing how I didn't want to blow my cover at the time I just told her it is my preference and to leave it at that. Now it is my official wardrobe color of choice next to dark red mixed with black, that and armor which thanks to Nightmare Moon, is now back to its original color scheme instead of bright pink. Curse you Discord....curse you.
Gathering what I had stowed away in a drawer and looking over at Nightmare Moon who was by now just waiting for me to be fully ready and with a small grin she turned into a cloud of the night sky before attaching itself to my shadow on the floor and was staring up at me before fading away for the time being.
"Passenger in my shadows, check." taking a quick glance downward I saw that Nightmare Moon was just watching me now, her mischievous eyes gleaming in the low light.
"Birthday presents for little sister, check." looking at the slightly colorful packages now tucked beneath my wings, I give them a slight shake before mentally checking it off the list.
"Teeth brushed and breath minty fresh, check." knowing that I had already tended to my chompers earlier this morning with my Colgate approved toothpaste.
"Party clothes, check." My suit, hat, and monocle all accounted for.
Trotting over to the door I gave the room a once over before locking and closing behind me, still not entirely trusting of the new recruits that came from the Gala or from the recent downturn of Celestia's army but hey, whatever keeps my secrets safe from prying eyes.
'Sometimes I wonder if Celestia is hiding anything from her beloved little ponies, has sure ever revised anything in her history books to make her look like a hero even though her actions were that of a villain? As she ever declared war on a foreign power just for the sake of land and resources, and if so did she make it look like it was in the defense of her ponies or was it that a foreign diplomat that made a mistake or have insulted the solar monarch to the point that she had the poor bastard executed.'
'I do not know love, but I do know is that for a thousand years she has ruled alone, possibly unchecked by the nobles in her court and quite possible by the rulers of the sovereign nations as well. Do not underestimate her for she will run you through if you give her the chance.'
'Don't worry Moon, I will keep an eye on her, I might have to put a spy on their captain, Shining Armor, to see how well he is recovering from his injuries and if need be make sure he stays in the infirmary just a bit longer.'
'Just don't do anything that will tip Celestia off, we can't lose anyone of importance or otherwise this rebellion of ours will fall apart in its infancy.'
As we talked within the safe confines of my mind I barely came back to the reality of the world around me in time to see a maid levitating a rather large pile of stacked folded-up linen and she was galloping at a fast pace, my guess is that she is either late in her schedule or is just working fast to go somewhere, maybe a date somepony.
With an elegance that I have earned by being trained by Nightmare Moon I sidestepped and allowed the maid to pass me by and somehow the maid knew that I was there cause she spoke to me as she galloped on by.
"Good day your grace." the young unicorn maid said as she quickly went about her business, I can't recall her name at the moment.
With a small nod on my part I continued to trot my way out of my palace before entering and exiting the foyer, a small group of guards have been assembled to escort me through the twisting woods and trees of the Everfree even though they know fully well that everything here would not dare harm me nor those that are under my wing of protection.
"We are ready to leave whenever you are my liege." the leader of the group said, Thunderlane if my memory serves me correctly, and with a nod the seven of us walked out of the front gates and down the road and into the slowly building city of New Everfree. Even though the capital of our new nation is under construction the few buildings that are up and running are being used as a place of rest for those staying here. Canterlot is filled with nothing but unicorn nobles who believe that they are better than everyone else but that is their racist talking, no one is better then the other unless they are talking about activities that one has done before then that could be said but nothing else.
But here, all is allowed here, from the high ranking nobles to the lowly commoner, the city will be built with rings in mind to offer protection so in the event of an invasion the civilians will move through one ring and once that is closed off they can then move to the next one, a series of walls to protect them against a land invasion but from under the ground or from the air it could be seen as useless but with the right defensive weapons even airships and flyers can be taken down.
Feeling a nudge on my left I see that it was another recruit and I realized that we have already left the safety of the forest and are now on the outskirts of Ponyville, and off in the distance we all can see a small group of the Equestrian Army camped out near Sweet Apple Acres to keep it safe from my forces but I wouldn't invade my old home, instead I have marked it as already a piece of my kingdom.
Turning back I gave my escort the order to stay within the tree line to watch over me and in the event that the enemy comes to the party to crash it then I will beat a hasty retreat before they arrive.
As soon as I stepped out from the safety of the trees I looked around to make sure that nopony saw me and with a small grin I slowly walked then trotted in the general direction of my old home, I would be flying but I am trying to remain undetected by the locals and the royal guards so for the moment I go by hoof to my destination.
By the time I get to the central market I can already hear the sounds of music playing in the background and I know exactly that it is in the general direction of my home which means that Scootaloo's birthday party is already underway.
"Hey! Mister! Wait up!" a young girlish voice shouted out from behind me, stopping in my tracks I slowly turned to the side just enough to turn my head around to see who it belonged to and I saw that from one of Scootaloo's schoolmates, Diamond Tiara.
Once the little filly stopped in front of me I saw that coming close behind was her father, Filthy Rich, the two earth ponies appear to be heading to my home for the party as Mr. Rich is holding two different colored presents on his back, hopefully they are real presents and not fake presents.
"Yes, how can I be of assistance to you two today?" I said in a calm tone before nodding at the presence of the two ponies.
"Ah yes, I am wondering if you are another of the partygoers that will be attending to Scootaloo's birthday party today." Filthy Rich said, a noble if not snotty tone in his voice, as if he thinks he is superior to me. I would prove him wrong but I can't blow my cover...yet.
"Why yes, I am another, why do you ask?" I said, looking him and his daughter over real fast, seeing if any of them could prove a hazard to my plan for the party but after seeing that both are simple earth ponies and don't have access to magic nor flight I could easily defeat them if needed.
"Oh I was just wondering because you don't seem to be from around here. Where are you from if I may so boldly ask of you?" the rich pony said as we trotted together to my family's home, the music only getting louder and as we get closer I see more and more ponies making their way to the steadily growing party.
"I am from Manehatten, by the docks." I lied, I am not going to tell these two that I live in the Everfree Forest in the old castle that just has been completely reconstructed from the ground up in certain places and is now steadily growing to the point where it could even beat Canterlot in population numbers and power.
"I see, well, at least you are making an honest living by being a dock manager if your refined clothes and being a unicorn is anything to say about it." Rich said as we entered my home through the front door, saying happy birthday to the little birthday filly and when Scootaloo made eye-contact with me I gave a wink long enough for her to see my true eye-color and before she could utter a sound I brought a hoof to my lips and shushed her.
Once the party girl left us I immediately left the company of Filthy Rich and his daughter and made my way upstairs to the bathroom there and once I am inside I closed the door behind me and as soon as the door was locked my horn flickered to life with my magic and opened up both of Scootaloo's presents, looking at the objects within before altering them for the better. The first object was a miniature uniform of the Wonderbolts but have been modified with an enchantment so they wouldn't be damaged by attrition or the ravages of time, in essence it would never be ruined. The other present was a diamond shaped vial with a sparkling green liquid contained within, something that took the medical staff to concoct and thoroughly tested to ensure it will do what it was meant to do.
As soon as everything was checked over I unlocked the bathroom door and trotted out, almost bumping into an already drunk partygoer, a mare with a mulberry coat, mulberry purple mane and tail with a cutie mark of a bundle of grapes. I don't recall the name of this mare and nor do I remember ever seeing her in Ponyville at the time I was exiled so she could have moved here after I was kicked out from my home.
"Hey there *hic* buddy, you done taking a *hic* leak?" the mare said with a bit of a drunken slur on her lips and she has no tact in her speech.
"Yes, I am done taking a 'leak', the bathroom is now empty." I said with a bit of a disgusted look on my face but the mare is either too drunk to notice or just doesn't care as she wraps a leg around my neck and brings me close to her face, I can easily smell the stench of alcohol in her breath.
"Hey, *hic* buddy, wanna have a bit of fun *hic* before the party starts downstairs? I think we might have *hic* enough time to have a quick roll in the hay before anypony *hic* comes up here." the mare said as she starts to rub against my cheek, her body also rubbing up against me and I can hear Nightmare Moon snarling within my shadow, something I know that won't end well for this mare and myself if I don't solve this situation with some tact and grace befitting of a king.
"Back off you harlot, I will not fuck you even if you are the last mare on this planet. And even if I did have sex with you my marefriend would geld me and wear my dangly bits for the hell of it!" I shouted at the drunk mare and immediately used my magic to pull her off of me and moved back towards the stairs leading down and that is when I realized that I might have not been as graceful or tactful as I should have been.
A satisfied chuckle from Nightmare Moon is the only thing I can hear before getting slapped across the muzzle by the drunk mare.
"How *hic* dare you call me a whorse!" she shouted at me before trying to take another swing at me but I stopped it when I wrapped her hoof in my magical aura and when she tried to pull back I allowed her to but at the cost of her slapping herself in the face and to stumble backwards and into the bathroom. As soon as she went past the threshold I closed the door on her before the drunk mare could react to the sudden change in the situation.
"Sorry about this ma'am but I will not allow you to come onto me in such a manner, I am in a committed relationship right now and I will never dare to cheat on my mare." and with that being said I quickly made myself scarce as I trotted down the stairs, turned the corner, entered the kitchen and went out the backdoor to see the party is now in full swing.
I saw a pony messing with some strange device wearing some sort of ear protection, the element of laughter playing a party game, the elements of generosity and kindness talking to one another, the element of magic talking to my parents, the element of honesty busy eating something on the food table and lastly there is the element of loyalty talking to my adopted little sister, Scootaloo.
Trotting to the table with a small pile of presents I placed down my two presents, here is hoping that she opens these first.
"Excuse me mister, not to be a bother or anything but who are you and why are you here?" a voice from behind me spoke up and I instantly knew exactly who it was without even needing to look behind me.
"Ah, Twilight Sparkle, I am Black Pier from Manehatten, I live near the docking districts." I said as I levitated a a small bundle of chips from the chip bowl and brought them over to my mouth and started to munch on their salty goodness.
"You know me?" Twilight said with a bit of unexpected surprise, I can hazard a guess that she was not expecting anyone outside her group of friends and those that live here to know who she is.
"Yes, anyone that pays attention to the current happenings of the world would know of you and your band of friends. You stopped Nightmare Moon, settled a dispute between some farmers and a group of buffalo, attended the Gala and made it better by destroying it and you have recently defeated a spirit of chaos with the assistance of a wanted criminal. If I may be so bold I am wondering how did you managed to get an executed criminals aid to help you stop Discord?" I said with a bit of a snark in my tone, trying to sound like somepony with power and status, hoping she takes the bait.
"Well, yes, that was me and my friends that did all of those things but for Discord it was just the six of us that defeated him, Nightshade had nothing to do with it, if only we were fast enough we could have captured him as well." she said with a smile on her muzzle, I could only frown at her lie, saying that I didn't help at all with weakening and distracting Discord long enough so they could use the elements to imprison him in stone again.
Taking a few steps away from her I went over to the punch bowl and got myself a cup of the sickeningly sweet liquid before taking another mouthful of chips, I don't know why but these chips are very good, I wonder how much better these will be if I had some salsa or guacamole to it.
"My dear Twilight, please do not lie to me, I know that Nightshade assisted you in your battle against Discord, trying to rewrite history to exclude all of those that helped in the matter has a chance of coming back to bite you in the flank." taking a step toward Twilight I let out a snort of hot air, something that both myself and Nightmare Moon did out of hatred for the purple mare.
"Are you calling me a liar?" the purple mare nearly shouted out, alerting all of her friends and a few ponies to our little verbal squabble, something that I didn't want to happen but seeing that it just happened I would have to improvise and change my plans on the spot.
"To be perfectly blunt with you Twilight Sparkle, yes, I am calling you a liar." I said with steel in my voice and fire in my heart, sadly fire and steel won't save me as I see the whole gang of friends come over to me in her defense.
As soon as they arrive I turn around to have my back facing them, letting my eyes settle on Scootaloo for a few moments, her eyes locked on mine as I can see my own reflection within them alongside with the look of utter confusion as to what is going on. My parents are standing right beside her, wondering exactly who I am along with just about every other pony that is at the party.
"Hey! Who the buck do you think you are!" Rainbow Dash's nasally annoying voice shouted at me as I levitated my cup over to the punch bowl before refilling it and taking a short sip I let the sweetness roll over my tongue before swallowing it.
"My name is Black Pier, and I am the stallion who is getting the truth of the matter from somepony who is trying to evade it." I said while taking another sip from my cup before slowly turning around to face the six mares.
"Well Mr. Pier, I am sorry but I am going to have to ask you to leave, you are disturbing some of the party guests here. We can discuss this later but not here." Twilight said with a bit of a sheepish smile on her face, trying to dissolve the situation in her favor, that will not happen on my watch.
"It looks like you are going to have to forgive me because I will not be leaving the premises of this household, besides the family matter of attending my own niece's birthday party I am also here to get the truth from you, one way or another I will hear the words I have came here to hear." I growled out, finished what was left in my cup before crushing it in my magical grasp, throwing away the ruined beverage holder into the nearest trashcan which just so happened to be near the snack table.
"Then it seems we are at an impasse." Rarity said from beside Twilight and Applejack, finally the mare who thinks she is of noble birth and noble intentions speaks out.
"Yes, it seems that we are at one Mrs. Rarity, a way to resolve such a matter perhaps that would be in both our favors instead of it being a one-sided affair for either of us." I spoke up a bit, my voice getting a tad bit louder so everypony present can hear me.
As soon as I said that I watched as the six mares huddled together, whispering to one another on how to get the upper hoof in this matter as I trotted to the food table and grabbed myself yet another hoofful of chips, I am now wondering if I can get a few bags of these to go back with me, Nightmare Moon seems to agree with me also because I watched as a steady stream of salty chips make their way from the bowl, down the table and into my shadow only to be devoured.
I waited patiently for them to finish up making a plan on how to best me at this game and as I waited I decided that waiting in one spot for six mares to make up their mind is pointless so I did the second best thing I can do besides standing still. Looking at the huddle up I turned my back to them to make my way to Scootaloo who saw this and galloped over to me only to stop a short distance away before jumping at me, her wings opening up to take a short flight right at me before bashing into me as her hooves hugged my chest.
"So good to see you again Scootaloo, my you have grown in the short time we have last seen each other." I said in a whisper as I patted her on the back, her small wings, even though they have grown a bit are still undersized for her age. I had to speak in a hushed tone as to not allow anyone around us to hear what we are saying along with knowing the fact that I am wanted criminal.
"Nightshade! Why didn't you show up last week for Hearth's Warming Eve! We all missed you!" Scootaloo almost shouted in a quiet, soft tone, I guess she caught onto what I was doing and is trying to help me not get caught.
"Some things have come up and I had to accelerate my plans a bit, but don't worry, I got a few things for you that you are just going to love, trust me on this one." I whispered out, my eyes moving from my parents to my little brother before finally turning around a bit to see that the girls are ready to persuade me to leave peacefully.
Turning around I give Scootaloo a pat on the head before messing with her mane as she pushed my hoof away.
"So, what are you bringing to the table." I said with a business-like tone, the few times I was ever allowed to talk like this was when I had to make a deal with the gryphons for an import of raw materials like iron ore and leather or the time I made a shady deal with a group of buffalo for some turquoise and obsidian that almost went back on their deal. They are still suffering from the curse of eternal nightmares that I had placed on them.
"I purpose that I will tell you the truth of what happened that day and you will leave the party as soon as I tell you." Twilight said much to the agreement of her friends along with a few of the ponies that are here.
"I am sorry Twilight but I can not accept those terms." shaking my head no I heard a few moans and groans from the crowd along with the gold glint of helmets slowly making their way to the backyard, I don't know who called them but if I could hazard a guess it was that drunk mare that I pushed into the bathroom to get away from.
"Now for my counter-proposal, you will tell me the truth of the matter and as soon as the party is over I will leave you all alone." I said and sure enough I saw six royal guards entering the backyard through the side gate and leading them beside the leader was the drunk mare from before.
"Sorry, no deal."
"I guess then I would have to settle for not knowing the truth. This business is concluded." and as soon as I said that I turned around to see Scootaloo already standing by the presents table, trying to get her hooves on one and I saw that she was trying to grab mine.
I watched with baited breath as I watched the orange filly rapidly tear apart the colorful wrapping paper and bow before lifting up the lid and pulled out the Wonderbolts uniform and goggles from the box for everypony to see.
The cute little gasp of unadulterated glee and excitement is something that I will cherish for as long as I live.
"Ohmygoshthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!" Scootaloo shouted out loud in a gleeful burst of joy, bouncing up and down as she held my gift to her chest, her smile is infectious as many of the ponies here that were giving me a bit of a scowl lessened up and began to smile as they saw just how happy I made that filly.
"Don't forget Scootaloo, there is one more from me that you have to open up." I said with a bit of a chuckle, the rest of the ponies in attendance come a bit closer to see what else I have gotten her and when she started to open it up I can just see the excitement radiating off of her.
As soon as she opened up the second present that smile on her face persisted for a while until one of utter confusion started to grow and when she lifted out the crystal vial from the box and showed it to everypony.
"What is that?"
"Looks like some sort of potion."
"What does it do?"
"Where did it come from?"
"Does anypony know if this stallion is single?"
"Anypony here gonna take that thing away from her before something bad happens?"
"Anypony wanna bet that I could fit my whole hoof in my mouth?"
I waited patiently for Scootaloo to make a decision on what to do with the restorative elixir that I have given her, wondering what her choice will be, I know that if she drinks it or not she will have made the right decision, I just need her to make up her mind.
"Sorry Pier but I can't take this." and with that being said I watched the orange filly put the magical potion back into the box before putting lid back on and pushed it aside.
With a smile on my face I trotted up to my adopted little sister and gave her a pat on the head which earned a 'Hey!' from her and a few weak slaps on my hoof to get it away from her.
"You picked the right choice, by not taking the restorative potion you have picked the route where hard work and dedicated practice will lead you to your life long goals and in the end everything will be worth it. You didn't take the shortcut by taking this potion and for that I am proud of you." I said with a smile on my face as I gave Scootaloo a brief but deep hug before letting her go and started to make my way to the back gate but I was sadly stopped by the six royal guards and the drunk mare.
"Excuse me, sir." the lead guard said as he caught my attention, all of them were loosely holding their spears at the time.
"Yes what seems to be the problem officer?" I said with a cheeky grin on my face, the drunk mare tried to take a swipe at me but being drunk and held up by a royal guard made such an attempt to hit me mote and weak.
"Do you know this mare?"
"Can't say I know her name but we have met before, rather recently in fact."
"Well, Berry Punch has reported to us that you have attacked her within the household on our right, is this true?"
"On the fact of causing her harm?" I said with a look of apprehensive disdain for the purple drunk mare.
With a nod from the royal guard I could only shake my head slowly.
"No, I did not harm her other then using my magic to push her into the bathroom after she gave me the propositioning for a good time while there was other ponies within the house." I said as what was going on between the eight of us was now on display for everyone at the party to hear.
As we talked I can hear the ponies talking behind our back.
"Really Berry? This is the fifth stallion you asked for a quick rut, will you show some restraint!"
"Of course Berry hits on a stallion with a mare, typical."
"Bucking drunkard."
"A rich stallion with a mare, I wonder if he is looking for a herd?"
The royal guard turned to look at Berry before quietly talking to her, I guess he was trying to get more of the truth out from her but from the way she smells and that she is wobbly, I highly doubt that it would work at all.
"Oh for the love of Celestia, Berry Punch, you have got to stop propositioning every single stallion you meet, this almost every single time you ask a married stallion." the guard said and for a moment I saw a small figment of hope that I can get out of this without getting caught.
"But he pushed me and locked me in the bathroom!" Berry shouted as the guard turned to face me with a raised eyebrow and a 'What?' expression.
"To be perfectly honest I did use my magic to put her in the bathroom but in her current drunk state I am amazed that she managed to open an unlocked door without breaking something." with a bemused smirk on my face I let out a light-hearted chuckle for a few seconds before taking a step back after easily getting out of yet another poor-attempt at hitting me by the drunk mare.
Watching the royal guard shake his head along with his fellows is something nice for a change of pace but sadly I have places to go and large scale invasion plan to create.
"Am I being held on any charges?" I said while waiting patiently, I have all the time in the world, they are just slightly prolonging the oncoming invasion.
"Well from hearing what has occurred and the statements taken from both parties, no, you are not being held on charges." the royal guard said and with that being said I knew what I have to say in order to leave.
"So am I free to go?" picking my words carefully, I could just kill them and easily escape but this day requires tact and grace in the public eye.
"Yes, you are free to go Mr...?" the guard said with a bit of a pregnant pause, not knowing my name.
"Pier." the only word I said and with it my freedom was sealed.
"Mr. Pier, sorry for the inconvenience, have a nice day." and with that done I gave a nod to everyone present before trotting off into the distance before taking an immediate right and as soon as I entered the shadow of the building I flared up my horn and faded away from view only to reappear beside my guards waiting for me in the forest.
Nodding to my guards they formed up and started to make their way back home as they left me to do my own business.
"Nightshade, what are you planning on doing now that we are alone?"
"You'll see." was all I said as I started to trot into the shadows of the forest only to fade away from the Everfree Forest, something that I would do if I need to get somewhere fast and in that moment I did need to get somewhere fast, IE, Manehatten.
Manehatten, Docking District
Afternoon, 3:14 PM
The city of stone and metal is bustling with activity today, for many of the inhabitants it is just a typical day and could care less with what is going on, they had a job to get to, they had mouths to feed and they had bits to earn. But for others that worked behind the scenes, they are the ones who are keeping the pony city from falling into darkness and squallier, the shining knights in a city that is often enough filled with enough corrupt officials and criminals that if they should fall then all would be lost.
But when I arrived I removed the heads of the hydra and burnt out all but one stub, if I had killed the beast of Manehatten then someone or something worse would take its place. I instead picked a third option, I removed all corrupted officials from their office, all criminal leaders were rounded up and were either executed for not taking my offer or were recruited to work for me and be my eyes and ears. Those that escaped my grasp are now on the run from both the law and from me, I am keeping them on the run for the sole purpose of showing those that are within my ranks that the few that don't join me when the rest do, they would be hunted down , tortured then killed before their old piers.
Stepping out from the shadows of a back alley I removed my monocle and hat and turned them into small wisps of darkness before having them absorbed into my shadow before stepping out into the light of the afternoon sun, blinking a few times as the bright light crosses my eyes for a few seconds before I could properly again.
"When did you start working here?"
"When I had the free time that I had acquired after my fight with Discord. I have alot of things to get done and not enough time to do it in. I know that Princess Celestia is preparing herself for me and I must be able to work around her plans. Manehatten is one of those plans." I said as I entered one of my many recently 'acquired' docking offices, the one in particular I have entered is the 'Customs and Taxation' office.
"Princess Celestia still gets her bits from the cargo that comes and goes into the harbor but I also get a cut of it, lining our coffers with legit-fully earned Equestrian gold." I said with a grin as I trotted over to the collection box that I had set up near my desk, my secretary, a Mrs. Ambrosia Butterworth, a young gryphoness that I had recruited from the criminals, she was a catburglar with a love for garlic bread. When the crunch came down on her group of outlaws I had hired her with a slightly higher then normal pay check along with a loaf of fine garlic bread, she took it.
"Very clever, have I ever told you how much I love you?" my shadow said as I looked down just a bit to see Nightmare Moon's face slowly form, her horn slightly grazing my suit and with a step forward I opened the collection box, took out a small amount of bits that would be enough to pass under Celestia's gaze so she wouldn't know that she was being robbed by her own government workers.
"You tell me that almost every day or whenever I do something that has genuinely surprised you." I said with a chuckle before trotting out the front door, out from my office and into the overlaying area of the office, the office itself wasn't pretty to look at but it served its purpose well in an attempt to throw anypony off our trail if they were to come sniffing around for corruption within the ranks.
As I trotted on by to the stairs to the first floor, one of the new workers gave me a half-assed salute before putting a ledger onto my secretary's desk.
"Good afternoon Mr. Pier." the young gryphoness said as she looked up from her typewriter, her yellow eyes connected with mine before going back to her paper, it is amazing how fast she adapted from stealing from others to working a typewriter.
"Good afternoon Mrs. Butterworth, is there anything new from the head cheese or is it still the same message?" I said as I trotted to her table as I waited patiently for a response.
"Nothing new at the moment but a number of Celestia's guards came by to search for any contraband that might have slipped by the customs agents, they found nothing but they are starting to come by more often then normal, I think they are starting to catch onto us." she said and for a moment I thought I heard a small errant sound of fear in her tone.
"Don't worry about it Ambrosia, this will keep going for a while until my friend puts a metal rod in their cogs."
"Sir?"
"Our problem will be solved soon my dear, just make sure none of our 'ill-gotten' goods are misplaced." I said with a grin which was matched with one of her own and with that done she went back to work and for myself I disappear back into my office only to fade back into the shadows and stepped back out in my room in the Everfree Castle.
Everfree Castle, Everfree Forest
3:27 PM
Stepping out from a dark corner I let out a sigh of relief in time to see Nightmare Moon slither out from my shadow and reformed into her original self, her body is still not completely solid but with one last ritual, one small piece of the puzzle left to acquire, my queen of the night will be complete.
"Now this was an interesting day, but something feels off." my mare said as she trotted to our bed and jumped on it, lazily lounging on it while messing up the sheets.
"And what my dear, would be off about today hmm?" I said as I took off my coat and placed it on a hanger while materializing my hat and monocle and placed the hat on the hat rack and the monocle back within its small box.
"You said something about throwing a rod into a cog, what exactly is that you have planned without telling me?" she said as she stretched her false wings, sighing sadly as she looked at the spectral limbs.
"Tell me something Moonie, in your time was there a placed called Dodge City?" I said as I looked at my queen, snickering a bit at her sadness as she did the same thing when I was in the hospital bed earlier.
"No, out in the desert near the Badlands was an outpost and they called it the Last Veil because it was where we drove back the changeling swarm." the night queen said while thinking back, I think she knows a little about that area at the time but it must have changed dramatically during her disappearance.
"While you were gone that outpost slowly turned into a city of less then a thousand ponies, a few donkeys, maybe even a diamond dog or two, and is also where Equestria is now getting their coal, iron, copper and tin. It is literally their largest and only deep cavern mine they have that has everything it needs to arm its military without having to ask a foreign nation for it." turning to a small table on the opposite side of the room I pulled out a map that was within a side cupboard alongside with many more maps of the world.
"And this interests us...how? It is several miles away from here, many more miles away from the protection of the wilderness and also that if it stayed true to its old name it is a fortress unto itself." rolling over to face me I saw out from the corner of my eye that she was now looking at me, trying to figure out what exactly I am planning.
"Yes, it is a fortress, very well defended, can outlast an invasion for months, and can easily beat back any enemy invader that would dare lay siege to it." I said while smiling, fully knowing that this target is almost impossible to take over even without our numbers, for all I know they have upgrade their defenses, reinforced and improved their walls and also probably also have added some anti-magic defenses.
"It would seem your plan is filled with holes that would spell defeat for us if you tried to attack it." her deadpan tone earned an eye-roll from me.
"Yes, it would spell doom for us, if we did attack that fortress." I said while eyeing the map as Nightmare Moon got up from our bed and slowly made her way to my side but from the angry scowl on her face I can tell that I am going to get an earful.
"Oh for Faust's sake just tell me what you are planning! You are starting to irritate me with your way of prolonging the inevitable." Nightmare Moon shouted at me as my ears folded back on instinct from the loudness of the shout but I forced them to stand back up as I start to speak up.
"What I am saying is simple, we are not going to attack a fortress that can easily defeat us, we are going to attack the surrounding area." I said as I looked at the map of Equestria and slowly dragged my hoof around Dodge City.
As soon as Nightmare Moon came over to the map that I had on the table I grabbed her with a wing and pulled her in for a hug, something she still hasn't gotten used to in her new body, even when it is partially solid and complete to be touched and held, she still doesn't like it when I initiate a hug or physical contact.
"After all Moonie, I did promise Celestia that I would do this." I said with a slowly widening grin as my plan for the first invasion on Equestrian soil begins to formulate within my head.
Dragging my hoof off Dodge City it revealed to Nightmare Moon what I was saying, the map showed a walled fortress and built almost around it was a defenseless city, no walls to keep out an invasion force or any hostile wildlife.
"A promise of destruction."
Author's Note
Its back, for now.
