Displaced: Fallen Kingdom

Unknown Location

“The moon looks beautiful tonight.” The mare muttered as she let her eyes turn skyward, looking beyond the treeline to rest upon the heavenly sphere. Full Moon tonight, and it was beautiful as always, here though, among the trees and the stones. It seemed even more beautiful for some reason. Night sky had always been beautiful in her opinion and tonight was no exception. A thousand stars blinked in an out of existence, poking holes in the dark blanket that had covered the sky. Each star shined with a brightness that one might of thought that they were competing with each other to see who could shine the brightest. In which case the moon won that silent contest, bathing the world with it's pale light. The moon bathed every tree and plant in an otherworldly glow, giving even the most plain strips of land an enchanted look. In that regard it was unlike the world bathed in sunlight, who’s light while beautiful made everything appear plain, natural. She could never understand why ponies adored it so much. A sphere of blazing light that blinded and burned whomever stared at it. Perhaps it was just her opinion.

Any other night the sight of a moonlit world would have brought a smile to her face, but tonight she couldn’t find much joy in the sight. With a sigh the mare turned away from her surroundings as she let a hoof go to her head. Muttering a small series of words she twisted her head to the side letting a dull audio pop be heard.

“You really shouldn’t do that.” Before her a cloaked stallion shook his head as he set a few things down upon an stone table. The fresh pelt of a bear, a bow forged of antlers, a knife from sharpened bone, a headset of feathers.

“I shouldn’t do a lot of things.” The mare remarked as she leaned against the woodwork and shrugged. “Yet I do them anyway.” She focused her attention on the stallion before her watching him sit down and start to mutter something under his breath. She looked beyond him, letting her eyes linger on the place they had come to today. Hidden in the woods of the world, out of sight and out of mind. An altar of stone; a shrine of wood and vines, a forest born temple. She’d heard of places like this, they were parts of the old stories her grandma used to tell her. Stories that half of the world seemed to have forgotten, unwillingly or intentionally. Truth she never put much stock in those stories, but an old tale made a great bedtime story. “So how long is this going to take anyway?”

“As long as needed.”

“And what are you doing, exactly?”

“Praying.”

“Wh~y?”

“I pray to my gods, I thank them for what they have given us.” He paused before glancing back. “Do you not pray to the princesses of day and night?” The mare just snorted.

“No. They are not my princesses, and they most certainly are not my goddesses.” The mare rolled her eyes as she looked at her hooves. “They may carry the sun and moon upon their backs but I refuse to see them as the goddess-pony rulers like most dumb ponies.”

“And why is that?”

“Why do you care?”

“I don’t.” The stallion stated as he returned to the altar. Going silent for a few more minutes before picking himself up. “Either case we’re done here. We can go now.”

“Good, much as I love nature and the night, I’m bored.” The mare stated as she pushed herself off the tree as the two started to walk. “So what did your gods tell you?”

“Tell me? They were silent tonight, but that doesn’t mean they failed to hear me.” The stallion stated. “And I asked them to watch over us, to bless us in our quest.”

“Will they?”

“We’ll have to wait and find out.” The stallion muttered as he looked back towards the altar. “Ah it appeared she liked the offerings.” The stallion muttered as the mare took a look back in confusion.

“What the - they’re gone?”

“That tends to happen when they accept offerings.” He muttered. “Though I wasn’t expecting her to respond so quickly.” He smiled under his hood. “But that gives us our answer, we have support, and we are blessed.”

Alright. Then let’s get this show on the road.” The mare stated as she released a vicious smile. “To Equestria.”

“To the death of the Princesses.”

***

Three Weeks Later
Equestria
Canterlot City

She hadn't expected it to rain today. Princess Celestia thought as she look outside her balcony, watched as Canterlot was cloaked under a veil water. Heavy rain clouds hanging overhead as streaks of lightning raced across the sky. Had she turned her gaze lower the Equestrian Princess would have noticed her subjects running about town under a sea of umbrellas. Except her attention remained focused on the storm brewing above her. Celestia had lived a thousand years, seen countless rainstorms and sun-showers, but none of them had ever been like this. This storm was rare by Equestrian standards, the last time she'd seen it build like this… Biting her lips the sun princess left her chambers. Passing the royal guards positioned outside her door as she made her way down the castle halls. “Luna.”

The last time Equestria had a storm like this, her sister had brought it by accident. For reasons even she couldn't quite understand, Luna's feelings had always been intimately tied to the weather. It was something that made her particularly special, unique even by alicorn standards. Brief moments of sadness brought the rain, her anger brought thunder and lightning, her grief called the winds. If Equestria was being met with a storm like this, then something was deeply bothering her younger sister. Passing one of the local maids Celestia stopped her for a moment as she adopted her mask, letting the worried sister be hidden by the benevolent ruler that was the Sun Princess. “Your highness, is there anything I can do for you?”

“Feather Duster, have you you seen my sister Luna?” For her part Feather Duster shook her head apologetically as Celestia quietly cursed to herself. Being one of the many maids that were responsible for maintaining the castle's Lunar Wing, she had crossed paths with her sister more often than any other pony.

“I'm sorry your highness, I haven't. Is something wrong?”

Calmly shaking her head Celestia gave the maid a light smile. “No nothing's wrong, I just need to speak to her for a moment.” Starting back on her way the princess walked past the mare with an almost unnoticeable kick in her step. “Thank you for your time.”

“If I see her I promise to inform her that you're looking for her!”

“Thank you.” As soon as she rounded an empty corner Celestia dropped her mask as she picked up her pace a bit. ‘Maybe I should start by checking her room.’ Celestia thought to herself as she started thinking back. When Luna had first returned to Equestria she had spent a considerable amount of time locked away in her room. It was her haven, her sanctuary where nopony could judge her especially considering her past… accidents. If there was any place that she could release her feeling away from prying eyes, it would likely be at her room. “What's bothering you Luna?”

***

“It really has been a long time…” Princess Luna whispered under her cloak as she stared ahead. Ignoring the building storm overhead pelting her with hail like rain, the moon alicorn kept her gaze forward to a set of tombstones as she read the names of the departed. Berry Bonette, Joking Jackle, Fruit Pie, turning her attention to the fourth grave marker she released a small if hollow laugh as she read it. “I see Sweat Sock finally got his name changed. Always said he would.” A smile crossing her face, Luna lifted her hoof before wiping bits of mold and grime from the grave markers. In contrast to what ponies would believe, while her mane was ethereal in nature, it still clung to her when it became soaked. “I knew all of you would go before me, but not like this. It feels like yesterday since I last saw your faces.” Truth be told, for her it may very well of been yesterday. There wasn't the traditional ‘gap’ between her memories from a thousand years ago and from her return two years prior. In her mind Equestria had changed overnight, transforming into a foreign nation, one where her friends didn't exist anymore.

“I remember how Pistachio used to tease Sock about his name do you?” Beside her a shadow appeared as she sat with her counterpart. Her shadow, her sins - the Ghost of Nightmare Moon. Still there was no hostility, no sense of malice between the two at the moment as they simply sat in the rain and looked at the graves before them. For her part Luna simply nodded her had, a loose smile crossing her face as she started to think back.

“He’d always get so angry his colt turned red.” Luna was met with silence as she wiped her eyes, blaming the rain for the moisture that was running down her cheeks. “Berry what about that you accidentally turned Puddinghead into a foal? We had to pretend we were foalsitting his nephew until we found a way to reverse the aging spell!” A series of laughs left the princess and her shadow as she fussed with her mane. “We were horrible foal sitters; any chance we had of starting a foalsitting service disappeared in an instant.” Continuing her trip down memory lane Luna found the markers disappearing as they were replaced with phantoms of the ponies she once knew. “Those were good times.”

“Some of the best.”

It really was a strange sensation; to essentially go to sleep and awaken in a new era. To blink and discover that her closest friends and longtime companions had passed on. It didn't seem real. Her memories were frozen with the images of young vibrant colts and mares aiming to take Equestria by the reigns. Talking about their dreams and ambitions, challenging one another to childish competitions. She couldn't picture them aged by time and lying on their deathbeds. She couldn't imagine them resting in an open casket as somepony gave them a sending. She couldn't imagine it all because she hadn't been there. The price of her banishment wasn't just her tarnished reputation in the eyes of her fellow ponies, it had also cost her time. Beyond their deaths she wasn't aware of of a single thing that had occurred after her imprisonment. Who did they grow into? Did they ever reach their dreams? Did they marry? There were hundreds of things she was supposed to know about her friends, but she didn't. She missed so much, all because she let herself be consumed by her jealousy and rage. “I'm so sorry… I - I miss you.” Nightmare Moon simply stayed silent as she watched her counterpart break down, figuratively returning to the small mare that she always was inside. Without a word she unfurled a pitch black wing as she enveloped the mare by her side and rested her chin on her head.

“I know, I miss them too.”

***

“So she has the weather manipulating abilities.” Resting atop a building a cloaked mare looked to the city below as she stared at the Equestrian princess. “Now that is interesting. No pony has been born with that power for a good thousand plus years. I was beginning to think it was just a myth.” She thought aloud as she felt the rain grow stronger and pelt her coat against her form, forcing her to wear it like a second skin. A small smirk crossed her lips as she kept her gaze on the dark princess a few good stories away from her. “Well I can't risk standing here being impressed all day; still have a job to do after all." She held out a hoof watching as something crawled from under her cloak and started to twist into shape before her. "Let's see what you can do, princess.”

***

Amidst her emotional breakdown Luna felt part of her brain push it aside as found herself going rigid. Call it paranoia, call instinct, something went off inside her like a light in the darkness as she turned, unconsciously raising a shield spell as something rammed into her. She went flying over her friend's grave markers as she impacted another's. Not enough force to break it, but enough to feel that iconic sense of pain coursing through her body. "What?" Rolling to her feet she turned again as she blinked a couple of times to try clearing her eyes of tears as something impacted her shield forcing her to stumble back. The next time her magic shield was hit she struck back as she bashed it against whomever was attacking her and took the moment to wipe her eyes so she could focus. "Who's there?" The alicorn hissed as she looked around as something shifted in the rain before charging her again. Ducking low she watched as the fog passed over her before landing as she pointed her constructed shield at what ever was after her. 'What in Faust's name is that?' Whatever she was looking at, it wasn't normal. In her opinion it looked like some kind of giant worm that had grown a pair of claws. Two fin like appendages appeared where she could only guess was the head of the creature do the rows upon rows of sharp teeth that made up the creature's tunnel like mouth. Two tendrils poked out from behind a bunch of oversized hair follicles and seemed to sway slightly from either the rain or the body's own movements. Even during the old era she'd never seen something like it before. Some kind of new mutant species maybe?

“Not certain.” Nightmare Moon muttered as she watched Luna steady herself. “But you’ll have to find that out later.” Agreeing with her shadow she she raised her shield to defend herself from another charge and grit her teeth as she was pushed back. Getting an up close look at the creature she cringed at the sight of it's teeth trying to bite down on her shield. "That stench is horrid…" She muttered as she turned a bit to let the creature go charging past. She didn't need this today. Some worm…thing attacking her. All she wanted to do was take care of something she'd been postponing for two whole years and pay her respects. Not disrespect the dead by fighting in front of their graves. Letting her anger spike some barely acknowledged a thunderclap behind her as she saw the creature charge again as she rushed it. Dropping low she moved her shield above her as she pushed the creature above and off balance before firing a series of magic rays at it's exposed underside. Following it with a shield bash she toppled it over before jumping over a swing from one of the creature's claws. Bring her wings out she hovered above the ground as she fired another ray of magic as it returned to an upright position and took swing at her. Hitting a tombstone the lunar princess grunted in pain before disappearing into a poof of magic before the claw could come at her and landed on the creatures back. She should have used another shield, or better yet a barrier she complained as she watched Gentle Feather's grave was reduced to rubble.

If dancing on graves was disrespectful, destroying one just had to be worse. Luna thought as she split her magic and used it to latch onto the worm creatures tendrils as she fired a concentrated beam of magic into the creatures backside. Trying to burn a hole through it's head in an impromptu lobotomy she road the creature as if it were a bull attempting to shake her off. Charging a nearby tree the creature rammed into it as the princess let go and jumped off before she found her vision filled with wood and shrapnel. With a quick land she molded her magic as she swiped her head at air and created a thin crescent of light blue energy. It passed through the tree with ease before continuing on and lobbed off a piece of tombstone.

***

Elsewhere a stallion stopped as he found his umbrella covering his eye. Using his hoof he adjusted the item as it tipped over and fell to the floor, a thin clean cut splitting it in half. "Huh?"

***

Firing another thin wave of magic Luna split the tree in the opposite direction as it formed a faint x for a moment before falling to the ground. "Slippery daemon aren't you?" Luna muttered as she watched the creature crawl out from the mess of leaves that formed the fallen tree. Watching it take a moment to hiss at her she took a few precautionary looks to the side before walking to the left. Some distance between herself and the nearest tombstone she charged her magic as she charged. The creature took the moment to inhale as the princess's eyes widened and it created a sudden noise from it's throat and a murky lime colored liquid was released. Cancelling her previous plan for an attack spell she shaped the magic into a shield as it was covered by the slime while some stragglers hit a few patches of grass and stone causing them to bubble and sink. "Acid?" Smashing her acid covered shield against the creature the princess pushed forward as she turned her attention to the broken tree that she had knocked down. "Well it appears charging blindly isn't your only trick." Capturing the tree with her magic she forced it to levitate as she she spun it around. Smashing the bark against the creature from behind she launched it into the air before turning the tree to smash them into the ground. Turning her makeshift weapon again she stabbed it downward as the creature recovered and slipped to the side as the tree returned to an upright position. Glancing at it she saw the familiar liquid being flung at her before she adjusted her already murky shield construct to protect her. Letting the acid cloak it she dropped her shield, letting it return to magic and teleported behind the creature before firing another quick bullet of her magic to catch its attention. Hissing at the princess the creature charged again as Luna turned kicked off the grass and ran.

‘We haven’t played tag since the Siege of Drakenshield.’ The Nightmare muttered as Luna nodded unconsciously and ran outside the Canterlot Graveyard and ran into the city. Her creature close behind her as she kept an eye out for anypony that may be caught in the crossfire. Finding to many she fired her magic at the floor and she felt herself rise into the air as she jumped land on one of the lower buildings. Considering where she was, there were not a lot of those.

"Come worm! I'm right here!" She wasn't sure is she successfully baited it or if the creature only had eyes for her to start off with but the creature followed after her, using its two limbs to scale the building wall and chased after her. This way none of the others would be hurt in the crossfire. Dodging another burst of acid spit Luna jumped over to the next building as it hit the wall and started melting it. The creature meanwhile simply followed after her, hissing at some points as it followed the princess across the selection of building. Reaching one that she couldn't jump to because of height she spread her wings and took flight, flying up to the wall as the creature followed after her. "That's it worm, follow me."

***

"Ha ha take that that Changeling! I hereby banish you to the sun!" Gum Drop yelled as he continued playing with his figuri - action figures. The foal's hooves were currently holding a tiny Princess Luna as he knocked over an organized army of even smaller changelings as well as a Queen Chrysalis. "Argh Curse you Luna! I will have my revenge!" The changeling queen was lifted as he made her talk back to the moon princess. "This is far from over! Mha ha ha!" Outside the foals room the real Moon Princess flew past before taking a quick moment to look back in curiosity, her mouth muttering something along the lines of 'is that me'. Looking behind her she fired a burst of her magic as the foal continued playing his games. "No you're wrong Changeling, it is over! You'll never lay a hoof on my land again!" Diving Luna disappeared as the creature climbed over the foal's window before turning as the moon princess somehow dropped from above and planted her hooves into it's face before flying off. "Is that what you think! Hahaha! Your dear Equestria is already mine." Outside the window worm like creature finished climbing onto another building as it grabbed Luna into one of it's claws as the princess took the opportunity to punch it in the face. "What do you mean by that?" Teleporting out the creature's grip and she impaled it with her horn as she blew a hole in it with her magic before backing away and rolled to avoid getting spit on. "Really Luna? You haven't noticed? The changes your beloved sister has suddenly gone through?" Gum Drop pretended to gasp as Luna grabbed onto the creature with her magic as she broke a chimney with it's head before charging it. "What? What ha-"

"Gum Drop! It's time for lunch!" From outside the door a mare's voice caught the foals attention as he looked up. Outside Luna tackled the creature over the edge of the building as they dropped into the alley below.

"Be right there!"

***

Hissing in pain Luna rolled herself off of the dumpster she had landed on - but thankfully not in and lifted a hoof to rub her back. "Oow…" She was going to be sore tomorrow. Her opponent hadn't been so lucky, face planting the ground as it struggled to compose itself. It didn't even need thirty seconds as it hissed at the mare and charged. "Resilient aren't you worm?" Glancing at the dumpster she'd just gotten off she enveloped it in her magic as she smashed it against the worm's charging face before kicking it with strength inherent to an alicorn pureblood. The dumpster raced across the alleyway as the worm crawled over it before it was embedded in the wall as it continued chasing the mare. Not a lot of room to maneuver the alicorn resumed running as they returned to playing a game of life or death tag.

She thanked Faust that the streets seemed to of cleared for her, all the ponies either just stepping through their homes or already inside them as she picked up her pace just enough to keep a bit of extra distance between her and her opponent. Hearing a bit of stone behind her getting hit by something that obviously wasn't rain she glanced back before making a quick frown. 'That better not melt through a pipeline.' The princess thought as she turned. Slipping a bit because of the wet streets she moved to one of of the less industrialized parts of the city and stepped into the park. The worm followed chasing after her as she jumped over a bench which it promptly ran through. "Damages can be kept to a minimum here…" Luna muttered as she glanced back. Yes the repair company was going to have a field day with all this damage they were doing but at least she was far away from anything else that could be broken. Jumping over another bench she ran across the field as she fired blades of magic at the thing behind her before turning. Letting a glyph form under her feet the mare dashed forward, becoming a streak of light as she passed under the creature before jumping onto it’s back and smashed her hooves onto it’s back. Following it with a magic ray the mare burned a hole into it’s back before it reached the floor. Without much delay the thing reached behind it, grabbing onto the mare before throwing her through the air.

Using her wings to steady herself the mare landed with ease. Raising a barrier she protected herself from a wave of acid before throwing it away. Without much delay she fired an array of magic in it’s direction before charging forward. Dodging to the side she avoided another caw strike before creating a blade of magic that carved a well made trench through the creature’s hide. “This isn’t working.” The nightmare muttered as she looked at her counterpart. “You need more power Luna.”

“I don’t need yours.” The light half muttered as she put some distance between herself and the creature. Frowning slightly Nightmare looked at her counterpart for a moment.

“You can’t defeat it like this. Raise the moon and draw from it’s powers.”

“And cause an eclipse again? I refuse.”

“You are not strong enough little moon, most of your half of the power is still returning from being hit by the Elements upon your return.” Luna simply frowned as she dug her hooves into the dirt for a moment as she prepared herself. Her darker half was right, two years ago when she had been struck by the Elements she had lost much of her power. Stripped away from her along with her darker half. Or so she thought. “You can not win this battle on your own little moon. You need my help.”

“Allow me to prove you wrong.”