Author's Note
This is my first fanfic ever so I would greatly appreciate any constructive criticism thrown my way.
Chapter One
Apple Bloom sat in a daze at her desk. She is bored out of her mind. For today was history class in Ms Cheerilee’s classroom. She was teaching recent events, something newly mandated by their esteemed princess of the night. But Apple Bloom mostly new these events already. She had lived them after all. Felt their loss, felt their change, and the cold of night they brought.
The room was dimmer than it used to be. A product of the eternal night that now griped Equestria. It was all consuming. The night fed off people’s joy. Fed off people’s happiness. And fed off people’s sleep cycle.
“Oh look, little miss Sleepy Bloom is at it again,” a snooty voice said from the other side of the room. It could only come from one other filly. Apple Bloom’s hated enemy, Diamond Tiara.
The rest of the class giggled at her outburst. Many of them might not like the pink pony but they would continue to try and get on her good side nonetheless.
“Diamond Tiara, no talking during class,” Ms Cheerilee chided. Her now angry gaze directed at the pink filly for a moment before swinging to face Apple Bloom as well.
“And Apple Bloom pay attention to the lesson. This will be important on this week’s quiz. Unless you don’t need to learn this material?.”
“No Ms Cheerilee, sorry. Ah will pay attention,” Apple Bloom forced herself to listen to the rest of the lesson. It was a recap of how Equestria’s new Princess, Nightmare Moon, “Liberated” them from they so called tyranny of the daylight. How the dark mare shared her gift of eternal night with the population of Equestria that were so long denied it.
This failed to work on everypony of course. Apple Bloom especially. All she knew and cared about was that Applejack along with five other ponies went off to confront Nightmare Moon when she emerged...and never returned. Celestia fell soon after. Apple Bloom almost let a tear drop just thinking about that terrible night.
It had never ended since.
A couple more hours passed before the school night ended. Apple Bloom was in the middle of packing up her Saddle Bag when her two friends, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, approached her. Eyes bright with passion despite the circumstances.
“Hey guys, what are you two so excited about?” Apple Bloom asked, trying to think of a reason the two of them would be like this.
“Did you forget Apple Bloom? It’s Nightmare Night tomorrow!” Scootaloo proclaimed.
“Ya, you remembered we were going out together for it right?” Sweetie Belle added.
“Honestly ah have been real busy with farm work lately and ah kinda forgot, sorry girls.” Apple Bloom apologized. It was only have the truth. The loss of her sister weighed heavily on Apple Bloom. It had forced her to grow up more then she should have. Apple Bloom was simply glad she had found friends like them to keep her sane. Then she heard that snarky voice again from behind her.
“Celebrating Nightmare Night? How childish. If I was Nightmare Moon I would have ended the practice.” Said Diamond Tiara trotting up towards them. Despite being her pompous self she did sort of have a point. Most in Equestria found it strange that Nightmare Moon had let Nightmare Night continue as normal. Perhaps it was because the holiday was about her and how terrifying she is.
“What is it to you? Nightmare Night is one of the only times of year we still get to have fun. So of course you want to ruin it,” Scootaloo replied at Diamond.
“Ya girls, let’s get out of here to where fun is still allowed,” Apple Bloom said as she started trotting away, her friends soon following her. As Apple Bloom exited the building she looked to the blackened sky and let out a quick sigh before continuing out of the school yard.
…
The three fillies trotted through town. The streets were mostly deserted except for a few ponies out shopping at the few stores that were still open all the time. The most common presence however were that of the Moonguard, Nightmare Moon’s soldiers that had flocked to her banner after she took over. As they went through the centre of Ponyville they saw a small patrol of them. They looked similar to the old Royal Guard but with pure black armor instead of white. A constant symbol of the new order they represented.
“Man those ponies freak me out,” Scootaloo said in a hushed tone so as to not let the Moonguard hear.
“Tell me about it,” Sweetie replied “They are always outside my house keeping an eye on my family.”
“Same with me,” Apple Bloom added “They even have a permanent guard outside the farm gate,” Apple Bloom suspected this was because her and Sweetie’s sisters were part of the group that tried to confront Nightmare Moon before her takeover.
“Definitely creepy,” Said Scootaloo.
The three remained silent before saying their goodbys for the day and split up.
“You will remember to bring a costume won’t you?” Sweetie Belle asked before departing.
“Of course ah will. Ah can throw something together real quick, you can count on that,” proclaimed Apple Bloom.
“I will keep you too that, see you later!” Sweetie Belle said as she was trotting away.
Apple Bloom made her way out of town and back towards Sweet Apple Acres. Despite it being dark out she had no reservations about making the trip. One benefit of having Moodguards everywhere is that even the Everfree forest is safe.
She kept going and soon enough she saw her home. Several Moodguards were outside keeping an eye on them. One of them glares at Apple Bloom as she approaches. She grimaces under his gaze but forces herself to walk through them. As she passes the fields she sees her brother Big Mac plowing them. And at that moment she is also glad Nightmare Moon had discovered a spell that allowed plants to grow under the light of the Moon. Otherwise Equestria would starve, and the dark mare could not have that.
Apple Bloom trots into the barn in silence.
The Barn is as unremarkable as ever. But it too has suffered under the endless night. Even with the ability to grow their livelihoods in darkness it was simply not the same without the presence of Applejack. Her second to none work ethic and dedication to her work were not something that could simply be replaced or forgotten. Through Apple Bloom tried.
Apple Bloom hangs her Saddle Bag in its place and prepares to do her daily work.
She then spies Granny Smith in her rocking chair. Knitting. That’s all the old pony did now. She has been too depressed since Applejack’s...disappearance to do anything else.
“Granny...uh, you eaten anything today?” Apple Bloom asked. Granny frequently went without eating for most of the day now. The old mare looked up from her knitting. Her eyes glazed over in depression, tear lines visible down the length of her aged face.
“I’ll eat when Applejack gets home my dear,” Granny says, her voice shaky. Apple Bloom sheds a tear herself before turning away.
“Applejack...won’t be home. ah’ll fix something for you Granny,” Apple Bloom says before going into the kitchen to slice some apples for her.
After giving them to Granny Apple Bloom proceeds to do her chores for the night. Since Applejack was gone the workload doubled. By the time Apple Bloom was done she was utterly exhausted. She went to sleep soundly that night.
In the years that followed she would look back on this moment before the storm with a sense of nostalgia. For as bad as things were now, they would have to get even worse before they got better...
Captain Logan Drax walks through the corridors of the Gale Force, the flagship of the Storm Bearers 2nd Legion, with a somber disposition. He is usually a more energetic and fun person despite being a soldier. But what he saw in that Verse full of Horses shook him to his core. He had fought many tyrants in his time. But never had he seen anything such as that.
The corridors of the ship were tall and grey in appearance. Familiar to him. Nothing like the once colorful and vibrant Verse that the locals appeared to call “Equestria”. And that made sense. For the Gale Force was a void ship meant for one thing. War. Ten kilometers of decks, guns, and hangers. For millennia men and women had served the cause of liberation in her. Logan was simply one of those men. However he was an important one.
As he walked past the soldiers and other personnel of the ship saluted their Captain. For this was the primary deployment ship for his Company, the 21st in the Storm Bearers Warhost. Logan finally makes his way to the Bridge and the large metal door opens automatically.
The Bridge is a large room with many staff members seated along the walls at one station or another. Communications, Deployment, Shields and so on. One side had a large window for them all to look out of in case the actual sensors malfunctioned or otherwise were ineffective.
In the centre was a large round table-like structure with a blue surface. The Briefing Table. Strategy meetings and tactical displays would be held there in holographic imaging. Despite being integrated into Universal society for decades now Logan still thought all of this technology was incredible. But he had no time to wonder now. He was here to see the person standing right behind the table. His hair blond, his face ever youthful, his presence electrifying. Immortal he was and immortal he appeared to be. His name was Calum Shields, Arbiter of the 2nd Storm Bearers Legion.
Calum looked up at Lagan as he walked in. When he saw the look on his subordinates face he started to look concerned. But he quickly dismissed it, for their was duty to be done.
“Captain Logan, I heard your transmission from the surface. Have you anything to report from the Verse?,” the Arbiter said, some concern for his old friend still in his voice.
“There is sir,” Logan said as he places a disk into a slot on the side of the Briefing Table. Holographic images of the locals pop up along with a stream of other data. Calum looks honestly startled and slightly amused at their appearance.
“The people there are...Horses?” Calum exclaims.
“That appears to be the case sir. However I suspect it has more to do with how the Source bends around the Verse. When I went there me and my men were also turned into horses. It was an...interesting experience to say the least. Calum briefly fought to hold back a fit of laughter before the moment passed and he calmed himself.
“So was the Verse worth scouting? It's not everyday that we happen to run into a new connection on our way to a Mustering,” Calum reminded Logan. He was right. This was an unexpected detour while their Legion was on route to link up with the rest of the Warhost.
However when this Verse first appeared on their Universal Scanners Calum had decided to investigate. However he had sent the bulk of the Legion ahead anyway.
“Yes sir, despite the seemingly... how do I put this... whimsical nature of this ‘Equestria’ they are under the foot of a tyrant by the name of Nightmare Moon,” Logan said as he pushed a few buttons on the display to present an image of the black Alicorn.
“That's quite a blunt name.”
“Yes sir, it appears many of the locals have similarly blunt names. This one however is special. She is a powerful Lesser Caster,” Logan says, referring to the name given to people who have extraordinary abilities while not being fully connected to the Source.
“Well that makes it all the more important that we depose her and free these...Horses. Speaking of which that Horse morphing problem should be easy to fix. A simple matter of installing a Source device to counteract the rules of the Verse. Nothing that hasn’t been done before,” Mused Calum.
“So my Company will make Planet-fall and Liberate them sir?” Logan interjected.
“Of course my friend. I take it you have also identified strong points to be captured and the capabilities of their troops?”
“Yes, I will bring them up now sir,” Logan said, punching more buttons to bring up a map of the Verse. Quite different from any other Verse both of them had ever seen. Logan pointed out the major population centers and strong points there. He also pointed out the military capabilities of the locals were very limited. Being only at a Medieval level of technology. After receiving this information Calum contemplated it for a moment before wearing a serious expression on his face.
“Muster the 21rst Company my friend. By the end of this day, Nightmare Moon shall fall,” And for the first time since seeing those children get strangled Logan felt fire flow through his veins.
…
Apple Bloom sat at the edge of the School yard. Utterly alone. It had been a day. One day since the best friends she had known in this world had died..no..were murdered at the hooves of Nightmare Moon. Apple Bloom clinched in anger at even the thought of her name.
She had begged Big Mac to stay home. Begged him for the chance to grieve properly. He had told her to be strong. To weather the storm. She had to, for them. Apple Bloom wanted to be angry at her brother for this but knew he was right. Didn’t mean she had to like it. And therefore during this recess she decided she wanted to be alone.
It was then that Apple Bloom heard the sound of somepony trotting towards her. Apple Bloom turned around and saw the pink form of Diamond Tiara standing before her. Rage bubbled up inside Apple Bloom at the sight of her enemy, who had no doubt come to taunt her with the death of her friends.
“What do you want Diamond Tiara? Is it not enough that ah’m alone? You want to spread salt in the wound too? Is that it?”
Then Apple Bloom noticed the look on Diamond’s face. It was not the usual smug smile of yesterday but the look of someone genuinely concerned.
“No Apple Bloom. I know we have had our differences. And I know the two of us don’t exactly like each other. But I could never be that cruel. I wanted to offer you my sincere condolences for your loss.”
The offer seemed genuine but Apple Bloom was still suspicious. This was Diamond Tiara after all.
“Why would you want to do that? You have never had nothin but scorn for me and my...friends,” the bite of her statement was taken as she mentioned her friends again and a wave of unrelenting sadness washed over Apple Bloom.
“Because i’m not a monster, despite what you might think. I’m not happy that two of my classmates were murdered either,” Diamond said, getting a bit annoyed before calming herself down again “I won’t bother you anymore Apple Bloom. And neither will Silvy when she gets better and comes back.”
“Really?”
“Really. And for what it's worth Apple Bloom, i'm sorry for how I have been treating you.” And with that Diamond turned to walk away. But then she noticed something in the sky and looked up, slowly backing up to beside Apple Bloom who also perked her head up to see what Diamond was looking at.
Five large structures were high up in the sky. Barely visible against the black night. Lit up only by the Moon and the lights that shawn off them. Large and slightly rectangular in shape they sat there serine above them.
“What the hay are those things, and where did they come from?” Apple Bloom wondered allowed.
“I don’t know.” replied Diamond Tiara
It was at that moment that several hundred smaller shapes came off the big structures and began descending towards the ground.
Apple Bloom could not remember much of what happened next but in the years that followed she said that was the moment all Tartarus broke loose.
