Author's Note

So, I actually came up with this idea for an RP, and as it played out it turned out so fabulously that I just had to make it into a fic. I've enjoyed putting the starters to this idea on the page. I can't wait to see it come to fruition.

After this little introduction, the chapters will focus on the mane 6 and their families, and how they're affected. And We'll get to the overthrowing Equestria, heroes on a journey type stuff once that's done.

Hope you all enjoy this intro!

Introduction- Coming Through The Night

Night blanketed Equestria in a dark and comforting embrace. All over, Ponies were dreaming sweet dreams, indulging their whimsy, living impossible fantasies, and Enjoying a restful sleep. The Princess of the Night was busy hopping from dream to dream, and Celestia was fast asleep. Therefore, no pony saw what was coming.

Nearly invisible, a mist came up through the earth, creeping through Equestria. The only trace of it, a faint wavering like one might see on a hot day, was nearly impossible to spot in the cover of darkness. And as the Citizens of Equestria slept, the mist began to creep into their homes. Tasteless, soundless, and odorless, the mist touched them all. One by one, though they still slept peacefully, the mist infected their minds. In parents it planted one single thought. In children, it carefully eased their minds to a simpler time. For grown children who were out of the house, the abilities of the complex mix of phermones, magic, neurological agents, and transformation took effect, and transported them to their childhood homes with no light or sound. The transformation occurred in the rooms, as furniture and items were changed.

The mist stretched all over Equestria, leaving no stone untouched. Very few ponies were spared the worst of it’s effects. The princesses were untouched, and many of their guards were spared, but there was a purpose behind that. An air of normalcy must be present at first. Those in Canterlot Castle were spared. Little did their residents know, they were spared from an epidemic that was afflicting Equestria.

But there was a method to the madness of all of this. It wasn’t as though this happened as a case of The Cutie Pox would. No, the force behind this was cruel and malevolent, and always methodical.

Deep in the earth, In his Skull-Shaped lair, Grogar, master of all monsters was sitting, waiting. The mist had been a little pet project he’d been working on for many moons. A way to overthrow Equestria, and turn it into a land where surrender to him was the only option. A ram who believed in the power of preparedness, he’d spent a long while observing Equestrian citizens. And he’d come to a conclusion about their greatest weakness that most might not have thought of: Children. In his time observing them, He saw that children were cherished and protected. He’d heard the phrase a million times- Children are the future. Well, it was correct- even true.

But only if Children had a future.

Parents spent time caring for foals the most, so obsessed with every little detail of their lives that they barely noticed what was going on around them. It was a perfect fit, really. How do you stop your coup d’état from failing? You get rid of those who might try and stop it. So, naturally, that meant taking down Equestria’s heroes. Take away the element bearers, reduce their families to either foals or caretakers. Princesses going to be a problem? Not when you have their entire country hostage with something only you can reverse. The foals without parents would likely be attended to by grown mares or stallions who had no family. No one would stop him.

They say changelings were the only ones who fed off of love. Grogar scoffed at the notion. He existed before the changelings did. He created them, in fact. He had learned how to take love from others to feed himself for his imprisonment. And he’d given it to Changelings. But now, he was smarter. If he wanted to get love and energy, he needed look no further than mothers with their children. He’d been able to use his magic to measure the strengths of relationships ponies had with one another, and those had been the strongest by far. Taking their love, and their energy would fuel his return. The Mist had taken him ten years to develop to the point of being ready to go. The combination of magic, pheromones, and neurological agents took a long time to develop, and to get just right. Making it in and of itself had been exhausting. It’s why he wasn’t just taking love, but also energy. He needed to strengthen himself in order for this takeover to be successful. The mist left no trace that could be found by magic means or by medical testing. The mist was impossible to pinpoint geographically, as rising from the earth meant it could come from any crack. And the magic involved in it made sure that no pony in Equestria could remember anything other than what the idea the mist had implanted in the parents had dictated.

The one idea, so simple and elegant, that he’d implanted to all of the parents’ minds was one singular sentence: The children aren’t old enough to leave the house.

Really, it was art.

What age the children of those parents regressed to would be dependent upon the parent’s own mind- at first. The starting age, however young or old, would slowly decrease, until the child could no longer communicate or likely even walk, and the parent’s energy and love was ripe for the taking. When it was snatched away, the parent would collapse, fall asleep, and likely never wake up again, while the children remained regressed and unable to communicate, or move. And those few lucky enough to escape the effects of the mist would be so overrun with children to worry about, that planning a resistance would be impossible. With frazzled minds, too little sleep, and children every which way, Celestia and Luna would have no choice but to surrender control of Equestria. And with Equestria under his control, he could soon extend his power outward. When Equestria was in his grasp, what was stopping him from taking Mount Aris? Or The Dragon Lands? Or Griffonstone? Soon, every creature would be at his command. Ultimate power would be his alone.

As he looked into his crystal ball, he smiled to himself. It was the last good night’s sleep Equestria would likely have in a long, long time.