Nocturne
Chapter 7
The Dark Descent

Darkness. That was all Twilight saw once she had awoken. This kind of darkness was un-familiar to her. It isn’t like the darkness of a night sky, under a blanket, or even an unlit room. The darkness felt heavy like something was there holding the light away. She conjured a small orb the size of an apple to cut away the darkness. The others seem to have been unconscious too; for once the light shown over them, they stirred.

“Are you girls alright?” Twilight asked.

Ahm fine, just a little bruised.” Apple Jack said as she put her Stetson back on.

Pinkie leapt to her feet, “Okie dokie loki!”

“I’m quite alright dear.” Rarity said fixing her mane, seeming to be more concerned with it.

“I’m fine…” Fluttershy murmured.

“I think my wing kept my body from really getting hurt on that one…” Rainbow Dash said as she stood up from her side. Her right wing was clearly broken; Its digits frayed off at different angles. She winced in pain as she tried to fold it to her side.

“Oh… that doesn’t look good.” Fluttershy said as she walked over.

“Don’t worry,” Rainbow Dash replied, “It’s fine.”

“Oh no, it isn’t.” Fluttershy said. She touched Rainbow’s wing and near instantly the sky-blue Pegasus jumped back.

“Well, don’t touch it!” Rainbow Dash said almost scalding Fluttershy.

“Well it won’t heal right if it isn’t set properly. Here.” Fluttershy walked over to where Rainbow Dash had jumped over to.

“Now lay down, and when I say breath, take a BIG breathe in.”

“Ok...?” Rainbow Dash had replied reluctantly.

“Now why do you want me to-“Breathe!” Fluttershy said cutting her off. Rainbow Dash squelched in pain. At that moment, Fluttershy had placed her bones back into the correct sockets.

“That REALLY hurt!” Rainbow Dash said.

“Any other injuries major or minor we need to have looked at?” Twilight said. The other five seemed to squirm for a short second to make sure everything was in the same place and nothing was missing. Every pony came to a unanimous “No”.

Twilight looked around to try and get a good look at where they had landed. She looked up but didn’t see anything but darkness. She looked to her left and saw a stone wall. Just barely within the light of her spell. She walked along the wall and saw that they were actually in a small room with one wall not being a wall, but a steel bar gate. The gate seemed out of place; the walls seem as though they had been here since the rest of the castle, yet the gate seemed relatively new.

“This is odd…” Twilight had said investigating the gate even further.

“What Twilight?” Apple Jack replied.

“It’s this gate; it looks as if it was placed here recently. But that’s not the strangest part. There isn’t a lock and there aren’t any hinges.”

She reached out to touch it, and as her hoof made contact, there was a sizzling noise as she touched it. It burned her.

“Ouch!” she cried as she recoiled from the gate. The gate had seemed to move like the surface of water as a stone land into a pond.

“Well… if that isn’t the oddest little thing…” Twilight reached out again.

She made a small grunt as her hoof touched the gate. She tried to put the pain out of her mind. She started to press on the gate with more and more force. She felt as though she started passing through the gate. She did. She tumbled out of the cell as she did not expect to phase through. The other side she landed on was relatively well light with dim, purple torches. She looked back to the gate and saw it was still there and she could see her friends perfectly in the room guarded by the gate as if it was internally lit.

“Twilight? Where’d you go?” Rainbow Dash said.

“I’m on the other side of the gate.” She looked around and saw that there were similar rooms as the one she came out of, except that there was no gate. She saw a stone on the wall next to the gate that was slightly raised. She pressed it, and the gate dissolved into shadows into the floor. The others walked out of the cell and looked around.

As Rarity came out into the light, Twilight noticed that her Element was gone.

She gasped, “Rarity! The Element’s not on your neck!” Rarity gasped and felt around her neck. She looked in the cell. There was nothing in there but air and stone.

“Oh it would be so easy if I still had it…” She growled silently to herself.

“Pfft… Why would anything we do be easy, Rarity?” Rainbow Dash stated

“That fire can’t be real.” Apple Jack said as she looked at the torches magnificent purple and white flames.

“It is, but it’s magical, I’ve read stories about purple fire; it doesn’t produce heat.” Twilight said.

The six looked down both ways of the hallway and saw two stairwells, one leading up and the other leading down.

“Well, anyone got a coin? I don’t want to choose.” Rainbow Dash said half sarcastically.

“Let’s just try to go up! We fell down, right?” Pinkie enthusiastically said.

“Can’t argue with that logic.” Apple Jack replied.

“Well, let’s go.” Rainbow Dash stated courageously and impatiently. They had set off to the stairwell that leads upwards. Noticing that it was completely dark once they had reached it and Twilight’s light orb wasn’t casting light.

“Wait a second…” Twilight said as she looked closely at the dancing shadows of the torches flames. She noticed how that the darkness moved with the torches. She took a torch off of its stand and moved it about in the stair well. The torch brought light.

“That’s weird.” Twilight said. “These torches can light the darkness but my light can’t.”

“Maybe this darkness isn’t natural?” Apple Jack said.

“That would make sense, but what would be so powerful to make darkness like this?”

“Nightmare Moon?” Rainbow Dash replied.

“Yeah…” Twilight said softly. “Well, let’s make our way up girls.” The six stepped onto the stone floor and the sound of their hoofs hitting the stone floor caused an echo to softly ring through the darkness eerily as if it was whispering to them.

“What progress have we made?” Nightmare Moon asked forcefully to a female officer peering over a map.

“We have reached to the edges of the Everfree Forest, Mother, but it seems as if something is stopping our advance. We still have some influence in the area, but it seems as if this one specific area is stopping us.” She pointed her hoof at a small clearing of in the center of the forest. Upon closer inspection, it was the old Royal Sisters palace ruins. Nightmare turned this over in her head several times. She could not figure whether this was good or bad. There was still influence in the area, but she couldn’t advance any further into the area. It was more like the land was a colony to her empire.

“The palace is clearly what is stopping the advancement.” Another officer spoke up after several seconds. Nightmare wanted to speak up, but she decided not to. She would have said it was the Element she dispersed there, but after the debacle with Celestia’s little friend, she became more careful with information, giving it only to those necessary to carry out the action.

“Yes, it seems that it is. It may be a problem.” Nightmare said almost distractedly. “As you were.” She said she walked out of the room. She walked up to the throne room. Walking down the carpeted path to the large throne, all bowed before her. She sat upon the throne contemplating. It appears where the Elements are, the Darkness cannot continue… Nightmare still didn’t know how to take this information. Since the Element was there, once it left the area, it would make the area hers, but harder for her to get to the foals if they got more. IF they collect more of them, only if, she reassured herself.

Nightmare closed her eyes and saw Canterlot. She saw the fighting of her army and the Solar army below. She saw the castle below her. Its purple topped turrets, large white marble walls, the windows. She saw the citizens looking up at the sky, seeing the Moon and the Sun up in the sky. Some looked with disbelief, some looked in fear, but a few tried to go about their life. Nightmare chuckled slightly to herself.

“Get a good look at the Sun… It may be your last…”

She opened her eyes and saw Umbra walking up from the door on the other side of the room. “Has our special guest made any progress?” Nightmare asked.

“He hasn’t said anything other than whispering some words to himself and yelling that he won’t say anything.”

“Do you know what he was whispering?”

“He was just saying ‘Twilight…’ over and over.” Nightmare sat back into her throne.

“I may have to pay our friend a visit soon and see what exactly twilight has to do with him. Doesn’t he know it’s impolite not to speak to his hosts?”

“How old do you think these dungeons are, Twilight?” Apple Jack asked after examining a section of stone in the stairwell.

“I’m not sure. The dungeon we woke up in seemed old, but it was almost like place was sort of restored; I doubt even a Princess’ castle gate magic would last a thousand years, never mind the fact it seemed to be dark magic.” A moment after Twilight spoke, there was a soft squeak, much like a rat or a mouse.

“What was that?” Rainbow Dash asked sharply.

“It sounded like a rodent.” Twilight said. “Girls, check around your feet.”

They did. There was nothing around their feet. Twilight froze, looked up and raised the torch. Bats. A swarm of them. Many were sleeping silently, unaware of the intruders just 20 feet below them. But one looked straight at the ponies with its’ red eyes and shrieked like a banshee. It was then all of the other bats awoke. Those bats in turn started shrieking.

The bats flapped their wings and started to fly. All of the bats rising to fly at the same time, their screeching, and the flapping of their wings at once in the stone stair well was nearly deafening.

“Run!” Twilight yelled over the bats.

“Don’t have to tell me twice!” Apple Jack yelled running after Twilight. Along with the bats calling, the girls could hear Rarity’s yelling over the creatures. After continually running up the spiral staircase, not noticing many exits along the way, the ponies crashed into a solid wood door.

“Open the door!” Pinkie cried loudly, pounding on the obstruction.

“Move, Pinkie!” Twilight yelled as she moved her out of her way. The door was locked. Twilight charged up her magic and let loose on the lock and it burst like it had a cherry bomb in it. Bits of red hot iron flew off in all directions, hitting several of the bats. The bats that were struck had burst into a dark mist. A few bits had flown straight through Apple Jack’s hat.

“Whoa!” She cried as she felt the heat for a brief moment through her hair. Twilight flung the door open and the girls ran through it. Rainbow Dash had moved a large pillar over to block the door. Luckily the door opened into the room. After a few moments, the screeching had died off and the bats flew away.

“Whew, I’m glad I’m not a few inches taller.” Apple Jack exhaled as she examined the holes in her hat. They still smelt faintly of burnt leather. She placed her hat back on her head and looked around.

“Uh… Twilight? Could you light the room up a bit for us?” Apple Jack asked.

“Just a moment.” Twilight took the flame from the torch and divided it and sent it to other torches in the room. The room lit up greatly with purple.

“What is this place Twilight?” Fluttershy asked silently.

“It looks like an old royal bedroom.” Twilight answered.

There was a large circular rug in the center of where they stood. A few inches after the rug ended there were a few steps that went across the entire room to divide it. On the higher division, there was a bed with yellow and orange translucent drapery. It was vibrant and so was the wood work on the bed. There was a vanity to the left of the bed up against the wall and the mirror was almost new looking.

“It’s surprising that this place is so well kept after so many years.” Rarity said admiring the vanity.

“You say that as if no one lives here.” A voice off in the corner of the room said. The voice was that of a female. It had sounded like Nightmare Moon’s, just slightly higher and slightly less harsh. There was a dark blue Unicorn sitting lazily in a chair in the darkest corner that stood up and stretched.

“Who are you?” Rainbow Dash had demanded, raring up as if she was about to take off.

“Who am I? Who are you? Here you come, stealing my jewelry, causing a ruckus, killing my pets, breaking my door, and you ask me who I am? Someone clearly has never taught you your manners.” She strutted slowly to her intruders. “Judging by the similarity of your cutie mark and the Element of Generosity, I think it’s safe to assume that you are the bearer of it. And since there are six Elements, and six of you, you all must be the new bearers of the Elements of Harmony.

“That’s right!” Pinkie said in a way that showed she seemed to not realize the situation wholly.

“Yeah!” Rainbow Dash said digging deeper into her stance, “Now give us the Element and we won’t have to hurt you!”

The Pegasus chuckled loudly. “You hurt me? Ha! Clearly, you are fast, yet you have a broken wing, the yellow one is much too timid to throw a strike, the way the generous one is dolled up shows she wouldn’t want to get her coat dirty, the Pink one couldn’t possibly catch up to me, nor could the orange one. But the purple one…” she said turning into a mist going over to Twilight’s side. As she reached Twilight, a figure of her head could be seen from the fog she had reverted herself into.

“I can feel your power; the raw strength inside your body. You must be the Element of Magic… The most powerful and most elusive Element. Scholars studying all their lives cannot hope to even match the power. But you… you are different. I can feel it. But raw power is just that: raw. Even if you do manage to beat me, you won’t be able to change the Element back…”

“Change it back? What do you mean?” Apple Jack had spoken up.

“Oh, I took the liberty of personalizing the Element. No pony was wearing, so I assumed it was just lost and forgotten.” The Unicorn lifted her neck to show the necklace she wore. It was the Element of Generosity. Except that a dark power seeped off of it. Even a non-magical creature could feel the dark energy that emanated from it.

“What did you do to it?!” Rarity cried in dismay.

“Oh, when I tried to put it on, it burned me, being I’m not exactly a creature of ‘harmony’.” She had said harmony in a mocking tone. She was floating around the foals slowly with her legs semi-transparent and a fog around her where they would be.

“So I corrupted it. About as easily as that disgrace of a Draconiquis corrupted you six. I poured all of my feelings of greed and what I desired most into it, and, poof!” The Unicorn’s mist slightly burst as she spoke.

“It’s now the Element of Greed!” She let loose an evil laugh.

“How?” Twilight said in disbelief.

“Because, the Elements are only as perfect as your beloved Princess who wielded them was; which isn’t saying much really.”

“How dare you!” Twilight said, stomping her hoof on the marble floor.

“Oh, I dare very easily.” The Unicorn said in a mocking tone. “Oh, speaking of which, what do you think she is doing right now, sitting idly in her room? Or would she be taking a stroll through the gardens?”

This remark only enraged Twilight further. Her horn started sparking.

“Oh, but why would the Princess walk? Walking is for peasants. Just. Like. You.” The dark mare said slowly and angrily as she looked into Twilight’s eyes.

Twilight yelled and her horn glowed bright white as it fired off a beam of light. The light had sent the mare reeling back into the bed and she crushed it as she landed on her back.

“You want a peasant?” Twilight yelled angrily as her eyes glowed bright white.” I’ll show you a peasant!” She charged another beam from her horn, as she was about to fire, the mare let out a dark explosion that threw all but Twilight against the wall. Twilight and the Unicorn seemed to be lying dead except for the fact they were breathing on the floor under a dark blue shield.

Rainbow Dash had tried to break the shield, but as she struck it with her fore-hooves, there was a sound of electricity crackling and she was sent back and landed on her right side. She yelled in pain as she landed on her broken wing.

“Why is it always MY wing that gets broken?” She yelled as Fluttershy placed the bones back in place. Fluttershy looked at Rainbow Dash questioning whether or not she really said that. Rainbow Dash realized how that sounded and looked at Fluttershy and apologized, “Oh, sorry.”

“What are we going to do?” Pinkie said in complete disarray.

“I don’t think there’s anything we can do, Pinkie, we’ll just have to wait.” Apple Jack sighed.

Twilight woke with a start. She looked around to see that she was standing at the entrance of a labyrinth. She remembered everything in perfect clarity except what led her here. She looked around to see that it was just the entrance to the maze.

“Why is it always a maze…” Twilight said scornfully. Her horn was still glowing with anger. She couldn’t let her guard down, especially since in a maze, anything could be anywhere.

“Where are you!?” Twilight’s yell echoed through the entire labyrinth. There was no reply except a familiar chuckle. “When I find you… you’re going to wish… that I didn’t…” Twilight muttered angrily under her breath.

She wandered the maze for a while. The longer she did, the less real everything seemed. She knew it was a dream; it felt unreal even for a dream. She could see shadows in the corner of her eye, swearing there was something there, but nothing was.

“Come out of hiding you coward!” Her cry echoed through the maze again.

A more complex and mocking reply followed.“If you’re so powerful, why don’t you just use teleport to me?” A chuckle followed the question.

Twilight contorted her face angrily and gritted her teeth. She tried teleporting. The burst of magic had taken her back to the entrance.

“Oh yeah… You can’t teleport! Hee hee hee!” The voice of the mare was simply annoying Twilight beyond belief at this point. Twilight blindly chose where to turn next at this point. For all she knew, she started in the center and was working her way out, or up, or down, or wherever the blasted Unicorn wanted her to go. Twilight had turned right and it led to a dead end. As she turned around to go back, she saw that the way that led into the dead end was no longer there, only to be replaced by a field. It was quiet, there was a pond in the center, and there was a mountainous sky line.

She walked into the field slowly and skeptically. She heard grass crunch behind her. She turned and saw a tall and completely black figure. She fired her magic at it the instant she saw it. The field had dissolved into the stained-glass room at the Canterlot Palace and saw that the figure laying was not the figure, but Celestia.

She was lying on her side, heavily injured. Her pearlescent feathers were scattered around her, soaked some blood from the blood that had started to pool. The room had been destroyed; the door that held the room of the Elements was decimated, the stained glass windows had been shattered, the carpet was nearly non-existent and the parts that were, were burned and destroyed.

“You’ve failed, Twilight…” Celestia let out silently, “Nightmare won… because you weren’t strong enough…”

“What?” Twilight said not believing what she was hearing. She rushed over to Celestia. “What happened?” Twilight asked mournfully.

“You’ve failed…” Celestia said with a breath and laid her head down.

“What?” Twilight said stumbling back and finally sitting.

“How…” Night had taken its hold and Twilight could hear Nightmare Moon’s diabolical laugh.

“No… it can’t be…” Her tears it the ground. As they did… the ground dissolved like acid. The entire room began to disparate. When the palace was gone, Twilight saw Nightmare Moon standing tall and proud where Celestia’s body had been.

“It’s over Twilight…” Nightmare started with an evil grin, “I’ve won…!” She started an evil laugh. Twilight cried more forcefully.

“No…” she had started.

“No, what?” the victorious mare started, “It is clear that I have won! You will bow to me!” Nightmare slammed her forelegs on the ground and there was a tremendous rumbling.

“No… No… No. No. No. No. No!” Twilight looked up at Nightmare and her eyes and horn glowed with the light of the sun. Nightmare looked in horror and confusion.

“What is this!?” Nightmare cried out in horror.

“This is where you fall!” Twilight’s voice boomed echoed loudly through the midnight field. A golden light had shrouded itself around Twilight’s body. Soon, there was a large, golden and glowing Unicorn as large as Nightmare Moon. It charged at Nightmare with all its speed and takled the mare. Upon contact, the pure light had burned Nightmare. She cried out in pain and disbelief,

“What is this!?”

The golden figure simply stated, “A nightmare.”

The scene dissolved once again to the middle of the labyrinth with Twilight standing on the dark Unicorn’s chest. Tears were in Twilight’s eyes, which still were glowing white, anger was in her head, and power was in her heart.

“Please!” The mare shouted defensively, “Please don’t kill me!”

Twilight contemplated this in her head. How she wanted to. How she would love to, but she didn’t.

“Go back to where you came from and never come back.” Her voice had continued to boom. The scene dissolved finally to the royal bedroom. The dark shield had shattered like glass and the shards hissed upon contact with the ground. The Unicorn had blasted a hole in one of the stone walls and turned into the dark, shimmering mist, and fled, leaving behind the Element of Generosity.

“Yeah, you better run!” Rainbow Dash cried out.

“What happened, Twilight?” Fluttershy started.

“Yeah! Your horn had started glowing and sparks were flying like ptew!” Pinkie started running across the room continuously making inane sounds.

“A nightmare happened…” Recollecting what happened in the dream. She remembered every detail with perfect clarity.

Rarity walked over to the Element and picked it up with magic. “Oh… it’s all… evil.” She said.

“Don’t worry, Rarity, Ahm sure we could figure out a way to change it back, right Twilight?” No response from twilight who was looking off into the hole the mare had blasted into the wall.

“Twilight? Twilight!” Apple jack called. Twilight woke up suddenly and her head slammed right against Apple Jack whom was standing over her, trying to wake her.

“Ow! Land sakes, you have a hard head!” She said rubbing her head.

“What happened?” Twilight said rubbing her forehead. “Well, remember when we fell into the pit once Rarity picked up the Element? That didn’t happen.” Rainbow Dash said. Even she didn’t believe what she had just said.

“What? How?” Twilight asked back.

“We’re not entirely sure, but we think it was a dream.” Rarity said. The Element she wore around her neck was not gold, but very dark blue; almost black. The purple of the amethyst was much darker than it had previously been.

“But… what?” Twilight asked again, in even further disbelief. She looked over at Apple Jack’s hat and saw the several holes from the pieces of the lock that cut through it. She looked over at Rainbow Dash who had her right wing wrapped.

“How was that a dream if Apple Jack’s hat,” Twilight began to stammer, “And, and… Rainbow Dash’s wing, and and…” She merely sat in sheer and utter disbelief. She felt under her eyes and felt tears that had fallen and tried in her coat.

“We’re not entirely sure, as we said, but I think we have a lot more than just that ahead of us.” Apple Jack said inspecting her hat solemnly.

The mare had hurried back to the Hold as fast as she could, for the sun burned her when she was a mist. As she arrived, she reverted back into her original form and bowed sadly in the throne room to her Mother.

“I’m hoping you came here during the day in great haste to tell me what a success you had in stopping them, Dusk?” Nightmare Moon had said bored and sarcastically.

“I’m so sorry Mother…” Dusk began to tear up and her voice broke.

“I tried all I could but… the purple Unicorn is too powerful…” She broke out into a full, uncontrollable cry.

“I knew I shouldn’t have sent you… too inexperienced. For an officer, you are weak. I had hoped that you could at least take six young foals. But clearly, I was sadly mistaken. Leave my presence and pray that I don’t contemplate a punishment.”

The mare ran out of the room crying.

Never leave something up to someone who can fail at it… Nightmare Moon thought.

Author's Note

I told you this would be a longer chapter.