Dawn of Darkness

Chapter 1

Nightmare Moon stood atop the precipice as she stared down at Princess Celestia, who lay sprawled out on the ground below.  “Such an anti-climatic ending to this story, wouldn’t thou agree?” Nightmare Moon cackled as she spoke, a fire burning in her eyes.

“It was all too easy, dear sister.  You left the night creatures unchecked. Thought they would be vanquished in the sun.  Alas, no; I used my powers to cause a solar eclipse and now my soldiers have easily overrun your own forces.  Tell me, how does it feel to know that you have lost, that the death of your ponies and the strengthening of my own rests on your shoulders?”

“How.... How is this possible?”  Celestia gasped as she stared up at Nightmare Moon.  The darker alicorn gave an evil chuckle before waving a hoof at the sky where the moon was still blocking out the sun.

“Easy; my generals drew thou out with attacks on key cities.  They prolonged their attacks and sent in expendable forces to take over cities that we could use, then planted the better soldiers there to keep them under our control,” Nightmare Moon smirked as she spoke, before pointing her horn at the figure sprawled out on the ground, “I believe thou hast staved off your end long enough, time to end this little game!”

Nightmare Moon’s horn lit up with a dark blue pulse as she kept her horn pointed at the figure laying in the crevice below.  The sound of a low hum echoed through the fissure as Nightmare Moon’s eyes lit up with a devilish glee, “Goodbye, Sister.”

“WAIT!”

Nightmare Moon froze at the sound of one of her general’s voices, pinning Celestia to the ground before scowling over to the source of the disturbance, “What is it, Staccato?!  Can’t thou see that I am securing victory here?!”

“Many apologies, Your Majesty, but it would seem that what thee has there is not the real princess,” panted a white unicorn as she bowed before Nightmare Moon.  The cream earth pony beside her also bowed as Nightmare Moon stared at the pair of them.

“WHAT?!”

*One Day Earlier*

“Easy there, Cadbury, thou are getting a bit excited with the fighting,” Vinyl said in a calm voice, with just a hint of sarcasm, as she used her magic to blast one of Celestia’s guards into a tree where he slumped to the ground unconscious.  The cream mare beside her simply snorted as she removed her hoof from another guard’s face.

“I’m not as exciting as I used to be, Staccato,”  Bon Bon replied with a wry smile.  The alabaster unicorn that stood beside her simply inclined her head as she chuckled in reply.

“I do not like this, too quiet.  It is almost as if they are only....trying...to...” Vinyl trailed off into silence as she furrowed her brow at the surrounding area.  “Those reports said that Celestia was here, did they not?” Vinyl inquired as Bon Bon cautiously weaved around the unconscious bodies of the squad of guards.

Bon Bon merely shrugged as she kicked a guard in the side with a hind leg before snorting, “Such a waste of these guards, if only I still had my...” Bon Bon fell silent as she pondered over something that caused Vinyl to roll her eyes, “Sorry, what?”

Vinyl sighed as she pressed a hoof to her temple, “I asked if thou knew whether or not the reports said Celestia was here or elsewhere.”  Bon Bon frowned slightly as she racked her brain for any relevant information, coming up with none she shook her head. “Damn, can thou still contact thine captains or didst thou lose that power with thine-” Vinyl was cut off by Bon bon as she scowled and pulled at something that hung around her neck.

“I can contact Galvan, since he’s the closest,” Bon Bon curtly stated as she placed a fragment of unicorn horn to her forehead and closed her eyes.

Unicorn magic,  formed into beams, were firing across the once beautiful landscape as a team of zombified counterparts charged them.  Overhead soared pegasi, both living and undead, locked in an epic battle for the skies.  Behind the front lines stood a large pegasus with rotten wings which floated just a few inches above his body.  He was missing half of a leg; blood trickled from various cuts and the large gaping hole on his face where an eye used to be.  Feathers would fall off of his wings every few seconds only to be replaced by another, just as bent and broken.  Patches of his fur were missing, and in some cases, chunks of skin gave way to rotted flesh.

On the ground before him lay scattered assortments of bodies, some of them undead and others having once been living.  Beyond him was the field of battle, and what a glorious battle it was!  A grin tugged at the battle scarred ghoul’s face as he leapt off the rock he stood upon and made his way forward, not bothering to step over the bodies of those that lay before him; he reveled in the sounds of bones crunching beneath his hooves, making him feel as though he were truly alive once more.

“You! Status report!” He roared at a zombie who was dragging itself from the raging battle.

“They have bolstered their defenses, Sir, but we have managed to make a hole big enough for several of our best soldiers to punch through and attack them from within,” the zombified earth pony stated as the pegasus frowned.

“I see,” stated the ghoul before raising a hoof and bringing it down forcefully onto the head of the zombie, ending its tenure as a soldier and zombie.

‘Lieutenant!’

The ghoul paused for a moment as he heard his rank called, or rather, thoughthe heard his rank called.  Looking around, Galvan’s brow furrowed as he tried to pinpoint the location of the voice he had heard. After a moment or two, the creature shrugged and started to head back to the battle.

‘Lieutenant Galvan!’

Galvan realized he knew that voice, it was his master and the one who had raised him from the dead, granting him life once again, so to speak.

‘Commandant Cadbury?’ He inquired through the mental link that Bon Bon had established.

“What report does thou have for me?” Bon bon asked sharply, her tone harder than intended.  The pegasus looked around for a moment, his remaining eye taking in the damage his soldiers had made.

“We’re currently at seventy-five percent strength while Celestia’s forces have fallen well under fifty, Commandant.  We’ve lost a lot of soldiers, Ma’am, but we’re pushing back and making up for what we’ve lost,” Galvan stated as he dodged a beam of unicorn magic that just grazed his wing, causing a few feathers to fall off.  “Permission to turn the dead to our side, Ma’am?”

“Permission denied. Focus on wiping them out first and then thou can turn them if thou so desires.  Any word on Celestia’s whereabouts?” Bon Bon ordered.  Galvan gave a grunt before looking out at the battle field for a moment and snorting.

“PUSH BACK, SOLDIERS!  WE’VE NEARLY TAKEN THIS LAND!  FIGHT!  FIGHT FOR THE EMPIRE!  FIGHT FOR NIGHTMARE MOON!”  Galvan roared as he charged forward and slammed a hoof into the face of a unicorn who had drawn back in terror at the sight of the monster bearing down upon it.  “Word is that she is at the castle we are pushing to, is that not why we were sent here?” Galvan inquired to Bon Bon as he grabbed hold of a pegasus’ tail as it was trying to swoop down at one of his soldiers.

“Actually, I sent you there to keep thou closer to me and because that was one of the possible locations for Celestia to be in,” Bon Bon admitted somewhat unwillingly.  Galvan chuckled in spite of himself as he bucked a guard in the chest, knocking the wind out of the guard and causing it to tumble backwards only to be swarmed by a small group of zombies who gorged on it’s flesh.

The sounds of flesh being ripped apart and the screams of the dying were music to Galvan’s ears and he almost forgot that he was currently in an important conversation with his commander,  “My latest reports stated that she was in this location with a doppelgänger floating around near the cliffs around Trotsylvania.”

Galvan heard Bon bon give an annoyed sigh before she spoke once more, “Thank you, Lieutenant, continue on with your battle.  Staccato and I will send reinforcements soon if you need them.”

“No need to, Commandant.  We’ll be happy to recycle these soldiers once they are wiped out,” Galvan stated as he slammed a hoof down onto the head of a unicorn that had been attempting to spear him with her horn.  A loud and satisfying crunch as Galvan crushed her skull caused several of the fallen soldier’s comrades to flinch, making a perfect distraction for Galvan’s force to take advantage of as they swarmed over their prey.

“Very well then, carry on, Lieutenant.  Keep me updated,” Bon Bon stated before severing their connection. Galvan gave a grunt as he looked around at the bloodied battlefield and gave a laugh, most of Celestia’s guard force had been destroyed and the rest were trying to make a push against his stronger and more superior force.

With Bon Bon gone, Galvan refocused his attention on the battle as a unicorn blasted a hole into his left hind leg, tearing into the flesh and causing blood to ooze out.  With a loud almost feral roar, Galvan charged forward, ignoring the injury as he pulled back his left front leg and slammed it into his opponent's chest sending the unicorn toppling over.  A scream echoed through the woods and both sides ceased their fighting to stare in the direction of the scream.

No pony, living or un-alive, wanted to hear thatparticular sound.  Galvan took a few steps back and clenched his jaw for a moment, the flesh at the corners of his mouth ripping slightly at the sudden tightness.  Turning his head to look at his remaining soldiers, Galvan let out a shout, “FALL BACK!”

The others didn’t need telling twice, the sounds of the dead burrowing into the ground or soaring off into the trees filled the air as Galvan turned to the unicorn he had been about to destroy, “Find peace in the embrace of the Night Mother.”

Without warning another loud scream echoed into the clearing, this one sounding louder and closer than the previous one.  Galvan spread his wings and started to take off, only to have his injured leg grabbed and snapped off by his assailant, “If I die, Thou dies with me!” She snarled, pulling out her dagger.  Before she could do anything more, however, two sets of hooves sprang from the ground and pulled her under.  The last thing she heard was the sound of  her own bones crunching before her life was snuffed out like a candle in the wind.

Bon Bon blinked several times in the light from Vinyl’s horn as the white unicorn stood over her with a concerned expression, “Art thou alright, Cadbury?  Thou blacked out for a moment there.”  Vinyl’s voice was laced with worry that caused Bon Bon to frown slightly.

“Thou worries too much, Staccato.  I have the information we need; Celestia is, indeed, in this forest at the castle with a doppelgänger lurking about near the cliffs of Trotslyvania,”  Bon Bon recited as she rubbed her forehead, wincing slightly from the slight migraine that had formed from the draining use of magic.

Vinyl’s expression fell into one of pondering and then realization as she suddenly grabbed Bon Bon by her shoulders with panic in her eyes, “Nightmare Moon is headed there!  We have to head her off and give her the report!”  Vinyl was starting to panic and the thought of having to calm Vinyl down caused Bon Bon to leap into action; namely, smashing her hoof into Vinyl’s face and knocking her to the ground.

“Now that we have that under control,” Bon Bon muttered to herself as Vinyl rubbed her nose and checked for blood on her hoof.  “Staccato, get up!  If we are to have any hope of catching up to Nightmare Moon then we mustn't laze about wasting time!” Bon Bon gave Vinyl a sharp nudge in the ribs to encourage her back onto her hooves.

Without a second’s hesitation, Vinyl charged off with Bon Bon at her side, the duo driving deeper into the forest as they pushed towards their new goal.  In the distance they heard a shrill scream, although it was too far away for them to be sure if they actually heard it.

“Oi, Cadbury?  Does thee reckon those Banshee stories are true?”  Vinyl asked as she looked off into the trees while galloping beside her companion.  The cream mare slowed for a moment as she considered Vinyl’s question.

“Of course they are true, Staccato,”  Bon Bon said with a sly smirk as the white unicorn looked alarmed and started frantically looking about as if she would see one.  Holding back a laugh at Vinyl’s antics, Bon Bon speed her pace up, “Come along, Staccato... Unless thee wishes to be captured?”

Silence fell upon the duo as they galloped onward, pausing for breaks only when they were near collapsing from shortness of breath and exhaustion.  Vinyl was panting heavily as they finally exited the forest and found themselves near the edge of a river.  Bon Bon collapsed onto the ground and lay there panting hard for a few moments as Vinyl sat down. She then levitated a small canteen out of her saddle bag to Bon Bon, who proceeded to gulp down half the contents before shoving it back into Vinyl’s hooves as she sat up.

“Thanks, Staccato,  but what exactly was that?”  Bon Bon asked as she licked her lips.  Vinyl smirked slightly as she leaned towards Bon Bon, her nose mere inches from Bon Bon’s.

“Blood of a unicorn...”  Vinyl said with a sly grin that would have unnerved Bon Bon had she not half expected the answer.

Allowing her own little smirk to cross her lip, Bon Bon looked Vinyl in the eyes as she licked her lips once more, “Thought it had a bit of a tangy taste.”  Vinyl blinked at Bon Bon’s words as she opened and closed her mouth several times to speak.

However a distant sound of movement caused the couple to freeze and tense up, flicking their ears in order to hear where the source came from.  Looking in the treeline with a hunting gaze in order to see through the darkness, they started to back a little when the ground started to shake and a titanic dark form raised half from the ground ripping the trees apart looking at them with a blazing gaze.

“Bartholomæus?....” Bon Bon said a hint of caution as she stared up at the hulking figure.  Vinyl, in the meantime, shrank back behind her friend while she waited for the beast to make it’s move.

“Massster?”  Hissed the towering beast, as its eyes turning  to a softer glow at his caretaker's appearance.

“Barth? What are thou doing this far up north? Should thou not be wreaking havoc down south at Trottingham?”

“Yessss, but there’sss a problem with that,”  the behemoth of a wurm replied as he lowered his head level with Bon Bon before coiling his body around the duo, purposefully brushing the tip of his tail against Vinyl and causing her to squeak in surprise as she hugged Bonsie tighter.  “It would ssseem that the town has already been over run, by what no one knowsss.  By the time I got there nothing wasss left but a few ssstragglersss of the townsssfolk.”

A frown creased Bon Bon’s face as she shoved Vinyl off herself before looking at Bartholomæus, “That can not be possible...  Vinyl, did we send any others to Trottingham?”

Vinyl shook her head as she shifted nervously, “None that I can recall.”

Bon Bon’s frown deepened before she waved a hoof, “Whatever the case, Barth, I want thou to go back to Trottingham; stay out of sight as best thou can and inform me of any developments that take place by any units that are not our own.”  The wurm inclined his head in acknowledgement of the orders before slithering off once more, brushing along Vinyl as he did so.

Bon Bon shot Vinyl a cool look as the unicorn pressed herself up against Bon Bon once more as the creature moved past her.  Once the wurm was gone, the cream pony shoved Vinyl off of her and moved away, "Come, we have much to do."