“In this, the prophecies are certain my liege. That on the longest day of the thousandth year, the Stars will aid in her escape, and with her return, I fear what may become of Equestria.” – Missive to Princess Celestia, from Archmage Hexagram, Celestian Year 113 (113 years after Luna’s Banishment)
Ponyville, Equestria – The Golden Oaks Library, Celestian Year 1004, Summer Sun’s Eve
~ She was alone, floating in a dark, quiet place. This place was not cold, just dark, and quiet...Memories flitted past her vision, memories of times not so long ago. The mare floated in seeming silence, surrounded by the comforting, quiet, warm darkness.~
“Elements of Harmony…see…Mare in the Moon?”
~ Her discovery, seemingly dismissed by her mentor. She had been so angry then, that her word had not been trusted...Why had she not trusted her? Was she not her most faithful student?~
“…And I have an even more essential task for you to complete – Make some Friends!”
~What good would friends do her? She had the knowledge, she only needed more to defeat Nightmare Moon..With the right knowledge, she could do anything...Nopony could stop her, if only she knew...~
“The Night Will LAST FOREVER! AH-HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!”
~If only they had listened, perhaps she would have been ready...Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps, perhaps....~
“Ah….You.” spoke the voice from the darkness…”Yes…You’ll do.”
~What? Who will do? Who are you? What are you?~
"I am you...little unicorn, my little Dark one.. I am what you will become...."
~But...why? What's going on here...~
"You'll find out..." Purred the voice, soft and warm as plush velvet. "We will speak again, Soon."
CRACK-A-DOUMMMMMMMMM
“AHHHHHHH!”
A scream filled the confines of the Golden Oaks library as a suddenly startled pony fell ingloriously from her bed on the upper floors as lightning and thunder streaked across the windows, temporarily illuminating the simple study of one Twilight Sparkle, bathing it in cold white light for the briefest of moments as the Pegasus mandated storm raged outside.
CRACKACRACKOOOOOOOOM
“Twilight, Twilight! Are you okay!?” A worried voice wavered outside the thick bedroom door even as the selfsame unicorn lifted herself from the floor where she had landed amidst her tangled blankets and pillows, splaying her normally well-controlled mane over her eyes and flattened ears.
She huffed out a sigh, followed by a jaw creaking yawn, and tried, unsuccessfully, to untangle herself from her bedsheets as another pounding came at her door – to use the word pounding generously. It was more like a knock with intentions of one day growing up to be pounding. “Twilight! What’s that racket in there?”
Twilight huffed out another sigh, her jaw snapping shut as she tried to stifle another yawn, trying to blow the mane from over her eyes and ultimately, deciding her professional dignity could take no more beating, called back to her dragon assistant through the door, though slightly muffled by half a mouthful of comforter. “Quit yelling, Spike and get in here and help me!”
The door swung open revealing the warm glow of a lit candle, now hurriedly being placed on a side table as her ineffable assistant tried very obviously not to laugh at the dignified unicorn’s current state, and began to untangle her from the mess of blankets and sheets. “Geeze Twilight, what happened to you?”
“Just…a bad dream.” Twilight hedged, her words punctuated again by that oh-so irritating yawn, not wanting to admit it was as much the peal of thunder which had awoken her from her uneasy slumber of fitful dreams and strange voices. She wanted even less to admit she’d been having said dreams for nearly three months now, and she was beginning to consider sending a letter to Princess Luna about them.
She would have sent the letter already, were she not afraid of being written off as a silly little filly overstating the importance of her own bad dreams. Besides, Both Luna and Celestia were busy with tomorrow's Summer Sun Celebration. She would not bother them with such petty trifles as bad dreams. She shook her head firmly again, expelling the thoughts from her mind to focus on what was important and in front of her. Namely, that she looked very silly and was still very tired.
“Looks like a lot more than a bad dream to me, Twilight.” Though bleary eyed and not entirely yet awake, Spike worried for his best friend in the world. Twilight knew that even as she shook out her mane and stifled another yawn, exercising self control in spite of her own fatigue, and looked upon him with that small smile she could never keep off her face at the sight of him. Baby dragon or not, he could come across as so incredibly sincere from time to time. It was both cute and endearing. He needed to be soothed, and gotten back to bed, or he’d be totally tuckered out for the party tomorrow.
“It’s alright, Spike. Go back to sleep.” She nudged him along with her nose, pressing it into his soft spined back and giving him a little shove. “We’ve got a big day tomorrow, and you don’t want to miss Pinkie Pie’s biggest party of the year, now do you?” Spike, taking this advice to heart in the way only a dragon could, bolted out the door with only so much as a “You too, Twilight!” and the sound of him hitting his bed like a sack of particularly scaly potatoes. The image that conjured up in her mind made Twilight giggle for a moment before looking out into the raging storm outside.
Supposedly, at least according to Dash, they’d had to move up a week's worth of storms across Equestria in order to ensure that the Princess’ Summer Sun Raising in Manehatten would have bright, clear skies. It had been an organizational nightmare, to say nothing of vast parts of the countryside suddenly being hit with a mother of a storm so that the city folk could have a fussed up party was not going over well with the smaller towns of Equestria. Never mind that only three short years ago, similar conditions had to be assured for the tiny town of Ponyville…A very fateful Celebration it was too.
Maybe that’s why I cant sleep…I’m still having nightmares about it. Thought twilight as she hopped her way back onto her bed, lifting her mess of sheets into the air with a soft glow of her horn, she began to untangle them, while the rest of her mind churned over her recent sleep problems. The most wonderful day of my life, and also one of the scariest, but why am I thinking about it now? I haven’t dreamed about it since after we fought Discord, and I thought I had overcome my fears of danger, and of losing my friends…
She worried at the problem, as she was wont to do, until her thick mass of sheets was untangled. She folded the blanket at the foot of the bed, as was proper, and laid the sheet neatly down over herself as she looked out into the storm. From within her Tree House, protected by her magical lightning rod, the storm looked beautiful and terrible. Not unlike how Celestia had looked when she had focused her anger at Queen Chrysalis just a year or so earlier.
Twilight had felt fear before, but never fear of her own mentor and teacher, of the Pony, the princess, who was as precious to her as her coterie of friends was. And yet, looking upon that serene visage tempered into one of hardened anger, she felt as though she had looked upon a face disturbingly like that of Nightmare Moon in the prime of her power. It had been a harrowing reminder that, however much love she felt for her teacher, she was still Princess Celestia, the Guardian of Equestria. She who was feared and respected by those forces in the world who sought dominance and control.
Twilight shook the thoughts from her head. She trusted Celestia, without a single question, just as she trusted her closest friends. And just the thought of them brought a smile to her face, knowing that Rarity would be up until all hours of the night, frantically working on some costume for a Manehatten socialite whose order was ‘The Most IMPORTANT. THING. EVER.’ Or so Rarity had proclaimed before shutting the door to her boutique with a slam. She was further certain that Pinkie Pie would be at the Cake's right now, working the ovens through the cool of the night to prepare the cavalcade of treats that they would no doubt ply into a small mountain of bits before the end of the party tomorrow. Rainbow Dash was equally likely far above the storm line, directing the weather corps of Ponyville in the controlling of the powerful storm above, and that Applejack was at much the same work as Pinkie Pie, preparing the apple family treats, as well as a promised batch of “Spring” Cider, a new innovation by Granny Smith, apparently in the hopes of sucking even more tourists from the Manehatten area to try the legendary Ponyville cider way out of its normal selling season.
Fluttershy…twas probably hiding under Lyra Heartstrings’ bed, having asked her earlier in the week for a place to stay during the scariest part of the storm. It was also very likely that Angel Bunny was scolding her as she did so. She half smiled at the image of the small white bunny trying to drag Fluttershy out from under the mint pony's bed so that they all could get some sleep. At that thought, she yawned hugely and pulled the sheets over her slim form and snuggled up into them against the storm outside, sleep quickly overtaking her mind and setting it once again to rest…
~Warm again. Surrounded by the comforting blackness. It was good here, safe here. She would not be disturbed here, save by her memories, Memories which slowly drifted past her, the only sounds she could hear, save for that soft, purring voice..~
"Oh, my beloved subjects...It's been so long since I've seen your precious little SUN LOVING faces..."
~If only the princess had LISTENED to her....~
"Yes…You. You will do nicely. My little Twilight Sparkle…"
~
Canterlot, Princess’ Palace, a few minutes later
~
Dark clouds swirled about the ancient tower, its height dwarfed only by the lonely peak of The Tall Mountain. There, a dark figure, enrobed a coat of stars and shadow, pressed her eye to a telescope and swept it with the glowing power of her horn across the skies. Though in truth, she could see very little this eve, with the massive patches of storm covering much of the lands around her. Even Canterlot was experiencing an unusually heavy downpour, though the ancient magic of the tower ensured she was untouched by the deluge.
Princess Luna frowned, for she felt her connection to the realm of dreams tugging at her, as though there were some vital thing she should be investigating. She shook this feeling off, knowing that there would be no time tonight to be exploring the dreams of other ponies in search of some nebulous worry. It was probably just the day, she thought with a wry sort of smile. Her Rebirth day, as she had come to call it since the events of that night seemingly so long ago. She shook out her night-blue mane as it settled down about her shoulders, reverting just for a moment to the plain dark blue of a clear summer's night, letting the magic of the Alicorns seep out of her body, leaving her looking much like any other adult pony, if one discounted the broad wings that adorned her back and the slender, long horn on her forehead.
She rested her head against the railing, a place she had always guarded the night from since time immemorial. Since long before she had been corrupted by her own jealousy and greed, since before her Banishment and return, here she had watched over the dreams and safety of all the little ponies as they slept through the silent night. She swept her telescope again across the land and a smile unexpected came to her lips – As she saw groups of ponies in many of the larger cities still partying the night away, wearing turquoise crescent moon medallions and black and blue elaborate costumes. Though the holiday was strictly unofficial as far as the Equestrian government was concerned, in the years since her return, the “Lunar Rise Celebration” Had become at once an excuse to extend the celebrations of the Summer Sun day into the day before, and also a touching, quiet tribute to Luna herself, gifting her more than one night in the year where the ponies did frolic under her beautiful night. She had worked especially hard this evening to make it a grand and glorious one, despite the storms.
She suspected Tia had a great deal to do with its inception, but it had caught on, especially with the cosmopolitan city ponies who never turned down an excuse to get hammered on salt licks and do things they would regret in the morning, and many of the younger and rowdier ponies of the smaller towns who saw worship and tribute to Luna as an easy way to defy their elders who were in many ways, still set in the old ways. Only the rather severe storm was keeping her from seeing into the raucous and often very bawdy celebrations going on with the ponies below. Still, despite her pleased demeanor, something still tugged at her. Some nebulous danger she could not place her hoof on. She shook her head and redoubled her watch, making a note to speak with Tia in the morning about it, perhaps after the Summer Sun Celebration she could delve into the dreams of the Ponies for a few nights, and seek out whatever this danger might be.
Ponyville, Golden Oaks Library, the next morning
“Morning, Twilight! Happy Summer Sun Day!” Twilight half-glared at the tiny, oblivious purple dragon, and wondered not for the last time if Celestia would scold her for turning Spike into a bouncy ball and letting Pinkie have at him for a couple of hours. Deciding, once again, that she probably would, Twilight sank into the chair by the small kitchen table the pair of them had shared innumerable mornings since her arrival in Ponyville.
A twitch of her nose, however, informed her that Spike was making pancakes, and that a short stack had just been delivered alongside a bright bowl of daisies and alfalfa sprouts, a steaming mug of coffee, and a warm bottle of the famous Maple family Syrup. Throwing a look at her dragon assistant that could be described as “Eternally Grateful” –Twilight wasted no time, her horn bursting into soft radiance and dragging the mug up to her mouth, the hot coffee mildly scalding her lips and tongue as the syrup bottle poured its sweet smelling goo over the warm, fluffy pancakes.
The mild pain of the hot liquid and its restorative caffeine was enough to render Twilight positively chipper by the time Spike sat down with his own, much much taller stack of flapjacks. Twilight eyeballed the giant stack and the salivating dragon behind them as he began to sprinkle on a small fortune worth of tiny sapphires over top it. Spike may have been a dragon, which meant his diet primarily consisted of gemstones and other precious metals, but as he put it, that didn’t mean he didn’t looooooooove the taste of pancakes. The very thought caused her to giggle and dig in more enthusiastically to her own breakfast, quickly dispatching the meal and leaving her far more refreshed despite another night of disturbing, dark dreams.
“Spike, I’m going to be doing a little special research today in the restricted room, so feel free to take the day to do as you like.” Spike gave Twilight a look that had layers of meaning, Most of those layers accusing twilight of being absolutely bonkers for wanting to STUDY on a beautiful, gorgeous HOLIDAY like today. But spike had long since learned not to argue with her when she had some sort of studying beast on the mind, so he simply sighed and kept attacking the seemingly endless stack of pancakes, even as Twilight gave her dishes a quick rinse with magic and water and trotted into the basement of the library.
Twilight had not even known about the basement until a sly, offhand letter from Princess Celestia informing her of its existence a few months after her arrival in Ponyville. While the special selection here would never dwarf the Canterlot Library, the Restricted Room of the Golden Oaks library was never the less a treasure trove of ancient knowledge and wisdom. Some of these books had to be Last Copies of their kind, others usually locked up behind vaulted doors in the Celestia’s School for the Gifted graduates section. Yet the Princess had entrusted her with both key, and unspoken permission to peruse the tomes of arcane secrets and dark, ancient lore.
“Lets see, Dreams…Dreams…D..D..Demons, Dragons, ah – Here we go. Dreams and their Portents by Saddle Trelahny.” A quick burst of air from her mouth sent the dust covering the book flying about the dim basement. Another glow of Twilight’s horn and a little hummed command and the lamps surrounding the single ancient desk that sat amidst the stacks of books gently wafted to life, illuminating the desk perfectly for a single pony to sit and read any of the tomes. This was sometimes necessary, given the faded scripts or ancient languages in need of being translated by spell or by expert. Twilght laid the ancient book down and with a casual flip of magic, cracked the tome open and began to read.
Sometime later…
“This writing is just…Awful!” And she wasn’t talking about the content. Couched in mystical gobbledygook, false assertions about the sun and moon determining the fates of each individual pony, and some bizarre tirade about the evils of government involved in higher education, the book itself was something of a travesty of intellectual literature. Twilight was about to hurt the tome away in utter disgust before a specific passage caught her eye. She had to translate it through all of the couching in ancient equestrian terms that effectively meant nothing, and focused on the meat of it.
“Of all of the threats in the realm of dreams, only one serves as terror for the people of all races. Referred to in the old tomes simply as ‘The Dark’ - this strange, seemingly indestructible being has had every tragedy and ill event in the history of the world laid at its tendrils. Some have blamed it for the goddess, Faust leaving the world behind to the mercies of Chaos. Others still lay it to be responsible for the birth of Discord, or the creation of any number of horrifying and powerful beings in the world. Regardless of its ultimate aims, only a few things are known for certain about it. It resides, at least in part, within the realm of dreams. It comes to ponies or other creatures in the night and slowly draws out their inner darkness. This darkness can take many forms, and some speculate that it can even change the very physical forms of those deeply under its sway.”
Twilight shook her head for a moment, the tome having discarded its usual mystical mumbo-jumbo in favor of a stark serious tone for that few sentences, noting that it quickly rambled off into the world of the absurd shortly thereafter. Twilight carefully shelved the terrible, but disturbing book of revelation she had just read when a sudden knock at the trap door interrupted her reverie. “Twilight? Twilight get yer sorry flank up here, Girl! You are not gonna spend Summer Sun Celebration cooped up in ‘ere with yer books! Now GIT!”
The sound of Applejack’s sweet twang startled Twilight out of her reverie. She puffed out her cheeks and prepared a scathing tirade about the disturbing information she had just uncovered when a second voice chimed in, “Darling, you made a Pinkie Promiiiise…” sing-songed Rarity, her voice positively dripping with innocent sincerity, as Twilight blanched at the thought of being accused of breaking a Pinkie Promise. She scrambled over to the staircase and bound up it, two steps at a time.
Manehatten, Unicorn Square, Tasty Olive’s Mixed Drinks Emporium
“All is in readiness?”
“Yes, M’lord. I have made certain the princesses will be indisposed until the time comes for the sun-rising ceremony. “
“Good. Remember, do not present them with any definable threat, or I have no doubt our plans will come to naught. You do not wish to be explaining that, should it happen, to our Master.”
“Of course, M’lord. I will be the very soul of discretion.”
The Crystal Empire, The Princess’ Palace
“Shiny? What’s wrong?”
The Alicorn Princess, Mi Amore Cadenza placed a hoof in worry on the shoulder of her husband and the love of her life, Shining Armor, Prince of Equestria. Her hoof gently brushed the bright blue locks from his eyes as he gazed out over the landscape – Though harsh, the use of the powerful crystal magic imbued in the city had transformed the once barren winter wasteland around them into a thriving sort of wilderness. It would be a long time before it could be called “Easy living” But for the Crystal Ponies who lived there, no one seemed to mind all that much.
For his part, Shining Armor could not shake the feeling in his gut that something terrible was about to happen. But not, for some reason, to the Princesses, no, his thoughts were focused entirely on a small lavender Unicorn who would be just heading off to the festivities with her friends. Surely, the Elements could protect them. Surely, he had nothing to worry about, right? He should relax, enjoy the chance to cut loose and party a little like he hadn’t had the time for since he had become the effective co-ruler of a very old subset of the Equestrian Kingdoms. And yet he could not draw his eyes from a fixed point to his south.
“Shiny…Talk to me.” A firm hoof, clad in the delicate silver jewelry of an Alicorn ruler, pulled his eyes to the soulful depths of the mare he loved so very much. He could not hide his feelings from her, any more than he could hide them any longer from his own sister. He gusted out his cheeks, knowing she wasn’t going to like what he next had to say.
“I’ve got to get the Ponyville. As fast as I possibly can.”
"But...Shiny...the celebration?"
"Cadence...I think my sister is in grave danger."