~Proud~
“Thank you, Miss,” Proud said, beaming at the older mare that had been walking with him on the way to the library. Now that the tree was in sight just a bit further up the street, he could easily get there without a guide.
“Oh, it was no trouble at all, little one,” she said, ruffling his mane affectionately. “Now you run along and have fun now.”
With on last wave, Proud trotted off to the library. As much as he hated to admit it, he was somewhat bad with directions, and took a wrong turn on his way back to the library from the Town Hall. The others didn’t need to know that, though. And they wouldn’t, no need to ruin the good mood he had from finishing his taste so well.
It was with a pleasant skip to his step that he went to the Library, though his skip encountered a hitch, shifting to hesitancy. Neither Silver nor Flare were present. He was sure at least Silver would make it back before he did. Twilight wouldn’t have arrived in to meet Rarity looking as she did if he had not pulled of his role.
Hopping up to the main entrance, he reared up and tried to knob, confused to find it closed. There weren’t even any lights in the windows. Falling back to all four hooves, he looked around, hoping to catch a glimpse of his missing relations en route. A moment later the lower portion of the stable doors swung open and an indistinct form snatched him, dragging him into the darkness, the doors slamming behind him.
“No! Let me mhuphf!” he tried yelling in panic as he struggled, his cry cut off by the leg that pressed itself over his muzzle, his squirming futile against the strong pressure holding him.
“Shhh!” his captor whispered at him. “You’ll ruin the surprise if you make too much noise now, silly billy!”
As his eyes adjusted, Proud could faintly make out the colour of his captor’s coat. Struggling a bit, he managed to look up into the brightly grinning face of a certain mare. “Ihnkie ihe?”
“Yepper-ronnie, Proudy!” Pinkie said, releasing him for her hug of doom. She bounced merrily back to the closest window and peeked out the gap in the drapes. “Came to take part in Twilight Sparkle’s Surprise Welcome to Ponyville slash pre-Summer Sun Celebration Party Bash?”
“I didn’t kno… I mean, sure!” Proud said, deciding to just go with it. He looked around the dark room. With the curtains drawn and the lights at a minimum, it was hard to make much out, but he could see and feel that the room was filled with a lot of ponies. “Pinkie Pie, is my brother here?”
“Weeeeell…. It depends on which brother!” Pinkie said cheerfully as he kept up her watch. “I haven’t seen Bluy, not since earlier when he was over by Fluttershy’s place, but Silvy’s in the reading room in the back.”
“Thank you, Pinkie,” Proud said, trotting off through the crowd, using his smaller size to his advantage as he slipped through the press of bodies. He found Silver curled on a cushion under a window, reading by what little light slipped in past the blinds. So engrossed he was that he never noticed Proud entering until the former was tackled by the latter.
“Hey!” Proud said. “It totally worked with Rarity!”
“You know you could have just said hello,” Silver said, pushing Proud out of his face and climbing back into his reading position. “Rainbow worked out too, somehow. Have you seen Flare yet?”
“No, he hasn’t turned up yet. I bet Pinkie sends him around when he does though,” Proud said confidently. He looked at the book Silver was reading. “What are you looking up now?”
“Honestly? Nothing,” Silver shrugged. “It’s an encyclopedia. I’m just flipping through the pages, passing the time…”
“Trying not to worry,” Proud observed. Silver looked up sharply at him. “What? I’m not that oblivious. I know you tend to over prepare when you’re worried then find other things to do to keep your mind off the issue. Normally you make your plans on the fly instead of way in advance.”
Silver just blinked, a bit shocked, since he was the one who would normally make the insightful comments. Proud chuckled and nuzzled his little brother. “Don’t worry about it. You come up with good ideas and plans all the time, even if you like to keep the cool parts for yourself. It worked out with Rarity and with Rainbow, it will all work out.”
Silver tried to stay stoic, Proud could see that he was still stressing himself out by the way he screwed up his muzzle and stared down at the book. It was what he did when he was trying to keep back the tears. Proud booped him on the muzzle once again. “You’re going to get wrinkles.”
“You’re going to get bitten,” Silver muttered under his breath, but he relaxed a bit. Proud grinned, pleased that he managed to keep Silver out of a funk and headed back out into the party proper to watch with the rest.
It was a long wait, to be honest, during which Silver found a new book to read and Proud played bouncer for whoever tried to get into the room until Flare finally showed up. The pegasus looked agitated and glared at Silver when he saw him.
“Your plan sucked,” Flare said, jabbing a hoof at Silver. “Fluttershy got to the park on her own. I didn’t have to bother going!”
Silver’s enthusiastic grin only made Flare’s mood worse. “That’s actually a good sign. Stuff is still happening the way it should!” Silver explained as Flare’s wing twitched. “We might not have messed stuff up after all!”
“So, basically, your plan was pointless?” Proud asked with the hint of a snicker in his tone.
“Or it was already part of everything that happened,” Silver shrugged.
“So, what now?” Flare asked. “We just stay for the party?”
----------
The party went off without a hitch. Even down to the hot sauce causing Twilight to race off to the bed room in a huff. Proud had been worried that it would be somewhat boring, with just grown-up ponies around, but it turned out that there were more than a few foals there as well. A few from the party they had at their house, as well as a few new ones, including the notorious bullies of Ponyville; Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.
The colts avoided them, but had fun with the rest. They narrowly dodged a major situation though, forgetting to let their Aunt know where there were. Fortunately for them, Pinkie Pie had invited her as well.
Silver didn’t stay the whole night though, mostly because he wanted to be well rested for the morning when Nightmare Moon turned up and didn’t trust himself to be able to pull an all-nighter at his age. Bowing to his reasoning, Flare and Proud left early as well.
The last stage of the plan depended on them being at the celebration anyway. Pretty much the entire town turned up for it, and it was only because Aunt Rain woke them an hour and a half before the sunrise that they were able to get into the town hall proper. The rest of the population had to make do with seats outside or by the windows.
“Wow, the Royal Guards look so awesome!” Proud said as the anticipation of the Princess’ display mounted. Ranks of guards, unicorn, earth pony and pegasus alike, were stationed around the room, gold armour polished and glistening. “I so want to be a royal guard when I grow up!”
“Your uncle would be happy to hear that,” Pure Rain commented. Staunch Stand was one of the trainers for the guard and would love nothing more than for one of his favourite nephews to going the ranks. “Of course, I’m not sure you would be as thrilled if he starts training you early.”
Proud just kept beaming, not intimidated in the least. Silver nudged him as soon as Pure Rain was distracted by the pegasus beside her. “When you grow up? I thought you had… another goal in mind.”
“You can want more than one thing,” Proud said stubbornly. He never said anything about giving up on meeting the Princess, just that being a Royal Guard would be awesome.
“Sure,” Silver said slowly.
“I dunno…” Flare added. “Proud would look pretty weird with a white coat. It’s weird.”
“Hey! What’s wrong with a white coat?” a slightly filly’s voice, slightly cracking at the ‘coat’, asked from behind them. “My sister and I have white coats.”
Whirling, the three found themselves faced with a pouting two toned purple maned unicorn. Flare hastily explained himself, his ears flat with embarrassment. “I don’t have anything against white coats. Just that Proud would look weird in one.”
She stared at him a moment longer before letting herself relax. “Sorry about that. I thought you meant all coats.”
“I think I’d look good in white,” Proud said with a smile after Flare shook his head vigorously.
“I do too,” she giggled. “I gotta go find my sister. Enjoy the celebration!” she said, running off.
“Smooth,” Silver commented after she left.
“Silver,” Flare said with a scowl.
“Hmm?” Silver grinned.
“Shut up,” Flare finished. Proud snickered at their antics, and was about to add his own comments when he was cut off.
“Fillies and gentlecolts,” a voice ran out strongly from the podium, forestalling further commentary between them, “as mayor of Ponyville, it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration!”
Around them, ponies erupted in cheers and eager hoof stomping. Silver’s grin dropped, replaced with a grim expression and Flare’s wings fluttered with nervousness at what they all knew was about to unfold. Proud glanced at the two of them and casually stepped a bit ahead of them.
“In mere moments,” the mayor continued, oblivious to the events preordained, “our humble town will bear witness to the magic of the sunrise as we celebrate the longest day or the year! To add to the prestige of this event, it is my great honour to welcome and introduce the ruler of our land, the great pony who gives us the sun and moon each and every day, the good and the wise, the bringer of harmony; Princess Celestia!”
Fluttershy’s bird choir thrilled out strongly as the curtains on the upper level balcony were drawn back and low sounds of anticipation rippled through the throng. Those sounds turned to confusion as it became clear there was no one there.
“Uh… Princess Celestia?” the mayor tried again, as confused as anypony else about the situation. She did her best to head off any panic, quickly moving to reassure the crowd. “I’m certain there is a reasonable-”
“Ooh! Ooh! I know!” Pinkie said, bouncing over the heads of the crowd. “She’s hiding, isn’t she? It’s a game!”
“She’s gone!” Rarity suddenly declared, dashing out from room the Princess would have been in.
“She’s here,” Silver whispered as the temperature in the room fell. Rain gathered the brothers closer to her.
“Stay together,” she said. “Something is wrong here.”
A faint and muffled laugh echoed through the room, sending shivers through the coats of more than a few ponies as a dark blue mist drifted towards the upper level. Rarity, in a show of intuition fled the area before seeing what the building mass would do to her. Dark wings snapped out, scattering the mists to reveal a black coated alicorn; her aetheral mane and tail waving as her laugher filled the room, her flank marked with a moon, dark blue regalia worn arrogantly.
Proud shuddered. Faced now with Nightmare Moon’s casual arrogance, her power rippling off her, changing the very atmosphere of the room, any confidence he had before was now gone. Fear replaced it, fear that prevented him from even taking eyes off her.
“Oh, our beloved subjects,” she said with a fang filled smile. “It has been so long since we have seen your precious little sun-loving faces.”
“W-who are you? Where is Princess Celestia!” the mayor asked.
“Yeah! What did you do with our Princess?” Rainbow demanded, taking to the air. Applejack yanked her back by the tail before she could make a dangerous mistake. Royal Guards were already moving to stand between the civilians and the strange alicorn that appeared in place of their Princess.
“Oh? Are we not royal enough for you?” she asked with a smug chuckle. “Has it been so long that we have been forgotten, that you do not know who we are?”
Pinkie Pie, of course, took it as a suggestion to play a guessing game, another person for Applejack to restrain.
“What have you done with the Princess?” one of the Royal Guards demanded.
“Has a mere thousand years of imprisonment invalidated our crown, peon?” she continued, her humour slipping as her anger built, her mane and tail growing and surging, the specks of light within them flashing. “Didst thou not recall the legends? Didst thou not the see the signs of our return in the stars themselves?”
“I-I did!” Twilight said, speaking up with more courage than the appeared to have. “I saw them and I know how you are! The Mare in the Moon; Nightmare Moon!”
The legend proven real laughed at the shock that rippled through the crowd. Even Proud and his brothers, despite knowing what was coming, felt it at the confirmation of the reality of the worse monster in legend. “Well, well, Somepony remembers us.” Her grin returned and she leaned forward, her green slitted eyes focused on the unicorn, a cruel curl to her smile. “Pray thee then and tell us; know you what our plans are?”
She laughed again at Twilight’s stammering, beating her powerful wings and raising herself into the air, her mane conjuring a dark cloud that expanded into the cavernous ceiling of the room. “Remember the day that was, my dear little ponies! For it was thy LAST! From this moment on, the night shall be eternal!”
“No… No!” the mayor said, snapping out of the daze of terror. “Guard! Seize her! She is the only one who knows where the Princess is!”
“Pegasi; contain and detain! Unicorns and Earth Ponies; support!” the commander announced. “Residents; evacuate the building!”
That was all motivation the crowd needed to trigger a mass rush towards the doors.
“Come on, this way!” Aunt Rain instructed, sounding calm and collected despite what was going on. Her firm hoof drove them, even as Proud struggled to see what was happening.
Gold armoured pegasi darted over the heads of the ponies as they attempted to flee, charging at the laughing Nightmare Moon.
“Stand back, foals!” she declared in arrogance. The cloud trembled and thunder clashed in the air, windows rattling and shattering in their frames, ponies falling and thronging as the bright flash of light and thunderous sound burst out. Proud’s world shattered for a few moments, eyes burning and almost blinded from the brilliance the massive bolts of lightning Nightmare Moon summoned to strike the braze pegasi, ears filled with white noise from the lingering effects of the thunder.
Amidst the glare of the flash he could barely make out multiple shadowing being hurled away by intensive bands of brightness as he tumbled on the ground. He could just make out scenes of ponies panicking, mouths making the motions of screams but no sound reached his eyes, temporarily deafened as they were by the initial clamour.
Somepony grabbed him and hauled him back as his vision sharpened and his hearing returned.
“I’m… I’m alright,” he slurred as Pure Rain hoisted him to her back. Flare and Silver were beside her as they fled the building, the ranks of Guards, ones who probably thought this was going to be nothing more than a ceremonial posting, doing their best to hold back a legend.
Retreat into the night air brought no comfort, not when a mad near-deity decreed that the night would never end. Ponies kept running, their panicking voices in the air as they sought shelter indoors. A loud crash echoed from the Town Hall, Nightmare Moon’s laugher ringing out again, this time against a background of pained cries, likely from Royal Guards. Proud was looking back, traumatized by the stark differences yet similarities between what he watched before and this reality.
“There are still ponies inside!” someone wailed. “My husband! I think he’s still in there!”
“Do you want to take on that?” another voice countered, terror causing her to crack. Exclamations like that were common as the crowd split between those that kept running and those what milled in confusion.
“Stay together,” Rain instructed Silver and Flare, both of whom were too shell shocked to do much else than stick close to her flanks, casting a few glances back. She slowed to a trot, those still steadily leading them away from the danger.
Wood cried out as a large portion of the Town Hall’s wall crumbled before a forceful blast, sending wood and glass fragments showering out into the surroundings. Nightmare Moon walked out casually, confidently and with a bearing that left no doubts to her claim of royalty and power, a dozen assorted members of the guard captive in her magic’s grasp.
“Now doth thou see my true power?” she demanded, her voice ringing through the streets, rattling windows in a lesser imitation of what her lightning did. With a contemptuous flick of her head, he hurled the guards away as if they were little more than refuse. Unburdened now, she took flight, rising above the rooftops.
A small collection of Royal Guards half ran out after her. They all looked broken and battered, blood on their white coats, armour scuffed and sullied, dented, or scorched from her magic, in some places two or more of the above.
“Know this, pitiful village! Nightmare Moon’s reign will never end! The darkness of Night will blanket all of Equestria!” Her final declaration made, she spread her wings and limbs, her form bursting back into dark mists.
“We aren’t done with you yet!” Rainbow Dash’s brash voice ran out as she took to the air at high speeds, but Nightmare Moon was already gone. Her frustration was clear, even from the ground, as was the moment was something else caught her eye and she flew off after it.
“Are you three okay?” Aunt Rain’s soft concerned voice cut into Proud’s observation. He shook his head and tried to focus.
“I’m fine, my ears still hurt though. And my eyes burn,” Proud responded. He got a gentle nuzzle in return, one that shifted over to Flare as he whimpered started shaking slightly.
“I’m glad you’re all fine,” she said in somewhat uncharacteristic tenderness. It wasn’t that she didn’t love or care for them, it was just that she was just more prone to being reserved and level in her displays of affection. “I wouldn’t be able to face my sister if I let anything happen to you.”
Behind them, the ragged voice of one of the Royal Guards rang out, issuing orders, the mayor’s joining shortly after, attempting to bring the masses under control.
“What are we going to do?” Silver asked vacantly, looking at the space Nightmare Moon vanished. Proud looked at him, uncertain as to why Silver was asking that, or what he was getting at. Silver scowled and tried to explain himself. “I mean… I’m not sure what’s happening anymore… I don’t know if…”
“Young stallion, the only thing you will be doing is heading home,” Rain said firmly. Silver looked up at her, eyes wide and filled with a mix of confusion and fear. He opened his mouth but his aunt cut off whatever he was going for. “There is no discussion on this. We… we aren’t going to be helping anyone like this.”
“I don’t know if I can sleep…” Flare said softly.
Rain hesitated, looking up at the sky that should have been lit with a raising sun by now, instead only holding a large moon, the mare’s head missing, and a few weakly glowing points of light. "Eternal Night… I don’t know if I can either, but it’s still what we are going to do. Come on, let’s get home.”
----------
~Raine~
The walk home was hectic. Nightmare Moon’s powerful, and likely magically amplified, proclamation had been heard across the town. Many had still been awake, at their own parties and celebrations, content to watch the Rising from afar and meet the princess at the celebration following, others had been sleeping and were roused form the volume. Almost all were desperate for some explanation of what was going on. The news was grim, and Rain was never known for sugar coating.
“Princess Celestia is missing, Nightmare Moon has returned and she declared Eternal Night. Now, my foals and I need to get home,” she said, trudging ahead and leaving yet another stunned stallion in her wake. She glanced down at her wards. Flare had replaced Proud as the colt on her back, the latter walking with Silver not too far behind her. Both looked a bit jumpy, not surprising considering what they witnessed.
“How are you holding up?” she asked, recalling that just assuming wasn’t the best when it came to caring for foals.
“A little shocked but fine,” Proud said, putting on a brave face. He was just as scared as Silver and Flare, if not more so.
Silver muttered something incomprehensible and shrugged.
“I just want to go home,” Flare murmured. “I’ll be better there.”
Rain turned her attention back to the path. They were almost home. She could reflect on the challenges of parenting there; preferably with a cup of cola with more than its fair share of hard cider. After the foals were asleep, though. Home was in sight when the last hurdle presented itself.
“Pure Rain! You were at the Town Hall, what happened? Who what that mare and what did she mean?” Gone was Derpy’s air of pleasant absentmindedness and her bearing of bemusement. Instead, the ‘Mother’ was barely contained under her skin; muscles tense and ready to fight off the threat that challenged her offspring, her oft present smile missing, her mouth instead pressed in a grim line. Even her wall-eyes held determination and a trace of intimidation. Curiously, a drowsy Dinky was perched on her back much like Flare was riding Rain’s.
Rain had seen parents in that state before, and still didn’t quite understand what drove some of them to be willing to tussle manticores, even if the kid in question was a brat. Not that she wouldn’t tussle a manticore to protect her family, just that the drive was different. She sighed and lifted Flare down from her back.
“Head inside please boys,” she instructed. “I need to talk with Miss Doo for a bit.”
Flare looked a bit worried, but Silver pushed him ahead. “Okay, Auntie.”
Rain waiting until they closed the door behind them before explaining.
“Nightmare Moon; the same one from the stories. She appeared at the celebration and attacked the royal guards. Right now, I’m going to put the colts to bed after some tea and see how things work out.” Such as if this is the end of the world or not. Rain knew which battles could be won with deflection and evasion and which ones would be better off with surrender, so her response to the mare was mostly concise and accurate. She still guarded her words, however, in consideration of Dinky’s presence.
“Nightmare… moon?” Derpy said slowly. She blinked, and for a moment both eyes were focused on Rain before they drifted slight again. “Pure Rain, can you watch Dinky for a me? Sparkler was out with her friends. I need to get her home.”
Rain hesitated. She already had her hooves filled with her three… “Of course,” she said with a weak smile. Now why did she say that? “Just knock when you get back. I have a small nesting basket that she should fit in if she wants to nap.”
“Thank you, Pure,” Derpy said, gently sliding her youngest to the ground by her friend’s hooves, giving her a quick peck on the forehead. “Be good for Pure Rain, okay muffin?”
“Okay, mom,” Dinky yawned. Derpy shifted on her hooves a bit, then took off, not hitting anything for once.
Rain sighed and ushered Dinky into the house. Just two days and her three was becoming four. Hopefully, this wasn’t the start of ponies adding her to the list of foalsitters available on the block.
“Go play with the colts, okay Dinky?” Rain instructed. The little filly nodded and scampered off to where Proud and Flare were. She wondered briefly where the third one had gotten to, but quickly got her answer in the form of a muffled cry and a clatter from the kitchen. She found Silver perched a bit precariously on a step stool, the height increased with an upturned pot. The kettle was sitting on the stove, the flame somewhat higher than it needed to be, and he was using both forelegs to balance and brace himself, his horn glowing as he tried to pull the rest of the tea supplies from the cupboard.
Rain quickly caught the small jar of tea leave with a deft leg as Silver’s magic faltered. She set it down on the counter, picking up the tray that apparently fell earlier and set it down as well. “I don’t recall saying you were allowed to play in the kitchen.”
“I’m not playing,” Silver said stubbornly, dropping back to all fours, his forehooves clanging on the pot. “It’s just tea. I can make tea.”
Rain raised an eyebrow. There was something off about that look in his eyes. It was closer to frustration at some personal ineptitude than just a reaction to being told not to play in the kitchen. Rain mused on it as she pulled down five mugs. “So you were eavesdropping?”
“Um… not for everything…” Silver admitted after a moment, flushing slightly. He deliberated for a moment before hopping off from his perch. “I heard you say you were going to make tea, so I thought I’d help. It will make us sleep better.”
“Yes, it would,” Rain said, faintly distracted. There was something odd about Silver’s comment. She got a tray of ice from the freeze, one made from water she had coaxed most all the impurities and salts from. “Can you get the strainers from the drawer and take them to the table place. The sugar as well.”
Silver nodded and got to his task. By the time the kettle was whistling she had sent him to wait in the living area, not didn’t trust him with the hot water. Instead, she set it and the jars of tea leaves on the small kitchen cart she had. Being in the vicinity, the small snatches of conversation she had been catching cleared.
“- mean we won’t have to go to school if morning doesn’t come?” Dinky was asking. Rain paused and smiled a little at the innocence. To be that young again. Though, there were many downsides to it that she wouldn’t miss or want to repeat.
“No, they would still find a way to track the days even if they didn’t stop Nightmare Moon,” Proud responded. “It would be hard, but ponies would work things out for as long as they could even without the sunlight.”
Rain paused. Now that wasn’t a response she expected from him.
“What do you mean?” Dinky asked curiously.
“There are still all the other bad things that would happen from Eternal Night,” Flare explained, picking up from where Proud left off. “Nopony would be able to see well without extra lights. Plants would die without the sunlight too. We wouldn’t have any food to eat. It would get colder too without the sun. No more summers.”
“She… She’s a big meanie then!” Dinky gasped. From the sound of it, she had hopped a little in her outburst.
“She just got confused and lost herself a long time ago,” Silver’s voice commented. “They’ll fix her though. Everything will work out and get better.”
“I have tea,” Rain said, pushing the cart into the room. Her eyes flicked from one colt to the other. Her sister always bragged about her foals, but Rain didn’t expect that from them. For three colts that were just shaken from watching something from the scariest of stories to be suddenly spouting comments like that was… concerning.
Preparing the mugs of tea didn’t take too much effort from her as the foals gathered, watching and waiting. Rain decided to ask. “What did you mean by ‘they will fix her,’ Silver?”
For a moment, a look of panic flashed across Silver’s face. The last time she saw him make that face was when he had been caught snooping through his father’s drawer the summer before.
“Like in the stories,” he said, sounding surprisingly level considering. “They always help the bad guy come around. Right? And Uncle Soft Tone is a doctor that helps bad ponies get better. Couldn’t he help her get better too?”
“That’s right,” Rain said contemplatively as she put a bit of ice into the mugs so the tea wouldn’t be too hot for them. Was she just over thinking them? Dew Glimmer and Just Stand did have a rather large personal library in their home, they could just be saying things they read and heard. Celestia knew Silver loved to read. And Soft Tone often talked about his work as a counsellor for malcontent ponies. Maybe she was just over reacting.
Maybe. It’s just that something felt off. Nothing like those bizarre senses that Pinkie Pie had, just her intuition. Or it could just be the stress of the night’s events starting to sink in. He picked up her own mug, unfortunately barren of cider in any form, and settled in for watching the foals.
Nighttime forever. That thought alone was enough to chill even the most steaming cup of tea.