//------------------------------// // Pawns to Prophecy // Story: The Puppeteer's Creation // by Arreis Of Avalon //------------------------------// “Are you ready?” Fluttershy stood in the middle of all of their friends, her Element strung around her neck. She shifted around uncomfortably – it almost seemed to itch her skin, like something that didn’t belong rested there. She shook herself slightly and gulped. “Alright, Twilight. Let’s do this.” I have to stay strong for my friends… Everypony else hid behind bookshelves and desks, knowing Twilight’s experiments could have adverse effects on their surroundings. All of them watched in anticipation. Twilight’s horn began to glow very lightly, the aura much darker than usual. Her armor, which had the Element of Magic as its crest, also began to glow with magic. Fluttershy closed her eyes and she felt the magic begin to wrap around her. It tingled, like fire dancing on the edges of her fur, never burning it fully. She began to feel her mind wander, as though she was taking a break from thinking for awhile. She sighed softly. The Element around her neck burned. She wanted desperately to take it off, but as the spell continued, it felt almost soothing. Like a campfire in front of her, blazing to life, shedding its warmth on her. She smiled, feeling power rising inside her. Her Element was supplying her with some sort of magic, something that was making her feel… Alive. Her eyesight was fading. It was as though nothing in the world would ever be the same again. She lost all sight of who she was, her friends. There was nothing but blackness. Then, in all the blackness, Fluttershy saw something. In the darkness, she saw herself, though not as she knew her. This Oblivion Fluttershy had a shorter mane, one she couldn’t hide behind. Her eyes were cold and unforgiving, and her armor was a dark teal. Surrounding her armor were bits of pink, and in the center was a butterfly, though the wings looked torn and beaten. Her armor had dents, and her face was scarred. However, the way this Fluttershy smiled… It was unlike any smile she had smiled before. Oblivion Fluttershy grinned and flapped her wings. She shot forward into battle, slaying enemies left and right. The real Fluttershy watched in awe as her doppelganger wiped blood from her sword, hardly touched by the enemies’ swords. She could do all that? She could destroy, protect… She could protect her friends. It was so simple… so powerful. “You, there!” Fluttershy stood taller, feeling the Element around her neck shift slightly. “F-fluttershy?” Oblivion Fluttershy grinned. She rose her sword once more, now charging straight for her other. In one split second, it was over. Fluttershy stood, laughing as Oblivion Shy fell. She wiped the blood off her sword, shifting in her newfound armor. It was surprisingly comfortable, despite the few dents. She chuckled at the shaking form before her. “Still alive? Good. Kindness is a virtue – I need you to know who is weak. To know who I should kill next.” Fluttershy chuckled, her eyes dark. Her wings felt stronger, her body full of more power than ever before. “This is who I am… Element of War…” In a flash, she stood before her cowering friends. “I’m here. I’ll protect you all, as is my newfound duty.” Fluttershy smirked, shaking her new, short mane out. “And I’ll bucking love it.” Twilight laughed. “Fluttershy gained confidence and strength. Don’t you see, this is what Celestia has been holding us back from. She’s scared of us… We’re far more powerful than she is, especially together. I think, we can usurp her throne. We can take control, make it so that she can’t control anypony ever again.” The others look at each other. Applejack was the first to speak up. “Y’all aren’t acting like t’friends we know… Ah can’t help but think our friendship could change from all this…” “You’re right, Applejack. We won’t be the friends we were.” Twilight trotted over to Fluttershy, putting her hoof on her friends shoulder. “We’ll be stronger. We’ll need to learn from each other… But I know we can do it. You all have stuck by me for this long… Please. Just one more time. Trust me.” Applejack’s eyes widened. If I can’t trust the pony that showed us who we truly were, all that time ago… I can’t trust nopony. “Ah’m with you, Twiligh.” “As am I, Darling.” Rarity nodded. “Whilst the armor is a tad bit…” She groaned softly. “Er… Rough, around the edges, I will be more than glad to stand by your side, to offer anything I can.” “I’ll never leave my friends hanging,” Dash said, smiling softly. Pinkie laughed loudly, giggling. “I’ll be there to cheer us all on!” Twilight grinned at the sentiment of her friends. “Thank you, all of you… Who’s next?” *~*~*~ Celestia gasped as the doors to her throne room were thrown open by a blue aura. Day court was in session – Nopony was supposed to interrupt. The current pony before her turned, scowling until she saw who walked in. Quickly, she bowed, her papers and things tumbling to the floor. “Luna,” Celestia said, standing. “What is the meaning of this entrance?” “Sister. End this court. An emergency has come up… I came into this information from our source.” Celestia’s eyes widened. “Guards! Escort everypony out. I shall be retiring to my quarters. Day Court is suspended until further notice.” The mare who had been talking about something – Celestia hardly cared, to be honest – sputtered on about schools and budgets and complaining high nobles. Celestia quickly glared at her. She shut up instantly. “Day Court is suspended. Good day.” In a golden flash, both she and Luna disappeared. Celestia began to pace as she appeared in her room, thinking. “Nightmare Moon? You managed to make her DO something?” “Sister, I have had her under my control from the instant I realized she was still part of me. We are one, her and I." "What has she found, Luna?" "Perhaps you would like to hear it firsthand?" Celestia gasped as a shadow swirled into existence before her. A pony began to form before her, a ghost of the Alicorn it had used to be. Her faded eyes narrowed as a silver chain, as silver as the moon, appeared around her hoof, tethering her to her host. "Nightmare..." "Hello, Celestia. Did you miss me?" Celestia huffed lightly, watching Nightmare closely. "No more than you miss the moon, Nightmare." "Why, Tia, you wound me. Here I am, ready to sacrifice information that pertains to national security, and what do I get? Constant abuse. Why should I tell you what I know?" "For your only chance at freedom," Celestia said, sitting on her bed. "Unless you wish to be banished once more?" Nightmare glared at her, but nodded. "You know me well, Celestia. Very well - listen closely. I don't wish to repeat myself." Celestia sat a bit taller. Nightmare smiled as she received the princesses rapt attention. "The Element bearers have... Changed. Twilight was the first. Her magic has become dark." "Twilight? Dark?" Celestia shook her head. "She would never stray from central magi." "Your mind is somewhat clouded by your feelings for her," Luna said, shaking her head. "As her mentor, you expect her to n'er differ from the destiny you see for her. But think to the past, sister - we both know how power can corrupt." Nightmare cleared her throat. "The past being as it is, we should rather focus on something else - the reckless God." "Discord? Ah.. He is behind these changes?" Celestia shook her head sadly. "I had hopes to curb his wildness, reform him..." "As you did with me?" Celestia briefly met Nightmare's eyes, quickly turning her head away. "You were already tethered to my sister through your bond to the moon. I hoped for the best, and expected the worst with you.” She sighed. “I still am, in fact.” Nightmare Moon sat, chuckling darkly. “Whatever you hoped for either of us, neither Discord nor I have changed - we’ve simply become of more use to you.” Nightmare watched Luna now, smirking. “Now, perhaps there is something we can do about our little predicament…” Luna cleared her throat, just as unable to meet Nightmare’s eyes. “Discord has gone about changing the elements once more. If we were simply to chain him in stone once again, it would do nought for our cause; Twilight and her friends would still be cursed. The Elements would be of no use either, as those who bear them cannot at the current time.” Celestia glanced at Luna. They both considered the possibilities, trying to find some answer. All the while, Nightmare smirked. “I see but one option.” “I refuse to kill him,” Celestia said, shaking her head. “I made a vow, long ago, to never harm a living being. I will not break said vow.” “Your vow will kill us all,” Moon argued, standing once again. “He is raising an army of Elements. Already, he has made his pawns - those pawns of his dark prophecy, even from all those years ago.” “Prophecy?” Celestia stood as well, standing in a circle with the other two. “What prophecy?” Luna seemed unsettled as she fidgeted in place. “All those years ago, Celestia. 1000 years.” Celestia’s eyes widened. “He had a prophecy? Is that how he…” “Yes.” “Luna…” “This is a tender moment, really,” Nightmare Moon said, “but far more important things are happening now. Think back, Luna. Do you remember his prophecy?” Luna shut her eyes tightly. “Yes. I do.” With a soft sigh and a hang of her head, she remembered as clearly as yesterday. “Pony of darkness,” she began, “A mare of the night, trapped forever in the moon’s light.” “He speaks, not of you, but of me. You are the controller of the night; I am the night eternal.” Nightmare raised her hoof, glancing at the chain there. “I shall be forever tethered to the moon, in his eyes.” “A horrible fate for the child of the sun, away from which nopony can run,” Luna said hesitantly, glancing at her sister. Celestia nodded, silently contemplating what had been said. “A horrible fate for you, Celestia… I wish I could say I was pleased.” Nightmare scoffed lightly. “And the last verse?” “Twist and turns, across the stars… a mare of darkness is what you are.” “And thus completes the ‘riddle’. Not that you will be banished, Luna. He started this game far before you - you were just his test. His end game is spelled out in each verse he says. I shall be trapped in the moon, forever at his beck and call.” “An unnamed fate lies in store for me,” Celestia said softly. “One that will affect the entirety of Equestria…” “And a fate among the stars for me,” Luna concluded. The trio stood in silence as they thought of it all. They would each have 3 seperate fates, were he to win. None of those fates were good things. Nightmare, as always, was the first to speak. “There is only one other option I can see.” “Fighting Twilight and her friends,” Luna said, nodding. “Yes, I thought of it too.” “But how can we fight them? They have chaos magic in their veins now.” “Chaos magic is a simple thing to control,” Nightmare said. “I use said magic myself. Discord created me, and whilst he thinks he can control me for that reason, he is mistaken. Chaos has a form and mind of its own. Trust me when I say that I can defeat the Elements - and still let them live,” she added. “Equestria shall remain safe.” Celestia nodded. “Now… What do you expect in return, Nightmare? You always have a motive.” “My motive today is to not be made a slave to that boy who calls himself a god,” she practically spit out, her voice scathing. “I loathe him, and as you have made a vow not to harm anypony, I have made a vow to myself - I will never let that puny ‘god’ get his claws on me.” Luna could not help but smile, ever so slightly. “Thank you, Nightmare. Good luck.” “I won’t need luck.” In a swirl of shadow, she was gone, leaving the princesses alone to their thoughts.