//------------------------------// // Chapter One - Dreams // Story: How I Remembered What Friendship Could Be // by KingHonorius12 //------------------------------// Heat beat down mercilessly on the land of Equestria. The water had dried up, and the clouds had dissipated, leaving the Sun to hang alone over the parched and dying land. The heat caused Celestia discomfort, but she couldn’t lower the Sun; she couldn’t face her… “Please, Princess! Lower the sun!” A scream of a thousand voices came from a single pony cowering at her hooves. But she couldn’t, she wouldn’t, not even for… Twilight Sparkle shriveled before Celestia’s eyes, then without warning, she burst into flames, and before she knew what was happening, all of Equestria was burning. She cried out as she sunk into the earth, the roaring blaze licking at her body. Then it all stopped. Celestia found herself laying on cool earth. She got up, and found herself standing on a moonlit path in a dark forest. The Everfree Forest. A flicker of light caught her eye. She turned around in fright, but instead of a great red blaze, there was only a small blue flame, no bigger than the light of a candle. As she continued to gaze at it, she was entranced by its serene glow. Involuntarily, she felt herself drawing closer to its warmth. Suddenly, the flame erupted into a dark inferno, and a monstrous shadow leapt out, biting her in the neck… The Princess jerked awake in a cold sweat. Despite her release from the nightmare, she was terrified. No longer asleep, she now realized what the shadow was. It was none other than Nightmare Moon. She got up and trotted to a window. She gazed up at the moon. Her sister’s face still stared back at her. For centuries she had wondered what it was like being trapped within the celestial body of the night. What had her sister been doing for all of these years? Was she trapped in time as well as space? Would she return from her banishment not knowing than a minute had passed when several generations had risen and fallen before she could blink an eye? She didn’t think so. She had nothing to back this gut feeling, except that whenever she looked at the Moon, she thought that she could feel Luna watching her. It was a feeling that was deeply unsettling, but that she almost couldn’t live without after many years. And so other possibilities grappled for dominance in her reasoning. Had her bondage given her time to think and see the error of her ways? Would she be repentant when she returned? “…and forgiving?” said an unheard voice in the back of her mind. Was she just patiently waiting for the day when she’d be free, like a Hydra in a swamp for its prey? Had her imprisonment stoked the fires of hatred and given her a thirst for vengeance? These things she could not know, and perhaps she did not wish to know. As she pondered the Moon and the visage that shaded its surface, a familiar warmth welled up within her. It told her that the moment of daybreak had arrived. Her horn, pointing skyward, glowed with blue light. Slowly, the moon fell from the sky and faded away, as the sun peeked out from the opposite horizon. The day had begun. Celestia didn’t have the time to see Twilight off. She needed the better half of the day to prepare for Nightmare Moon’s arrival. To grace herself with the most powerful enhancing spells and protective enchantments know to ponykind required hours of concentration and repetition. The plan was fairly simple. The Princess knew that Nightmare Moon would return to the castle looking for her. The Elements were hidden away in the Castle, and under no circumstances could she find them before Twilight. Celestia would direct Twilight to the Castle and order her to take five other volunteers. Braving the Everfree would not be easy, but if they worked together, they could make it, and the bonds they formed would reawaken the Elements of Harmony. In the meantime, Celestia would call the evil Alicorn of the Night to herself, and then quickly draw her away from the town and the forest. Celestia didn’t know how long she could last without the Elements of Harmony, and if Nightmare Moon overcame her, what would the pitch-black princess do next? Terrorize ponies? Hopefully she would have no reason to. Attack Canterlot? She probably didn’t even know of the new castle’s existence. There would be little point if she had defeated Celestia. Return to the abandoned castle? Now that seemed like a likely move she’d make: to restore her rule as she envisioned it since the day of her turning. But what if she returned to look for the Elements? Upon realizing that Celestia no longer possessed the instruments of her demise, would she not seek them out to ensure, one way or another, that they could never again be used against her? Twilight wouldn’t reach the Castle first without a considerable head start. Nightmare Moon’s powers would aid her considerably in a race through the dark forest. Everything depended on Celestia keeping her away from the forest. If she was lucky, Nightmare Moon might never return to the Castle. As she made her way to her chariot, she gave the Captain of the Royal Guard some last minute instructions. “Keep everyone calm, but stay alert.” “If I may ask a question, your Highness…” “You may, Captain Shining Armor.” “You’ve been away from Canterlot many times before…” “Twenty-two times since I appointed you, I believe,” she said, smiling. “I… think so… but you’ve never asked for precautions like these before. A curfew…?” Her smile slackened. “Nopony is to be outside their homes at nightfall,” she said, in a more serious tone. “Nopony but your guards.” “…and all guards are to report for duty?” “…which is why I ordered them all to take naps before sunset. Besides, it is the Summer Sun tomorrow. I’m sure most of Canterlot, curfew or not, will want to stay awake for the night. You will, won’t you?” She smiled knowingly at him. “Er, uh, yeah.” He mumbled awkwardly. “However, as your highest-ranking security official, I think it would be expedient if you told me the reason for these precautions. Is it just because of the holiday?” “You could say that…” Shining Armor was starting to get a little frustrated at the lack of clarity. “As my Captain of the Royal Guard, I do have one very important order for you to follow above all others.” “Anything, your Highness.” “Keep watching the moon.” Shining Armour looked at her. If she had been smiling, he would have thought it some sort of joke. This was no joke. “Every minute of the night, Princess.” “Good.” She stepped into the Chariot, where she was accompanied by two unicorn guards, while two pegasi guards were harnessed to the front of the chariot. “Expect me after the Sun comes up.” The pegasi guards started off at a gallop, then let their wings take over as they got to the end of the runway, as they soared away towards Ponyville. Shining Armor was left dumbstruck. He was taken aback by another statement that should have been a joke (When else would she come back? Before the sun came up?) said in complete sincerity and solemnity. His mind reeled as he headed back to his office for a powernap, first making sure to write down the mysterious instruction to remember when he woke up. Keep watching the moon. Celestia went over the plan in her head over and over during the journey. The two unicorn guards were chatting excitedly about the celebration. Apparently, one of them had never watched a Summer Sunrise before. She didn’t mind. She preferred the levity to her overthinking, self-doubting mind. Time seemed to fly by as they got closer, as the Sun dipped in the sky. Was the day already over? The Sun kept dipping… no, moving… “I didn’t push it that hard…” She set her horn aglow to stop the Sun’s arc, but there was no reaction. She could not feel it with her magic, which could only mean it was outside of her control. “…and then this mare literally exploded…” “STOP!” No sooner had the plea finished than the Sun disappeared over the horizon. The sky darkened from a burnt red to the all-familiar nighttime navy. Time was running out faster than she had planned for. She had to get to Twilight! “Guards! Return to Canterlot at once, and inform Captain Shining Armor of this new development! I will proceed to Ponyville on the wind! Understood?” The Pegasi did not acknowledge or act on the order. Instead, their wings began slowing down, and their heads began to droop, like unwatered flowers. “GUARDS!” The Pegasi stopped flapping altogether, and fell down. They hung limp from the chariot by their harnesses. “Geez, I’m so tired,” said one of the Unicorn guards. The other one yawned. Within seconds, they were unconscious. Slowly, the chariot began to fall, despite Celestia’s best efforts to keep it afloat. “My magic… can’t be this weak…” They hit the ground with a hard THUD. They had landed in a thickly wooded area. Though not as thick as the Everfree, the darkness of the night did nothing but enhance the dark, lonely aura of the place. Celestia checked the four guards. Apart from being unconscious, they seemed to be unharmed. With a single beat of her wings, she was airborne. It tore her to leave loyal subjects in direct service to her behind, but there was no time. She had to get to Ponyville! She had to tell Twilight… “Going somewhere?” Celestia froze. Then she sharply turned around, and blasted the thing behind her with her magic. When she stopped using her magic, she found a burnt stump of what used to a tree. Then she heard laughter. Not joyful crowing, or amused chortling, but sinister cackling that was dripping with malice. Celestia had only heard that laughter once before in her life. But that voice… “Show yourself!” The laughing stopped as soon as Celestia had finished her demand, but nopony revealed themselves. She looked through the trees as she hovered above them, searching in vain for the source of the voice. All of a sudden, the trees burst forth from the Earth, shooting out of the ground like geysers. They climbed past the Princess into the night sky, overshadowing her. Their growth continued until the tops were out of sight. It was now too dark to see, but what felt like an endless number of branches seemed to reach out and grab her. She struggled, but they continued to wrap around her ever more tightly. Out of the darkness, loomed a pair of eyes, with enormous whites, blue irises… …and slit-like pupils. Celestia set her horn aglow. The light revealed the body attached to those terrible eyes. A pitch-black alicorn with an ethereal blue mane. As soon as the darkness had been vanquished, the light had revealed nothing suspending her in the air. Celestia began to fall. She hit the ground with another THUD. Looking around, the chariot and guards were nowhere to be seen. The black mare fluttered to the ground, a wicked grin on her face. “I’m home, sister,” said Nightmare Moon. Her eyes narrowed. “It’s been far too long.”