• Published 16th Apr 2012
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Hooves, Plush, and Magic: The Untold Tales - Harry Leferts



This is the place for side stories, origin tales and plot bunnies for my fic: "The Wizard and the Lonely Princess". So come on in,

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Luna's Story Part 4

Disclaimer: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is owned by Hasbro and Harry Potter is the property of JK Rowling.

"Hello"-Normal Speaking
"Interesting..."- Nightmare Moon speaking.
'Huh'- Normal Thoughts.
'All mine...' Nightmare Moon's thoughts
____________________________________________________________________________

Once again sitting in front of Luna and leaning back against Nightmare, Harry gets comfortable. "So... we were at the point where Discord was defeated, right?"

Luna slowly nods. "We were." She then crosses her forelegs with a sigh. "The first two weeks were hard Harry. Very much so." She then closes her eyes. "Celly and I were badly enough injured that even with our fast healing it took that long to be able to move around without the pain overcoming us." She then shakes her head with a single tear. "And then there was all those to be buried and the rebuilding yet to come."

Harry grimaces as he can guess how bad it was. "That bad, huh?"

Nightmare nods. "Yes." She then sighs and shakes her head. "Equestria at the time was pretty fractured as with Discord's decapitation strike, none of the original rulers were around. The Ponies needed someone to guide them."

Harry nods. "So you guys and Celestia stepped up."

He's slightly shocked as Luna shakes her head. "As a matter of fact, no." She then lifts up her hoof and tilts it from side to side. "While the two of us were recovering, we would, when we could manage it without passing out from the pain, go to the meetings. At those meetings all the highest remaining ranking members of the government from before Discord were there as well as the various leaders that rose up during his reign. All of them had their own ideas as to what to do. It was all me and Celly could do to keep Equestria from falling apart in the wake of Discord's defeat as in some cases old hatreds began to surface among the older members."

Harry facepalms as he shakes his head. "Idiots..."

Nightmare snorts before shaking her head. "Indeed Harry, that they were." She then chortles a bit. "But the older members did not expect what happened next."

Luna's lips twitch as she continues. "One of the younger leaders, having grown up with the two of us leading the Resistance against Discord as it were, suggested that we become the new rulers as we embodied all three tribes in a single pony." She then groans. "It would have likely been left at that, except for the other young leaders agreed as did those of the older generations who remembered how we advised the previous rulers and the common pony alike."

Harry blinks at this before raising an eyebrow. "And you never tried to stop them?"

Luna snorts and rolls her eyes. "We would have, except this was at a time when both Celly and I were confined to our beds as we were racked with pain from having strained our still healing wounds." She then scowls. "By the time we recovered enough to try to interfere, it was too late. The intermediary council had decided that we would lead them as their new leaders. And the news spread rapidly with great fanfare." She then sighs. "We just didn't have the heart to stop it by then as it gave hope and relief to our Little Ponies." Her frown then becomes a smirk. "Thankfully, we managed to have our ranks as Princesses. Not as Queens as they had originally wanted." She then shrugs. "We thought that it would make us more approachable for our Ponies."

Harry then winks at her, his next words causing her to blush. "Not to mention that Queens can't have tea parties, right?"

Luna grumbles a little as she turns away. "Well... there was that as well I guess..." Seeing his smirk, she clears her throat. "Anyways, neither of us were happy with this, but we went along with it. At the time, we also decided to create a new military to help protect our new subjects while they rebuilt. Her's was the Solar Guard and mine was the Night Guard. We chose them from those that had fought beside us for so many years for the most part. Myself, I went and found Typhoon and offered her a place."

Harry raises an eyebrow as he watches Luna laugh. "What's funny?"

Wiping a tear from her eye, Luna shakes her head. "Well, just the fact that she turned me down. Wanted to wander around by herself I guess." Luna then shrugs. "Kept an eye on her as she journeyed around though at one point I lost track of her as she and her companion Juniper traveled beyond our boarders and across the Gryphon Desert. I later found out that they had reached the boarders of Zebrecia becoming the first Equestrians to reach that strange land. They then just journeyed around and helped various groups solve their problems and became legends before returning to Equestria." She laughs a bit. "Though when we later contacted the Zebra tribes about 300 years later, Typhoon and Juniper had by that point became considered in the same veins as some of their native spirits."

Harry leans forwards a bit. "So what happened? And how did they meet?"

Blinking, Luna softly smiles. "While she was journeying around, Typhoon took what I suppose could be called jobs to support herself. Basically, she would hear a rumor about a monster and go to the source. She would then slay the monster if she had no choice and get bits for it. One day, she got heard the rumor of a monstrous serpent beast that was terrorizing a small village. She went there and investigated. The townsponies... were not happy to see a 'Half-breed' like her." Seeing Harry scowl, she nods. "Yes, when I got the report from the Pony I had watching her, I was quite angry myself."

Harry's scowl just grows. "And let me guess, they were lying about the 'Monster' terrorizing them."

Luna grimaces and nods. "They were." She then sighs. "Juniper had at that time settled in a nearby cave and stayed there. She was... very kind and soft spoken then to the point where she was very shy. She quite literally could not hurt a fly." She then closes her eyes in remembrance. "She was also a friend to the animals of the woods there and could calm them with a single glance. But, because she looked different, the Ponies wanted her dead or gone. And so when Typhoon arrived, they told her all sorts of lies." Luna then smirks as she opens one eye and winks. "They didn't count on Typhoon being smart and clever." Shaking her head in amusement, she continues. "Typhoon hid in the trees nearby and observed Juniper for several days and nights until she had seen enough." Luna then grins some as she pats the ground. "She went into Juniper's cave and had a discussion with her. I later found out from them that using Typhoon's sword, Juniper made a cut and smeared her blood onto it and gave it back. They then roughed up Typhoon's looks to make it seem like she had been in a great battle and was exhausted. Afterwards, Typhoon collapsed the entrance while Juniper used an underground stream to leave unseen. Once she was sure that Juniper was safe, Typhoon knocked the rest of it down."

Harry nods. "Smart. One way or the other there would be no checking the truth." He then frowns. "I'm guessing that the townsponies weren't happy though."

Luna gains a scowl as she shakes her head. "No, they weren't." She then glares at a small pebble between her forelegs. "They had been waiting for her to return to collect her payment and once she was there they surrounded her while wielding makeshift weapons." She then snorts. "Sadly for them, they didn't know two things. One, Typhoon was not exhausted and managed to fight her way out with little issue."

Harry raises an eyebrow. "And two?"

Luna gains a vicious smirk. "I was not nearly as kind as I am now back then." She then partially closes her eyes. "I made sure to spread the word of what they had done and focused on those communities that Typhoon had saved. After all, if they couldn't be trusted to keep their word when they had to be saved, how could they be trusted to keep their word when it came to something like trade? And without trade, the town died with it's ponies traveling to other communities."

Harry frowns a bit before shrugging it off as it was a different time and the Luna he knows is different from that one in a few ways. "So how did they meet up again?"

Luna softly smiles. "Actually, they met a few days later and that was when they traveled outside of Equestria. Once they came back, Juniper had learned a form of magic using potions to allow her to take on a normal, Earth Pony form. Of course, Typhoon had perfected her own special ability."

Harry's eyes widen as he smiles and leans forwards. "What was it?"

Luna chuckles a bit and shakes her head. "She referred to it as her 'Screaming Fireball' attack." She then holds out a hoof as she continues. "See Harry, dragon's fire is very powerful. It can burn just about anything. But luckily, dragons are slow fliers compared to most Pegasi. Pegasi are much faster then dragons, but they can't create an magical attack internally, just manipulate the environment around them to do so." She then leans forwards. "Typhoon was special in that she had the strength of both. Like her father, she could use dragon's fire. And like her mother, she was among the fastest of Pegasi." Luna then leans back. "She discovered one day that if she did a dive at high speed while holding her mouth open in preparation for using her flames, that it would cause the fireball to become even stronger and hotter while being more compact. And it was powerful enough that most monsters could only withstand one or two hits before either running, surrendering, or being killed."

Harry's jaw drops a bit. "Bloody hay!"

Luna nods. "Indeed. And Juniper had learned how to become a highly accomplished healer. While unable to use magic like a Unicorn, she was able to create potions and antidotes with ease. And unknown to most, she was an expert in poison. Together, the two were a team and traveled Equestria. They were... Hmm." Luna frowns thoughtfully before shrugging. "They were what I suppose humans might call 'Anti-heroes'." She then looks up thoughtfully. "But their biggest challenge was yet to come."

Harry raises an eyebrow at this. "Oh?"

Nodding, Luna sighs. "They were nearby when a mining town, in search of more metals, dug a new shaft. Problem being that the new shaft woke up a Draco Invictus."

Harry screws up his face a little. "A what now?"

Nightmare looks over at him. "A Draco Invictus." Seeing that he's still confused, she sighs. "As you know, dragons in Equestria age slowly, but grow larger and more powerful as they age, right?" Harry slowly nods. "The oldest and most powerful dragons that you'll usually see is the Wyrms and Great Wyrms. And they themselves are few and far between as not many reach such an old age, or at least did not while we were living in Equestria."

Harry raises an eyebrow. "So what is a 'Draco Invictus' then and how does it fit into dragon aging." He suddenly frowns. "Wait a second... doesn't that translate from Latin as 'Unconquered Dragon'?"

Smiling as he remembered some of the lessons she gave him, Nightmare nods. "It does translate as such. It is intriguing how similar some of the languages of Earth are to ones in Equestria. Such as how Latin is to the Equestrian language of the wise." She then shakes her head. "Anyways, Draco Invicti are even rarer then the Great Wyrms. They are extremely old and powerful dragons capable of matching a Alicorn in pure power. They hardly ever wake up and spend most of what's left of their lives sleeping. Over the centuries, their bodies are often covered by dirt and vegetation to the point where they look like a hill or a mountain if above ground. However, this is the final part of a dragon's lifespan. About 1,000 years after this the fires sustaining them die off and their bodies petrify. What was once their organs, veins, and arteries becoming gem lined caverns."

Harry then winces a bit. "Don't... dragons eat gems though?"

Luna sighs and nods. "They do, but not gems from such caverns as such beings are often the closest that dragons have to 'gods'. Caverns like that are often used by the dragon's descendents as a safe nesting ground for them as the ambient magic from Draco Invicti will protect the eggs from most forms of harm."

Frowning, Harry slips into thought. "Are the caves under Canterlot an example then?"

Blinking, Luna rubs her chin. "I... never considered that..." She then shakes her head. "Anyways, the only one that I've known was one named Spykroplis and he reached that age a few years before..." Looking at Nightmare, she clears her throat. "But I'll get to him in a bit."

Nightmare nods before looking at Harry. "Back to Typhoon and what happened." She then closes her eyes to gather her thoughts before opening them. "The town itself was on the edge of Everfree Glade as a matter of fact. However, with the digging of the shaft, the Draco Invictus awoke in a rage and started laying waste to the surrounding countryside. Typhoon and Juniper rushed to the town's aid. Juniper managed to shoot it with several of her poisoned arrows while Typhoon distracted it."

Harry blinks before raising an eyebrow. "So where were you and your sister then?"

The two Alicorns share a scowl before Luna shakes her head. "Let me finish Harry, then I'll tell you, okay?" At Harry's nod, she continues. "Now, I never did find out what Juniper's special poison was, but it was powerful enough to hurt a Draco Invictus. Finally, Typhoon managed to get it to follow her into the sky by using her Screaming Fireball against it. Once in the air, she flew up into the clouds and smoke with it following. And using the cover, she then began attacking it from various angles creating flashes of light in the clouds."

Nightmare nods her head at this. "Some of the Pegasus that were there likened it to a massive thunderstorm or some of the tales of the great Pegasi warriors of old." She then smirks. "By this time, and having fought and killed other dragons, Typhoon knew how to beat one. Using her own attack, she attacked the wings weakening them."

Luna then takes over. "The old dragon however was wily and almost got her when it began twirling in midair, spraying fire every which way in an effort to kill her." Luna then shakes her head. "Typhoon must have had some deity of luck smiling down on her because besides a scorched tail, she survived. It too her a minute to put it out, but then she noticed the dragon diving back towards the ground, right in the direction of where Juniper was. And so she started diving right after it, trying to put on as much speed as possible."

Nightmare then nods and continues. "She told us later that as she dove, the air seemed to get harder and harder to get through, almost like a cone formed around her. Meanwhile, Juniper had looked up from where she was gathering several foals to get them out of the ruined town to see the dragon with it's mouth wide open heading for them. But unknown to them both, Typhoon had caught up. Still gaining when..." Nightmare smacks her hooves together hard making Harry jump. "BOOM! Somehow she created an explosion of multicolored light that even Celestia and I saw from the other side of Equestria. She had already been gathering her own attack and continued to gather it until she couldn't hold it anymore which was just as she blew past the still stunned dragon. It then opened its mouth and started charging its own attack." Nightmare then shakes her head a bit. "From what she later told us, Typhoon was going so fast that when she twisted in the air to fire off her attack, she felt as if her neck, spine, and wings were about to snap."

Harry shakes his head in a bit of amazement. "Must have been a powerful one then."

Luna nods. "It was. When the fireball left her mouth, she had been gathering it for a bit. And as I said, some deity of luck must have been her patron because the fireball shot into the Draco Invictus' own mouth and collided with its gathering attack." Her lips twitch a bit as she continues in a dry tone. "Celly and I were told that the explosion generated was immense and tore apart the Draco Invictus, its burning corpse falling to the ground back into the hole it had come from and causing the mines to collapse. It was then that me and Celly returned."

Leaning back into Nightmare, Harry can't help but shake his head. "Typhoon sounds pretty amazing." He then frowns. "Her and Juniper did survive with the town being rebuilt, right?"

Luna grimaces with a sigh. "Typhoon and Juniper survived, yes. But the town wasn't rebuilt, but rather abandoned." Seeing the questioning look from Harry, Luna shakes her head. "One of the abilities of a Draco Invictus is if it is killed. If it has time, it lays a curse on it's killer in order to have its revenge through the slayer's death. If it doesn't, it lays a curse on the land. In this case, a few days later a nearby river burst it's banks and flooded what was left of the town as well as the mines and hole where the Draco Invictus lay. And it stayed flooded, though by the time that the... fight with Celly occurred more then 400 years later, the area was more of a swamp then a lake due to sedimentation..."

As Luna slips into her thoughts, Nightmare looks at Harry. "Once me and Celestia arrived and heard what had happened, I approached Typhoon and Juniper with the same offer as before. This time though, Typhoon accepted as did Juniper. Both were tired of wondering and so accepted."

Harry nods. "So you invited Typhoon for her fighting ability and Juniper for her potions?"

Shaking her head, Luna sighs. "Yes, though really, only my Guard would have accepted them."

Raising an eyebrow, Harry leans forwards. "Oh? How so?"

Luna just shakes her head. "Celly and I built our individual Guards different. Her Day Guard was composed almost entirely of Pegasi and Unicorns. What very few Earth Ponies there were in it were relegated to such duties as armorer and logistics. In the Night Guard, I accepted anypony whether they were Earth, unicorn, or Pegasus, who wished to fight to protect Equestria and were willing to lay down their lives to do so if need be. As time went on, I would find that I was accepting other species as well such as Minotaurs. Needless to say this caused more then a little friction between my Guards and Celly's."

Snorting, Nightmare catches their attention. "A 'little' friction Little Princess? Try a lot." Ignoring Luna's flushed face, Nightmare turns to Harry. "Not a month went by without the two groups getting into a fight. Usually, it was because one of the Day Guard would make a disparaging remark about a non-Pegasus or Non-Unicorn Night Guard. Which, considering how tight the comradery of our Night Guard was, would often end in a brawl."

Harry just facepalms. "And of course, both sides were punished, correct." Hearing silence, he glances at the two Alicorns to see them looking away. "Wait, they weren't?"

Luna shakes her head. "Well... not exactly, because it would be one group's word against another. And most of the time we could never prove who started it. And the few times that there were witnesses outside the Guards, they would side with the Day Guards due to my... lack of popularity thanks to being associated with the night in a time where there were many monsters roaming around. So the most Celly usually did was leave the Day Guards involved off with some words while asking that I punish my Night Guards for turning it physical. Most I would do is have them clean the barracks and such as well as some words to let the insults go." She then sighs. "When the two of us first formed the Guards, we decided that only the Princess in charge of that branch could punish them. And not the other." She then shakes her head. "It was one of the many sources of tension that slowly tore us apart."

Nightmare nods for a second before stopping and facehoofing as she turns to Harry. "Before I forget, you were wondering about where the two of us were at the time of the fight, correct?"

Blinking, Harry nods. "Oh, right. Nearly forgot, thanks!"

Lips twitching, Luna shakes her head. "Me too Harry." She then becomes saddened. "It had to do with Lepidoptera."

Grimacing, Nightmare shakes her head as well. "If Typhoon had the Lady Luck on her side, then Fate simply despised Lepidoptera." Seeing Harry's questioning, but slightly disturbed expression, she sighs. "For those twenty years me and Celestia rounded up the worst and most powerful monsters created by either Discord or his 'Father' and locked them in a prison we called Tarterus that went deep underground. Just outside the gate stood one of them which was a Cerberus, which Celestia had befriended that she called Cerey." Seeing Harry's incredulous look, she shrugs. "Naming for her was hit or miss."

Rolling her eyes, Luna clears her throat. "As I was saying..." Seeing that she has their attention, she continues. "We weren't around because we had an issue involving Lepidoptera to deal with." Luna then shakes her head. "Poor mare just had fate give her one hit after another."

Harry clears his throat. "Because of Discord...?"

Luna shakes her head. "Because of her family." Seeing Harry's raised eyebrow, she sighs. "After the reign of Discord, the only pony that she had that was even like family was Clover. And she died about five years after Discord's defeat." Seeing Harry nod, she continues. "That left her all alone in charge of her own principality and with everything that had happened to her along with Clover's death... she was not in a good place mentally."

Nightmare shakes her head. "That's putting it mildly. And what happened next was the final straw."

Harry raises an eyebrow as he shifts a little. "Oh?"

Luna nods. "Her Principality was quite rich as a matter of fact. However, next door there was another Principality. It was ruled over by Count Pernicious, a very talented potions maker. He was quite envious of her little kingdom and sought it. With Clover's death he saw his chance and invited her to his castle. Distraught, she didn't have her guard up when he gave her something to drink." Luna's eyes narrow as they darken. "He had created a very powerful love potion that would become known as 'Love Poison'. It quite literally made him the center of her world and within a few weeks they were married, the kingdoms having been combined."

Sneering, Nightmare snorts. "And while he may have been a great potions maker, he was a lousy ruler and began driving the Principality into the ground to feed his own tastes."

Luna nods. "Yeah, and he made another mistake that caused his discovery to come sooner." Seeing Harry look at her, she continues. "As it turned out, Lepidoptera was only step one. Pernicious was aiming for something much bigger." She narrows her eyes. "Rulership over Equestria..."