• Published 26th Oct 2014
  • 4,691 Views, 120 Comments

The Kingdom of Darkness - abcd_z



A human lived in Equestria for a year before being cast out by the princesses. Now he must find his place with other Equestrian outcasts to survive. Fortunately, there are more of them than anypony else thought. And they aren't happy.

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Chapter 3

A week of living in the Everfree. A week of scavenging for whatever food I could find to survive on. The rations I had packed were long gone, even with the occasional scavenged food to supplement them. I had no skill in hunting, and on my second day I was attacked by a monster that almost killed me. I managed to escape, but from then on I jumped at every noise, afraid that the monster had found me again and wanted to finish the job.

A week of being cold and hungry and miserable and afraid. Except when it rained. Then I was wet and cold and hungry and miserable and afraid.

I was in hell.

You know, you never really appreciate creature comforts until you're stuck without them. If Princess Celestia had appeared to me and offered to give me a hot shower and a nice hot meal before executing me I probably would have seriously considered it.

Princess Celestia did not find me that night, but something else did.

I was sitting on a log in a small, secluded clearing I'd found. My eyelids were heavy and I found it hard to stay awake. The sound of a snapping branch brought me back to full alertness. I jumped to my feet, grabbed a heavy stick I'd harvested for just this purpose, and took a batter's stance with it, looking around me wildly for the source of the noise.

"Back off!" I yelled. "Whatever's out there, back off! I'm armed and I'm extremely dangerous, so if you don't want to be knocked the fuck out, just back off!" The last words came out in a strangled, hysterical yell, but I was beyond caring at that point.

I heard a female voice chuckle as two light blue eyes glowed at the edge of the clearing. The whites of the eyes weren't white at all but a light blue color, and the pupils of the eyes were narrow, almond-shaped slits, like a cat's eyes. A dark mist obscured the rest of the creature from view.

The dark mist coalesced into a equine shape that I suddenly recognized. She was a black alicorn equal in size to Celestia. Her mane did the same ethereal, floaty-starry thing that Luna's did, and she wore distinctive light blue armor, helmet, and hoof-protectors.

"Nightmare Moon," I said, by way of greeting.

"Calm yourself, human," she said. "I mean you no harm."

Failing to be reassured by her words, I kept my stick cocked in exactly the same position.

Seconds passed and neither of us moved. Finally, I nervously blurted, "Just stay there. Stay where you are."

I don't know what I expected her to do. Perhaps for her to laugh at my demand. Or perhaps for her to ignore my words and slowly walk towards me, like you sometimes see on television shows.

But she did neither. She just smiled serenely and said, "As you wish."

More awkward silence. When I could bear it no longer I asked, "Why are you here?"

She responded, "I heard about your misfortunes, and I wish to help you."

I scoffed. "Yeah, right. You must think I'm a real idiot. The last time you showed up you tried to blanket Equestria in eternal night. Why on earth should I trust you?"

"Think back to the stories," she said. "I tried to bring eternal night, yes, and then I was defeated by the Elements of Harmony. The Elements could have destroyed me then and there, but for some reason I still don't understand, they didn't. Instead, they purged me of my evil and separated me from Luna. Ever since then I have been travelling Equestria, attempting to make amends for my crimes."

"So what, you're a good Nightmare Moon now?"

She merely nodded.

"Assuming that this is all true, which I don't believe for a second, but assuming it is true, what do you want from me?"

"Right now, I wish nothing more for you than to get you somewhere safe. You've been on your own for a while, now, and I don't know how much longer you can survive like this."

"Hey, I've been doing pretty good for myself," I protested, my ego briefly getting the better of me.

"Perhaps you have," she said, "but what will you do during the fall, when food becomes scare? I'm offering you a better choice. Come with me and I shall feed you and keep you warm and safe."

"I don't know. What would you want in return?"

"Perhaps, in the future, there are some tasks I could have you do, but I will feed you and keep you safe regardless of whether or not you choose to do them for me. On this you have my word."

I sighed and threw my stick to the ground.

"Lady," I said, "you had me at 'food'."

Nightmare Moon smiled. "I am glad to hear it," she said.

"Yeah, yeah. So how are we supposed to get to... wherever it is we're going?"

"Just place your hand on my side and I shall transport us to the Dark Kingdom."

I looked at her questioningly. "The Dark Kingdom?"

"Yes, what of it?"

"Oh, I don't know. It just seems a bit melodramatic to me. 'Let us travel... to the Kingdom of Darkness!'"

Unfortunately, Nightmare Moon didn't understand that I was just mocking a pretentious style of speech and didn't actually mean what I said.

"Very well then," she said, "let us be off!"

Before I could respond she placed her hoof on my shoulder, her horn flared cyan, and there was a bright flash of white light.

It took me several seconds for my night vision to return, but when it did I realized that I was in the exact same place I had been before. Nightmare Moon was nowhere to be seen.

I groaned once I realized what had happened. As I'd learned in Celestia's chambers, I was immune to at least one type of magic. Unfortunately, this immunity also appeared to extend to teleportation. Nightmare Moon's spell took her where she wanted to go, but it hadn't been able to take me with her.

I sat down on a log and waited.

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I don't know if you've ever had an alicorn fly you around before, but it is an incredible experience. I highly recommend you experience it at least once in your lifetime. A full moon lit the night landscape as I watched trees and streams and the occasional house pass beneath us. In the distance I saw a dark blob against the night sky that Nightmare Moon explained to me was Cloudsdale when I asked her about it.

Eventually we landed on a narrow path leading up the side of a small mountain. I dismounted and followed Nightmare Moon up the trail.

"So Nightmare Moon," I asked her, "do you have any name besides that?"

She replied, "No. Nightmare Moon is the only name I have to call my own. I was called Luna once, but that is no longer my name."

"Well, I can't keep calling you Nightmare Moon. It doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, and it gives entirely the wrong impression about you. What if I gave you a new name?"

Nightmare Moon stopped short on the path, looking at me in surprise. "You would do this for me?"

"What, give you a new name? I don't see why not. How about... Lunatic Fringe? It's a term from my world that means somebody eccentric or who holds abnormal beliefs."

"Lunatic Fringe..." she said a few times, rolling the name around in her mouth. "Yes. Yes, I like it. From now on, you may call me... Lunatic."

"Hmm. Actually, I'm not so sure I like it now. Maybe we could come up with a new name that doesn't indicate that you're insane?"

But the mare hadn't heard me. She was too wrapped up in the enjoyment of the new name.

"Yes, this is perfect! Lunatic Fringe! 'Greetings, fellow pony! I am Lunatic Fringe!'"

Lunatic grabbed me and wrapped me in a hug that I definitely wasn't expecting.

"Thank you so much!"

"Erf! It was nothing, think nothing of it."

Lunatic starting bouncing with joy as she made her way up the mountain path. I mean that literally; she did the same thing I'd seen Pinkie Pie do on occasion, where she would kick off with all four feet at the same time, bouncing herself forward.

I shook my head in amusement and followed her up the path.

Author's Note:

Remember: Fringe-ship is Magic! :pinkiehappy: