Pact of Shadows

by CletusTheFetus

A Foreboding Nightmare

CHAPTER 2:
A Foreboding Nightmare

When Twilight reopened her eyes she didn’t recognize where she was. It appeared to be just like her new home in her crystalized castle. Yet something was amiss. All her friends were gone and they couldn’t have possibly gone home already, could they? After all she had only just fallen asleep, and even Spike appeared to be missing in action.

Suddenly an array blinding light burst through the windows nearby. This is when a familiar face made its way through the front door. It was the Princess of the Night, and furthermore the Guardian of Dreams. No longer doubting where she was, only one other question was on her mind.

“Princess Luna, why are you here, is there something wrong?” Twilight asked nervously.

“Honestly I don’t know why I’m here, Twilight. Normally I have some sort of control over which dreams I enter, but tonight that is not the case.” Luna replied.

“What? Something forced you to come here?” Twilight responded, with a clear look of shock and disbelief on her face.

“Yes and I don’t know what exactly, but I do have an idea. As to what it is, I’m sure the answer may come as a bit of a shock to you.” The Princess of the Night responded.

“What is it? Another threat to Equestria? Is there anything we can do to stop it?” Twilight asked fearfully.

“The destroyer of all Ponykind, but it won’t stop there. It will do everything it can to exterminate every living thing in the world. I fear there is no stopping it.” Luna replied.

The firm and quick response made Twilight drop to the floor and begin sobbing. Never before had the young alicorn felt so helpless, so quickly. Like there was absolutely nothing she could do to prevent something. That there was a potential problem she couldn’t stand a chance of solving.

“Wait, what about the elements? The power of friendship? Would those help in any way?” Twilight begged for a positive answer, but one was not to come.

“Even those may prove to be useless against this monster of devastation.” Luna answered.

Tears began to well up in Luna’s eyes. Once again she began to think of her past mistakes, and how she wanted to ultimately do the same. Drown out all life, in a never-ending abyss of darkness. The sudden flood of guilt and regret was almost too much for her to handle. Her eyes, no longer able to hold back the tears, overflowed. The cold liquid kissing the sides of her face, before streaming down to the floor beneath her. She walked over to the window once more, and gazed up at what was her moon outside of this realm. Shadowy clouds crawling in to block its shimmering light.

Suddenly, without a warning whatsoever another blinding array of light lit up the sky, seemingly from the stars themselves. Accompanied only by a strange voice, whose message was as ominous and foreboding as what they witnessed next.

“Defeat the destroyer, or all is lost.”

When the light quickly faded back into the darkness of night, the two princesses were standing outside. Except what had appeared to be a typical night before, instantly became a world of terror. The sky was no longer its normal blackish blue, instead it was crimson red. Plumes of black smoke arose in every direction, and the scents of death and despair clung to the air like a parasite to its host.

Many bodies of the former inhabitants of Equestria were scattered about, some of them with spears and swords nearby. In this outcome, even though they had fought valiantly, they didn’t overcome the evil that had wrought this horror. It was now, that they learned the true peril of their situation.

The two princesses looked at each other in absolute terror. The shock of what they were witnessing was too much for them to bear. Out of nowhere, the ground beneath them began to shake like tremors from an earthquake. They turned only to see a massive shadowy figure, somewhat shaped like an alicorn. The only part of this pony-like creature that wasn’t black as night, were its eyes. White as the freshest snowfall, yet horrifying like the worst nightmare.

It immediately turned its focus on them, unleashing a massive wave of magical energy upon the area they stood. Twilights reflexes were the only thing that saved them from being vaporized, teleporting herself and Luna to the only place she could think of, Canterlot.

Neither of them were ready for what awaited them in the crumbling castle that stood before them. What was once the throne room of the two sisters, was now a tomb. The bright orange crest of the sun in the center of the structure. Luna approached slowly and weary. She knew what the headstone was going to say, but she had to read it anyway.

“Here lies the eldest of the sisters. Celestia, bringer of the dawn and setting of the sun. May she rest in peace.” Luna read the words with a heavy heart. She sat in front of her sister’s grave site, her head hung low. Tears again began to flow, even heavier than before. Twilight approached the sobbing mare hoping to comfort her, but she jerked away.

“Princess Luna, please remember. This may seem real, but we are in the dream world, even though it seems like a nightmare right now,’ — Twilight said — it’s a warning, which means we can stop this from happening…right?” It was after she said this, she noticed an odd symbol carved into the upper right corner of the headstone. She examined it closely, the jagged shapes slowly became visible as a much larger image. It was a bird, made up of other abstract shapes.

“Luna, what is this symbol here, — Twilight asked, pointing a hoof at the engraved bird — does it mean anything to you?” Luna wiped away the tears as to see the image clearly. When it came into full view, she couldn’t believe what she was looking at.

“I don’t believe it, that’s not possible, — Luna answered in shock — that’s the insignia, or rather cutie mark of my highest ranking guard.”

“May I ask who he is?” asked an intrigued Twilight.

“To be perfectly honest, Twilight I’m don’t remember what his real name is. He always preferred to be called by his title, trying to be as professional as he could. The image you see is a phoenix, just like Philomena. ” Luna answered.

“A phoenix? Why on earth would that be his cutie mark, let alone his insignia?” Twilight asked, a bit perplexed.

“Let’s just say he made himself a bit difficult for his enemies to get rid of, he kept coming back to haunt them. So to speak.” Luna answered with a slight grin.

“Are you saying he can’t die? That he is basically immortal?” Twilight asked.

“Well at least for age, yes he is immortal. However, as you can see by this tomb here, none of us are entirely safe from death’s cold embrace.” Luna answered the question as if she had a sense of great insight on the issue. It wasn’t exactly what she said, but how she said it.

“How is that even possible? I thought only alicorns were ageless.” Twilight responded with a bit of confusion from Luna’s response.

“Magic, of course. It is our magic that makes us alicorns ageless. So, all it would take to do the same to another pony is a spell. Though, it can often come at a great price.” Luna answered with a bit of disdain, almost uncertain if she should continue the conversation at all.

“I’m guessing that price is losing one’s own life, to extend another’s. Right?” Twilight responded, seemingly having put two and two together rather quickly.

“You’re absolutely right Ms. Sparkle. The effect it takes on the body of the one who casts the spell can be quite severe. That kind of outpour of magic, has proven to be fatal many times.” Luna’s response was quick, and almost too boldly stated for Twilight’s comfort.

“So if I may ask, who cast the spell on your guard?” Twilight asked, with a hint of regret as soon as the words escaped her lips. She was certain she knew the answer, but curiosity had its claws sunk deep into Twilight’s young mind. She had to know more about how this worked. More importantly she had to know more about this mysterious guard.

Luna turned to face Twilight, wearing a look of extreme seriousness. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and sighed. Opening her eyes, with a more relaxed face she began to speak.

“I guess you already know how it all works, you may as well know it was I who cast the spell to make my guard immortal,’ — Luna answered — ‘he proved himself worthy of serving me throughout the ages.’

“You were willing to risk your own life to extend his? Why?” Twilight asked.

“You know what it is to feel for other ponies, Twilight. To care for them so deeply, you’d never want to lose them.” Luna answered, showing Twilight a side of the Princess she’d never seen before. Luna herself wasn’t entirely sure of how Twilight would take the information, but she asked the question, and it needed to be answered. “I felt for this guard, that deeply. He has assisted me in many ways, sometimes putting his own life on the line to protect mine.’ —She paused— ‘Immortality stops one’s aging, but not one’s ability to die.”

“I think I understand, Princess Luna. I don’t know what I’ll do when that day comes for each of my friends,’ —Twilight responded— ‘I guess I’ll have to make every moment I have with them count. I know I’m not ready, or able, to do what you did.” The thoughts that entered Twilight’s mind were confusing, and troubling.

“Tis’ a good decision, Twilight. Make everything count.” Luna answered. Surprisingly enough, Twilight had more questions for Luna. One in particular that would catch her off guard.

“So how long has he been alive? When did you cast the spell on him, and where is he now?” Twilight asked.

“As for his age, I’m not sure how old he was exactly when I turned him, but I do know he was fairly young,’ —Luna answered— ‘I turned him a few short years before I became Nightmare Moon. Where he is now, I have no idea.” Twilight couldn’t truly comprehend what she had heard. There was a stallion waltzing around that was over a thousand years old. He had the perfect cover too, he wasn’t an alicorn. She had to meet him, and soon.

“Surely you miss him, and he misses you though right?” Twilight asked.

“I miss him dearly, but I only saw him on occasion before. He was always doing reconnaissance for us. Keeping us safe, from only he knows what.” A saddened look befell the princess, you could see the desire in her eyes to see him again. To try and explain the way she felt about her own past, to try and make him understand. “Sometimes when he returned, all he appeared to be was a walking pile of bandages, a clear sign that whatever he had faced got in a few good hits.”

“I know that Pegassi and Earth ponies can use their physical abilities to defend themselves, but a unicorn would have the best chance of actually defeating any of them. So is he a unicorn?” Twilight’s new inquiry startled Luna, but her answer would startle Twilight more so.

“No, he is a Pegasus who can manipulate the magnetic fields around his body, much like a unicorn does with their horn and magic.’ —Luna paused— ‘It’s what makes him so effective as a guard.” Luna’s response caught Twilight completely off guard. The only non-unicorn she’d ever heard of having any sort of magical ability was Zecora, and all she really did was make potions and elixirs.

“What? How is that, — Twilight was cut off mid-sentence when Luna interrupted her.

“It’s not magic Twilight, it’s a manipulation of the energies that surround us all. You can use magic because of your horn, and reserves of magical power inside you.” Luna explained. “However, this comes at a price as well. If he holds onto any of these energies for too long, his chances for survival are extremely slim.”

The ground beneath them began to shake once again. Their eyes darting in every direction trying to spot the massive shadowy figure. By the time they noticed exactly where it was, it was too late to avoid it. Seconds before it hit them both, Luna remembered something key to helping Twilight discover who her former guard is, as well as where he might be.

“Twilight! There is a group called the ‘Pact of Sh…” Luna shouted, but her sentence was also cut short by the impact. There was no feeling from the enormous blast at all, just an aurora of color. Honestly a beautiful end, considering the circumstances. Everything faded to pure unobscured darkness. Twilight looked around, but couldn’t see any sign of Luna or the large shadowy alicorn.

“Am I dead?” Twilight asked herself. Fairly certain that no pony could survive such an attack of that magnitude. “What was Princess Luna referring to? Pact of …something. It’ll take time, but I’ll find my answers.” She shook her head trying to clear her thoughts and begin thinking clearly again. So much had just happened. It wasn’t long before a warm light began caressing her face. She thought to herself, that morning must have finally arrived. It took all of her mental strength, but she managed to wake up.

When she pulled through the thick blanket that sleep had cast over her mind during the night, she woke to see her friends staring at her with concerned expressions. She wiped away the last bit of exhaustion from her eyes, she let out a large yawn.

“Y’alright Twilight? You’ve been tossing, turning, whimpering and crying for the past hour and a half.” Applejack asked, with genuine concern for her friend.

Twilight gave a brief, but detailed explanation of what she’d experienced in her dream, or rather nightmare. “Let’s just say I didn’t get that good of a nights sleep for now. I’ll explain everything later.” Twilight replied. “I promise, but I need all of you to meet me at the Royal Guard Archives later, it’s extremely important.” She had to find answers, and quick. The six friends parted ways to take care of their own daily tasks.