Winter Solstice

by Judgeitive

Machinations in the Moonlight

Luna landed in the clearing, her eyes white with magic, her horn crackling with energy. The full moon lit the clearing brightly, and yet the far side was cloaked in impenetrable shadow.

“You can’t hide from me, Umbra.” she shouted. “I won’t let you hurt the ponies I care about - not this time.”

A sinister chuckle emanated from before her, and the voice that had tormented her every moment as Nightmare Moon spoke:

“Very well. As I said before, all I want is the foal.”

With those words, an alicorn stepped forward. She was pitch black save for her eyes, which were a deep red. As she spread her wings, Luna saw that they were not feathered, but instead arrays of spiked bone. The grass around her hooves withered and died, while snaking tendrils of shadow poured constantly from her back.

“How did you escape?” Luna snarled as she saw her old foe once again.

“The same way dear Discord did. My prison became weakened without renewal from the Elements of Harmony, and I was able to break free.”

Luna raised her horn skyward. A bolt of lightning speared down from the heavens, creating a funnel of storms centered around the Princess.

“My answer has not changed, Umbra - I am not your pawn anymore.”

Luna lowered her head as if to charge, releasing the storms in a concentrated burst at her opponent. The swirling clouds and lightning shot towards the mare, who watched it approaching without blinking.

It barreled into her, and she disappeared from view, lost in the center of the powerful malestrom.

Luna gasped - that spell had been powerful enough to destroy anything in Equestria. Even at the height of her power, it was difficult to use.

Peering closer, her eyes went wide with shock: the storm cloud had cleared, revealing an unarmed Umbra.

“Is that all you can offer, Nightmare Moon?” The black mare asked her quietly. Luna hissed, preparing to cast another spell.

“I am Luna, no one else!”

Umbra snorted derisively and a flash of red light filled the clearing. Luna glanced down to see the glow seeping up through cracks in the ground below her. Before she had time to cry out, the ground she stood on exploded, sending her flying back into a tree where she slid to the ground.

“Is that all there is? No challenge, no resistance?” The black mare asked herself as she walked towards her prone opponent.

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Alone in the Canterlot gardens, Mysteria and Gently ambled over to the grass and lay down. Side by side, they stared up at the moonless sky.

“So many stars tonight.” Mysteria whispered. She wondered why she was feeling serious all of a sudden. Generally, her new friend made her feel relaxed - she had spent most of her time with him, laughing herself silly.

“Can I ask you something?” Gently asked her suddenly, focusing on the sky.

“Sure” she replied. She picked a blade of grass and began chewing on it subconsciously as she enjoyed the quiet of the night.

“Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you were terrified to act - terrified to tell somepony something?

She rolled over onto her side so that she was facing him. He turned as well.

“Yes.” She told him simply. She still struggled with the memories of her first few days with Twilight.

“But you found it hard to tell them, because you didn’t want to upset them or be rejected?”

“Well...” she struggled to find the right words, nodding instead.

He sighed heavily.

“Sweet Celestia, what have I got myself into here?”

“Something nice, I hope. You should never be afraid to tell someone what you feel - most of the time they don’t know and are unaware of what you think.” She said, smiling at him.

He looked at her and smiled in return.

“Now, tell me about the constellations in the sky”

She rolled so she was on her back again, and with a quick grin, Gently followed her lead.
He shuffled himself closer so he could show her more accurately, and began.

“Well if you look right there.”

“Where?”

He took her hoof and raised it up to point at the night.

“There.”

“Thanks.”

“That’s the constellation of Canis Major.”

“Oh right, I always wondered what that was.”

He gazed at her in the starlight. She was utterly relaxed, completely comfortable in his presence. Without thinking, without considering the plan, he leaned over and kissed her lightly on the lips.

She gasped in surprise, but did not pull away. Instead, she closed her eyes as a strange tingling sensation shot through her, sparked by this surprising intimacy.

Finally, he broke away, searching her face for a reaction. Eventually, she opened her eyes, staring at him.

“I guess you want to be more than just friends, then?”

He nodded, smiling at her.

She turned back on her side towards him.

“Perhaps you could be my very special somepony?”

They both smiled, Mysteria giggling and moved forward, and kissed again.

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Twilight entered her apartments in the palace, yawning slightly - it had been a long day, and she had spent most of it worrying about her student.

Speaking of which, she thought.

“Mysteria? Mysteria, are you still awake?” she called.

Hearing no response, she scolded herself silently: of course the filly was asleep - she was probably tired after today’s exertions.

She padded her way over to the adjoining room to make sure her student was sleeping soundly. As she entered the room, all tiredness left her: Mysteria was not in her bed.

“Where could that foolish filly be?”

She thought back, then it clicked. She had seen Mysteria and Gently headed towards the gardens. She had been so distracted by her student’s question that she had barely registered it.

Rearing up, she began galloping back towards the gardens. That mare was in for it tonight.

Arriving at the gardens, she looked around quickly. What she saw shocked her: the two ponies were lying together under the stars, enjoying an intimate kiss. She felt the rage build inside her, her horn sparking. She moved forwards, and forcefully lifted them off the ground, into the air. They yelped in surprise as she brought them towards her, their bodies illuminated by her purple magic.

“What in Celestia’s name are you doing?” she asked her student in a dangerously calm voice. The grey unicorn gulped and searched for words under the piercing stare.

“Well you see it was...”

“It was my fault, Twilight” Gently overrode her, firmly making eye contact with the enraged purple unicorn.

Her eyes narrowed and he began to feel constricted, as if he was being crushed.

“You think you can bedazzle my student with your false kindness and have your way with her? You think I will allow that?” Twilight yelled at him, each question punctuated by a flash of light which left angry black and green bruises on him.

“You think I didn’t see what you were doing? Didn’t think I worked it out? I know you don’t care for her, and now I’m going to protect her like I should have done from the beginning”

With that she shook her head, sending his slumped form smashing into the garden’s plant life. She turned to Mysteria, her eyes still burning with hatred.

“As for you. You have a lot to think about.” She then unceremoniously dropped the mare and wheeled around. “Follow.” she commanded, striding away.

Mysteria picked herself up, then turned towards Gently, who had extracted himself from the thorn bush. He closed his eyes, and shook his head. She nodded back, feeling a tear pool in her eye before trickling down her face. She slowly left, her head down, shuffling after her teacher.

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Gently picked the thorns out of his flank as he watched the mares leave and inspected this bruises.

That unicorn hit hard, he thought, wincing as he prodded at one. He hoped Mysteria would be all right - she looked devastated at her teacher’s reaction.

Sighing, he began to make his way to the castle, then suddenly stopped. The hairs on his head stood on end and a dark mist crept around his legs.

“Umbra” he spat with contempt.

“It has been too long, Gently. Tell me, how goes our wonderful plan?” A voice answered from behind, it’s deep velvet texture at odds with the searing pain through his body as she spoke.

“Great,” he muttered. “Aside from an unexpected event, it is proceeding as planned.”

The black alicorn drew level with his walk and hissed.

“What happened, Gently? We can’t be found out yet - If the elements are mustered, I could be defeated.”

He turned to her, his eyes flaming with rage.

“Would that be so bad? Wouldn’t Equestria be better if you were gone, better if you were dead?”

She laughed at his anger.

“My dear, If you weren’t so useful, I would kill you for such insolence. As it is, you may amuse me more.” She cocked her head to one side, sniffing slightly. “Aha, you truly care for that mare, don’t you?”

She broke out into laughter again as he started walking away.

“Utterly priceless. My pawn, fallen for the very pony he was supposed to seduce.”

“Twilight found us.” He interjected causing the mare to hiss, her eyes flashing red.

“You fool!”

She rounded on him, pushing him easily down to the ground. Her hoof jammed down on his throat - he gasped for breath, his eyes rolling back into his head as he began to fall unconscious.

She gave a disgusted snort and released him, leaving him panting on the ground.

“No matter, she can still be turned, but now your task is harder. Continue to get close to her but do it secretly. Nightmare Moon shall deal with our nosy teacher.”

She vanished as quickly as she had come. He hit his head in frustration, coming back to the issue which had been haunting him for the last two days. He had to be free of Umbra’s plot, but how could he tell Twilight or Mysteria now?

Comments

[Candy Drop]

Interesting... I can't wait to see where you are going with this. I haven't noticed any spelling mistakes, so tracking.

Keep up the good work!

[Cavemonkynick]

Ok, so I'm working my way though this story, which I'm enjoying so far by the way, and while I will get to the review once I've finished the story I saw this line and I had to ask

“Is that all there is? No challenge, no resistance?”

Is that a Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance reference or just a coincidence?

[Judgeitive]

1956276

Guilty as charged.

Haven't got round to Radiant Dawn yet, but I doubt there will be such an awesome scene as that.