The Elements of Disharmony: Necessary Corruption

by Night_Shine

4: Moonset

After several hours working fruitlessly with the research team, Luna could finally be…alone.

The bittersweet nature of her predicament, as always, sent her mind whirling in frustrated circles. Nopony would bother her through the hours of darkness, leaving her endless time when no other pony in the world could disturb her pondering. And yet, Luna thought with a pang of longing, I want them to disturb me. I need them to disturb me…for if they do not, how can I tell if they truly care for me or my night? These thoughts and a thousand others echoed through her head while she sat alone in the center of the Canterlot Castle throne room, and as the muffled drumming of rain echoed from above. In a world filled with silence, only the raging storm could comfort her troubled soul.

She stretched out in her seat, uncomfortable since the throne of Equestria—and likewise the throne in the citizens’ hearts—was not built for her. No, they built this seat for her sister, so that Celestia would sit proudly and regally and bask in the harsh light of day. The smiling ruler would greet her subjects as they all waited in a line that would stretch for miles…as everypony would die for the opportunity to meet their ruler, their ruler of the day.

And yet nopony ever wanted to speak with their equally powerful, equally important Ruler of the Night. Nopony ever cared enough to stay up into the night for the chance to meet their other ruler. Nopony even loved her enough to stay with her for the entire night, too afraid of losing their precious sleep so that they could live in Celestia’s day.

Not even her guards had time to talk to her. Luna could not directly blame them for this—it was quite literally in their job description to only speak or interact when absolutely necessary—but still, something about the fact that the only ponies who lived with her in the night swore to perpetual silence...bothered her.

The castle’s Lunar Guards marched through empty hallways as they did their rounds, very rarely passing the throne room, so not even their presence could break her hated thoughts…thoughts that betrayed her, thoughts filled with crystal pendants and bright blue lightning. The lightning always curled down from a raging storm of justice, striking Celestia down from her pedestal of lies and tyranny.

A deafening BOOM of thunder echoed through the empty halls. Lightning had struck Canterlot Castle, the heart of Equestria itself.

All of a sudden the faint sound of trotting down the hall interrupted Luna’s dark thoughts. The sound of hoofsteps grew only louder as Luna strained her ears to listen.

Could it be? Could one pony finally have come to attend the court of the night, to want to talk to Luna?! Who was it? What did they want? Did they have a question? A special request, maybe? Whatever it may be, she had to answer this pony, had to keep her rising hope from escaping. A rush of emotions flooded the Princess's mind, making ehr excited and nervous and hopeful and afraid.

Luna’s pulse sped up as the pony strode slowly and confidently towards the throne room. Luna's brow furrowed as she noticed wisps of black smoke crawling across the walls of the hallway, then fading into shadow.

Bum-bum.

The pony turned the corner and stepped into the throne room. What an odd-looking pony, Luna thought, Perchance, though, that is the new fashion. It has been a long time, after all...Her heart pumped faster with every step he took.

Bum-bum.

His freakish bug-like eyes glowed bright red, staring straight through the Princess, sparking a twinge of unease in the back of her mind. The colt wore a set of shining chrome armor above his midnight-blue coat, and his outline shimmered in the candlelight as if he stood under a cloak of illusions.

Bum-bum.

Luna's eye darted to the pitch-black pendant he wore around his neck. An ash-gray crystal hung from its center, with two bright red beads aligned across the face of the gem…almost like eyes. A powerful aura surrounded the necklace, a sort of dark shadow that followed this pony like graveyard fog as he continued his advance toward the Princess, one step at a time.

Bum-bum.

Wait a minute. I have seen that necklace before.

Bum-bum. Bum-bum.

Recent memories flicked into her consciousness. A locked box sat on the table, vibrating as the contents struggled to escape. A brilliant flash of blue light consumed her vision. Even after, one of the necklaces still seemed to be watching her with its ruby eyes, watching her and waiting.

Bum-bum. Bum-bum.

The Element of Fear! How did he—did he steal—is he its wielder? This does not make any sense! Luna tried to calm herself down, ignoring the deafening heartbeats that pulsed in her ears like the constant beating of a drum.

What could she do about this pony? Celestia would have told her to call the guard and have him arrested immediately, for theft of one of the most dangerous magical items ever discovered. But…she could not follow Celestia’s example. I shall hear this pony out.

“Doest thou have a question for thy Princess of the Night?” Princess Luna’s voice rang out across the court. She thought it best to first remind this pony, if he was going to try anything, who exactly he was dealing with.

The colt stopped in his tracks, still staring at Luna, his bug-eyes never blinking. “As a matter of fact…yes, yes I do.” His deep voice rumbled softly like the sound of echoing thunder.

Luna did a double take. “What?”

“I was wondering…why did you give in to your sister, and surrender your ideal of the Everlasting Night?”

“What?!” There are still ponies who would support me as Nightmare Moon?

“I said, why did you give in to the tyrannical will of Celestia? You could have overpowered her at any point you so desired since your return from your prison, and reigned once more. The moon could once again have shined in all of its glory over Equestria.”

The Princess's head swam with contradictory plans of action. This pony is clearly a threat to the kingdom, having stolen an Element of Disharmony as well as having been a supporter of my past self's crazy ideas. Luna glanced back at the dark colt, still confused. Maybe I should kick him out of the throne room...Celestia would not stand for this kind of speech, this treasonous line of thought shoved directly and audaciously in my face.

And yet some dark part of Luna wanted him to keep talking…some dark recess in her mind that had laid dormant for a long time, waiting patiently to break free.

In her indecision the Shadow patiently stood, unblinking, silent and still. He could feel the second pendant he carried inside a secret pocket of his armor eagerly straining to escape his magical grasp, craving to join its true master.

Luna carefully arranged her next words, treading a fine line as she spoke not her own words but those she knew she should: “When I was Night Mare Moon, all that I lived for was jealousy and bitterness. The Elements of Harmony gave me a second chance at a new life, to rule justly alongside my sister.” She nearly choked over the last few words, and he knew it.

“You were jealous, and rightly so. Your sister and her precious subjects betrayed you by adamantly refusing to appreciate the beauty of your night. Only after you became Night Mare Moon did your beloved sister choose to notice your suffering…because it inconvenienced her.”

Bum-bum. Bum-bum. Bum-bum. Bum-bum-

Luna’s heartbeat pounded in her ears, a thunderous drum she could no longer ignore. “Stop. Stop speaking, now.” Her calm crumbled fast under his harsh words that spoke the deadly truth. A blinding glow emanated from her horn, a magic she could not control…a subconscious urge to do what she must.

“Destroy me if you wish…but I will always be there. I am the Shadow that lurks in your mind, skulking in its deepest recesses, hiding in its darkest corners…I am the voice of your true self, calling out to you, always present but never recognized…” The soft words slithered out from behind his shining mask, curled in her ear and struck at her will like an angry snake.

Panic ate away at her mask of calm as she realized with utter horror the rising agreement she felt with his toxic words. Her mind began to tear itself apart as she could not force herself make him stop, to MAKE IT STOP…

BUM-BUM, BUM-BUM, BUM-BUM, BUM-BUM-

Finally Luna’s throat cleared for long enough to her to scream, “GUARDS!” Her voice came strangled and desperate, but it peeped no more as his drilling glare stripped away her willpower.

Nopony came. Her guards were too far away to hear her scream.

Suddenly Luna looked down at his Element, looking into its ruby eyes. That Element gives him power. I must escape it!. Summoning all of her remaining strength, Princess Luna seized back control of her mind and body. She jumped into the air and shot to the door, flapping her wings as fast as her heartbeat in a desperate attempt at an escape.

She soared out past the throne room doors and slammed them shut behind her. They echoed with a deafening BOOM, their sound rolling like the thunder out through the castle.

Sinking to the ground, Luna forced her mind into a state of calm. Strangely, the wielder of the Element of Fear did not pursue her. Not a single noise left the throne room…only a dull, ominous silence. Whatever the case…he could not hurt her anymore.

---

Queen Chrysalis snuck down the silent hallway, watching closely for any signs of the Equestrian Lunar Guard. She could feel the Element of Deception’s aura, warm and lulling, rested against her neck. The very aura that she could twist, could manipulate, could control…

And now she needed to do exactly that. Working carefully, she fed her magic into the crystal center of the pendant, gently pulling it away from its black frame. It resisted for a moment, but then with a loud pop! it leapt out of the black necklace. A bright cloud of blue-green magic suddenly burst into existence around it, causing it to levitate in midair.

Chrysalis delicately wrapped her own magic around the cloud, twisting and forming it into the body of a snake. She reached into the crystal, and with a spark of energy the serpent came to life. The creature woven from pure power slithered down the hallway, seeking out its first victim.

---

The storm did not give Luna a single moment to rest before its next strike.

As she sat still against the cold wall in front of the throne room, Luna suddenly noticed something peculiar in the corner of her eye. A small, dark, teal-green shape lay in the middle of the floor further down the hallway.

She squinted her eyes at the strange sight. It looked like a snake, but with the translucent, shimmering quality of an entity born from pure magic. Jeweled eyes stared at her from inside its tiny skull, a dark blood-red that contrasted starkly with the rest of its ethereal turquoise body.

“Hello?” Luna called. The snake quickly slithered down the hallway at the sound of her voice, around a corner and out of sight. A flash of green light flared around the bend.

Her confidence regained after escaping the Element of Fear, Luna cautiously trotted down the hall after the mysterious snake. She rounded the corner only to find an empty hallway.

Luna turned to her left, noticing a tall mirror hanging from the wall, looking into the eyes of her full reflection. Cracks crawled along the edges of the mirror, not reaching the chrome surface, pinching the back of Luna's mind with unease. Is the mirror broken? My full reflection is still there, unaltered...

Her reflection opened its mouth of its own accord, and the teal-blue snake coiled out like a wisp of smoke. Luna jerked back as the snake slithered through the air and curled around her neck, but she did not feel anything. "Illusions..." she murmured, her eyes narrowing. The snake's true master, her false reflection, closed its mouth and smiled at her. Luna stared back, not quite sure what to think.

The snake slid back into the mirror, where it winded around the neck of her reflection and took the form of another storm-black pendant. Its face became the crystal centerpiece of this Element, the head of the snake. The Element of Deception.

“You could do it, you know.”

The voice of Luna’s reflection rang through the empty halls, met only by silence.

“You know that you want to…as your true self, as the real Mare of the Night, you will find the happiness you have lost to the sun. Once more you shall become the bringer of Justice to these cruel ponies, and they will learn to love you and the beauty of your jeweled sky.”

Again only silence met the entrancing mirror’s words. Its tempting whisper turned suddenly into an angry shout.

“THIS IS NOT HARMONY! If your sister was not so blinded by the limelight and the Sun, she could clearly see the oppression in front of her very nose. Look at you now! Has anypony come to your aid? Has anypony come here to help you? Or have they all left you here for dead?!”

Luna’s eyes watered as she stared unblinking into the mirror, completely mesmerized by this form of herself, a form reflected honestly by this mirror, this servant of the storm.

“JUST IMAGINE IT! YOU COULD HAVE MORE POWER THAN CELESTIA EVER DREAMED OF!” screamed the voice.

Celestia...? My sister…

Thunder crashed between two opposing clouds outside of the palace. Drawing up to her full height, Luna returned the mirror’s anger with the full power of her Royal Canterlot Voice: “NO! We shall not be turned back into that MONSTER!”

All of the remaining fragments of the mirror shattered…but the reflection remained, even as the mirror fell apart before her eyes. The reflection’s voice shifted back to a whisper in the wind. “Who is the monster…the tyrant or the slave?”

Princess Luna took a step back. The snake that crawled out of the mirror had wormed itself into the mind and bit down with all of its might, sapping away all of her strength.

Glaring into her reflection, Luna failed to notice a familiar red-eyed colt sneak up behind her and envelop her in Fear's black fog. After a brief look of shock, Luna's eyes closed and she crumpled to the ground.

---

The Shadow looked down at the body of the Princess lying before him, splayed out on the floor, fallen from grace. Green fire spat out from the corner of his eye, and Queen Chrysalis stepped out of the broken mirror frame. The Element of Deception hung around her neck, glowing softly in the candlelight.

She looked at him quizzically. The Shadow levitated the Element of Betrayal over to her, and she nodded. Pulling it out of the air, she positioned the pendant carefully, letting it hover over Luna’s neck as if preparing to bite down.

Closing his eyes, the Shadow laid down and joined Princess Luna in the dark pit of sleep for one final nightmare.

---

A surreal meadow of stars greeted Luna's vision as she awoke. Soft music played against her ears, from everywhere and from nowhere. The night breeze whistled softly through the stars under her hooves, chilling her to the bone, and yet at the same time a fire resided within her that the breeze could not extinguish.

The Princess of the Night lifted her gaze to see once again the peculiar dome curl around her, a sphere encompassing the whole night sky, a cage within her soul where the Night Mare waited to greet her.

A pure milky-white sphere hovered in the center of this beautiful alien display. Shining its light over the sky, it pulsed with every beat of her heart. As with its counterpart in reality, this moon held a foe that the Elements of Harmony defeated and imprisoned: the Black Mare, the Nightmare Within, the Betraying One.

Luna floated through the thick air, parting the stars with her hooves as she approached her inevitable fate. As she approached, the moon phased in and out of its solid state, revealing the dark silhouette of her dark reflection. The Nightmare looked so innocent imprisoned within the chains of her will…it lay curled up in a fetal position, dressed in no armor, wearing no makeup to boost its intimidating appearance. Its eyelids hung heavy over its glowing dragon-eyes.

But as Princess Luna swam closer and closer to the shining orb, as her heart beat louder and louder with every slow motion of her wings, the bright dragon-eyes of Betrayal snapped open. A wide grin filled its face, and it floated to the surface of the moon, looking out at her alter ego, appearing for all intents and purposes no more than an innocent fish inside an aquarium.

One touch, and Justice will be released. One simple, easy, painful, betraying evil touch. The night breeze carried the soft words to Luna’s ears with a sweet melody. Luna hesitated, knowing full well that she lacked the strength to punch open the prison within her that the Elements of Harmony had sealed.

And yet she could feel the moon crumbling from within, deteriorating from the influence of the Elements of Disharmony. So far she had felt the presence of two such Elements, deteriorating the power of Harmony that resided in her mind.

A third entity rang out its presence across the night sky, rippling the blanket of stars that formed the fabric of her mind. Something forced its entry into this most private of places…something that had the strength to break all barriers, and it rode the night breeze up towards its master.

The Element of Betrayal floated up from behind Luna before she even noticed its presence, and locked itself tightly around her neck. Immediately the tranquility shattered. The night sky panicked and writhed with its Princess, who struggled against the all-consuming power of Betrayal. She shrieked as the Element choked the life out of her, releasing a silent scream that the darkness consumed.

Her vision faded to black. As her vision faded to black, she noticed with sorrowful resignation that she had fallen once again into her dreamless prison.

---

Night Mare Moon awoke, breathing in the fresh air of reality for the first time since the Elements of Harmony had torn apart and locked away her essence on the eve of the Summer Sun Celebration so long ago. Her body sat in front of a shattered mirror, and her eyes rested on a spot behind the mirror where wisps of an illusion-spell still lingered.

A soft, comforting warmth pulsed around her neck. She turned her head down to see a bolt of blue lightning against the metal of an Element sitting above her chest, but not pure gold like that of the Elements of Harmony. Instead, a jet-black color had tainted this pendant's surface.

The Ruler of the Night glanced to her side. Her pale blue armor that struck fear into the hearts of ponies everywhere lay innocently on the ground, waiting for its wearer. She stepped into the familiar cold touch of her hoof-plates and strapped on the thick chestpiece, and then finally she levitated the helmet over her head. It slipped smoothly over her horn, as easily as the last time, as if nothing had changed. Her armor glinted in the moonlight.

Suddenly a dull red stallion burst through the door, panting. He yelled in a panicked voice, “Princess Luna! Lord Silver Tongue stole the Elements of Disharmony and he’s planning to-”

Spell Scholar’s voice stopped dead as he saw Nightmare Moon slowly rise from the floor, stretching her legs and neatly folding her wings at her sides. She smiled at him as her mane spiraled into the open air of the hallway, forming a thundercloud of blue smoke. Even without the lightning soon to come, her aura paralyzed the helpless stallion.

Outside the window, the storm clouds cleared for a brief moment. The sky revealed the bright moon, shining in all of her glory once again. Its necessary corruption was complete.

A bolt of lightning flashed, with the accompanying rumble of thunder…not from the storm but from within the very Castle itself.

Comments

[Candle_Jack]

Whoa.

[Styrofoam]

And so... IT BEGINS!!

[Night_Shine]

1678843 Speaking of which, Discord and the Element of Power both come in next chapter.

EDIT: Sorry. Upon writing the next chapter, I found that I needed to split it into two, so actually only Discord and not the Element of Power are in it.

[Styrofoam]

1683334

Somehow I think the situation is going to get grim for Equestria...
1) Nightmare Moon
2) Queen Chrysalis
3) And... Discord?
And this comes without even mentioning the Puzzle guy... wow

[TwilightFox]

1685070 Yeah, it looks like everypony's pretty much bucked...
Sure, living in eternal night whilst having you emotions siphoned kinda sucks...
But hey... Chocolate rain!!!