A Change of Weather in Ponyville

by MLPDavester

Ch.5 - Return of Nightmare Moon Pt.2

Alright everypony, here’s the latest update to my story, gonna try and get better and frequent updates every couple of days or so, but I’m making up for missed time with some catch up this weekend. Enjoy the latest chapter.

~Canterlot Castle, 1 hour later~

“I’ve gotta find the Princess!” Maghus thought to himself as he galloped towards Celestia’s royal chambers. “If not for Twilight’s sake, but to satisfy my own curiosity about this whole situation! I need to know the truth!” Maghus was putting all of his effort into reaching the Princess as fast as he could, racing down the hallways faster than most ponies could even attempt to run. Having two fit pegasi parents raising him to be polite was one thing, but having them raise him to be fit and agile like a pegasus was one luxury that he was granted growing up. If anypony was able to spot Maghus in the blur of speed he was, they would notice his horn sparking and his cutie mark glowing slightly.

Princess Celestia may be the ruler of Equestria, but anypony from Canterlot or pony that frequented Canterlot knew that the Princess spent much of her time in her chambers if there were no pressing matters to attend to. This was Maghus’ destination as he continued racing down the halls in his desperation.

“Almost…there…” Maghus gasped to himself as his magic began to weaken and his pace began to slow. He had mastered the agility spell weeks ago from his lessons with Moonbeam, but it still depended on the pony’s endurance as to how long the spell could last. Maghus could feel his leg muscles screaming in pain, but his mind was elsewhere, forcing himself to keep going until he had made it. As he rounded a corner, he could see the Princess’s chambers ahead, guarded by two large ponies in the custom royal armor that all of the guards were given. “Just…a little…further…”

As Maghus was about to reach the two ponies to seek access, his magic suddenly quit on him, and Maghus could feel himself sinking into darkness.

~Canterlot Castle, 30 minutes after Maghus’ collapse~

“Huh…” Maghus groaned as he opened his eyes a crack, closing them tightly after a blinding light that pierced his eyes. He tried again, this time able to open them enough to get a rough look at his surroundings. When he had begun to lose consciousness, he had seen Celestia’s chambers open slightly and a small light glow drift towards him. As he looked around now, he realized that he was laying on a rather large bed with comfortable silk blankets and a soft mattress that nearly put him back to sleep. What struck him even more was the rather large pony standing next to him, with a slight look of worry on its face. “Wh-where am…I?” His voice was slightly raspy, as the last 30 minutes had allowed his body to catch up to him in the strain he had put on himself in his mad dash.

The large pony spoke in a gentle, yet regal sounding voice that sounded slightly familiar to Maghus from a few rare encounters. “It’s alright my little pony. You’re just tired at the moment. You put quite the strain on yourself in your efforts to reach this room. Now why is that?” As the voice finished, Maghus’ view came into better focus and he gasped as he now recognized who was speaking to him- Princess Celestia, who had a slight smile on her face as Maghus came fully awake.

“P-Princess!” Maghus yelped as his eyes shot open, shock and fear both apparent as he worried about how Celestia would react to him being here. “I-I’m so s-s-sorry that I c-came running here so f-fast!” Maghus began to hyperventilate as he feared the consequences of his being here. Would he be kicked out of Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns? Would he get exiled from Canterlot? Or worse, would he get banished to the moon?! “Please don’t banish me for being here!” Was he last thing he blurted out before Celestia silenced him with a gentle hoof to his muzzle.

“Calm down little one.” Maghus instantly relaxed at this last comment. Normally he would be very grumpy about being referred to as a little one, but from the Princess it was very calming and soothing for his restless body at this time. Celestia laughed slightly as she removed her hoof. “You remind me a bit of Twilight when you say things like that. She always did get worked up about the slightest thing. But I’m sure you know about that.” Celestia winked at Maghus at this last comment, causing him to blush slightly for some reason he wasn’t quite sure why.

“Yeah, I guess…” Maghus sheepishly reached a hoof slowly behind his head to give it an awkward scratch out of embarrassment. Then he suddenly remembered why he had come here in the first place. “Twilight!” He suddenly leaned forward in the bed and looked straight at Celestia with wide eyes as he spoke. “She’s why I came to speak with you Princess! It’s about the Summer Sun Celebration in Ponyville and why you sent her!”

Celestia’s face lost a bit of its joy as she realized what Maghus was referring to. She quickly regained her composure before Maghus noticed however and spoke. “I sent her because I think it’s good for her to get out of the castle and simply relax for a day or two. She’s been studying quite hard lately.” Celestia hoped that Maghus would believe this last remark, as she did not wish to speak the truth about what she feared for tonight to anypony.

Maghus however saw right through the cracks in the comment and ripped them open as gently as he dared so as not to anger the Princess. “Princess…please tell me the truth…” Maghus dipped his head slightly as he continued. “Twilight’s my friend and I…I want to know why you made her leave so suddenly after mentioning to you about Nightmare Moon and the 1000 years it’s been since she was banished.” Maghus looked back up and gasped to himself slightly when he noticed Celestia’s face void of all happiness and a small tear descending from one eyes down her muzzle that she quickly wiped away after Maghus gasped.

“I wish I could tell you the truth Maghus.” Celestia turned and looked out the window towards the sun halfway in the sky. She sighed deeply as she prepared himself to continue. “But I fear there is too much to say and too little time to say it to satisfy your curiosity.” Celestia turned around to notice Maghus had silently climbed out of the bed amidst his aching muscles and was sitting rather awkwardly nearby with a patient, yet serious look on his face.

“Princess.” Maghus spoke with a mature tone that defied his age. “I don’t want the whole truth if you can’t give it. I just want to know why you chose Twilight and not anypony else.” Maghus concluded his statement by shifting slightly in place to get more comfortable as he prepared for the Princess’ denial of telling him.

He was caught off guard as Celestia accepted however, “Very well. But know that this is beyond you and that I do not want any of this information to leave this room.” Celestia regained her serious and regal composure as she continued. “Is that clear?”

Maghus sat straight and raised a hoof to his head unconsciously as he replied, “Yes Princess.” He then noticed his raised hoof and lowered it with a sheepish grin and blush as the Princess began her tale of Nightmare Moon and this year’s Summer Sun Celebration.

~1 hour later~

The story went well, as throughout the tale Maghus’ expressions went from shock to understanding and finally to sadness and disappointment as the Princess concluded her tale.

“But what if Twilight can’t do it Princess?” Maghus worried about Twilight most in this entire discussion as most of this new event revolved around her success. “She’s not the most talkative pony in the world, you know that more than anypony!” Maghus nervously twiddled his hooves as he continued, a slight frown of worry on his forehead. “She and I only became friends through a stroke of luck more than anything.”

Celestia smiled at the worry this young stallion showed for his friend and wished more than anything to ease his pain and worry in this situation. “I understand your worry Maghus Uncorn. But you must trust me with this.” Maghus looked up to Celestia quizzically as the Princess continued. “I know that Twilight is capable of great things through her profound skill in magic. But to be able to save Equestria she must make friends before tonight. I will not be able to help her in this situation, and neither will you.” This last comment brought an even greater look of concern to Maghus’ face as he thought about what Celestia had said.

“W-what do you mean we can’t help her?” Maghus’ hoof began to shake out of worry as a few beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. He was now even more worried for Twilight’s safety than he had been when she left for Ponyville. Knowing now that she would be in serious danger did nothing to help since the Princess said they couldn’t assist her. “There must be a way to help!” Maghus practically yelled this in his desperation to find an answer to the problem at hand.

“I really wish there were. I really do.” Celestia shook her head solemnly, her multi-coloured mane billowing slightly as she did so. “But Nightmare Moon would never allow someone I knew or had close at hand to stop her.” Celestia finished this last statement with a solemn bow of her horn, awaiting Maghus’ reply.

“But then why would she let Twilight even get involved?” Maghus feared for his friend more and more the further this conversation progressed. “Twilight is one of the closest ponies to you in all of Equestria! That would make her a prime target for Nightmare Moon after yourself!” Maghus began looking about the room frantically as he looked for some sign, anything that could help Twilight’s predicament.

“Not if Nightmare Moon doesn’t know about her.” Celestia’s last comment struck quickly to Maghus’ thought processes as he suddenly swivelled his head to look at her with a perplexed expression.

“What do you mean by that Princess?” Maghus sat down and looked at Celestia with a confused look, anxiously awaiting her reasoning behind this last statement. “Why wouldn’t she know about someone so close to you?”

“Because Nightmare Moon has been trapped in the moon for one thousand years.” Celestia knew this would not be enough to sate the stallion’s curiosity and therefore continued. “She would simply come to Equestria and immediately prevent myself, anypony in Canterlot, and anypony that knew me 1000 years ago that still exists from stopping her.” This obtained a slight look of realization from Maghus, but not enough to cheer him up enough to calm down. Celestia therefore decided to tell one last truth about why this year’s celebration was in Ponyville. “And nopony in Ponyville knows me personally that is alive from 1000 years ago. That is why chose such a quaint little town to host this year’s Summer Sun Celebration.”

Maghus began scratching his chin with one hoof as he began putting the pieces of Celestia’s story together. As he placed different parts of the puzzle into different places, his face cleared up of the anxiety and fear he had experienced only moments before, though it did nothing to rid him of his worry about his friend. Celestia did not expect such a thing to occur however, as she knew much about the friendship that Twilight shared with this stallion. She was pleased however to see that her speech had calmed Maghus down considerably upon the beginning of their conversation.

Maghus smiled slightly as he nodded his head politely towards Celestia. “Thank you Princess. All I needed to know was that Twilight would be alright.” Maghus’ smile shrunk somewhat, but did not go away entirely. “I know that she is still at risk, but knowing that she isn’t in absolutely terrible danger is good to know. I just hope you’re right about her being capable of doing this.”

As Maghus began to leave Celestia’s chambers, the princess replied back to him, “As do I my little pony. As do I.” Celestia finished this comment as she looked out the window to see the sun beginning to dip below the tops of the hills as night approached.

“For Luna’s sake.”

Alright, there’s part two to this portion of the story. Will likely upload the third and final part to this tomorrow, and then the story will most likely proceed more towards Ponyville in my hopes. We’ll see what I do after the next chapter. And so far I’ve only received one PM about OC’s, so there are still a few spots open after I judge the submissions in a week or two’s time. No real rush on that at the moment. Have a good weekend everypony.

Comments

[OminousBrony]

Great Story so far. I just submitted my only complete OC to you and hope he can make the cut.