> My Little Pony: Diamond Dreams Chapter 1: Nightmare Moon
>  by SaburoDaimando
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Section 1: A LAND SHROUDED IN DARKNESS
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


MY LITTLE PONY:
DIAMOND DREAMS
CHAPTER 1: NIGHTMARE MOON
SECTION 1: A LAND SHROUDED IN DARKNESS


Once upon a time, in the Magical Land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together, and created harmony for all of the land. To do this, the eldest used her unicorn powers to raise the sun at dawn, while the younger brought out the moon to begin the night. But as time went on, the younger of the two became resentful. The ponies relished and played in the elder sister's daylight, but shunned and slept through the beautiful night.

On that fateful day 1000 years ago, the younger unicorn refused to lower the moon to make way for the dawn and vowed to shroud the land in eternal night, taking up the name "Nightmare Moon." The elder sister used the powers of the Elements of Harmony to stop her younger sister. As punishment, she was locked away in the moon forever. But the elder sister felt burdened by having to raise the sun and the moon by herself, only wishing her younger sister did not have to suffer.

However, it was prophesied that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars would aid in her escape. Days before the Summer Sun Celebration, Nightmare Moon escape the confinements of the Moon and shrouded the lower countryside of Equestria in Darkness, trapping its citizens in shadows and laying the area like a darken wasteland.

The remaining ponies are protected by a magical shroud around the capital city of Canterlot. But unless Nightmare Moon is stopped with the power of harmony, all will be lost.

The land of Equestria. Once a rich and vibrant countryside, now lie in a barren wasteland shrouded in eternal night, to which the sun will never shine through. Once the town of Ponyville was full of busy ponies trotting around, they are replaced by mere shadows of their former self, forced to dwell in the darkness that was laid by Nightmare Moon since her escape from the Moon. However, high above the land, one balloon floated above safe from the shroud of eternal Night.

Inside the balloon were two occupants. The first one, a purple Unicorn with a Dark-purple mane. This Unicorn is named Twilight Sparkle, the apprentice of Princess Celestia. The other, a Purple and green baby dragon named Spike. Twilight Sparkle was observing what's left of the Equestrian Countryside from the safety of her balloon, nervously looking for any patches of light remaining.

"This whole land is in complete disarray," Twilight sighed "If I had only known about the legacy of Nightmare Moon, I would have been able to stop her from turning most of Equestria into pure sorrow."

Spike immediately objected to that argument by saying "There was nothing you could have done, Twilight. Had you intervened, you could have gotten caught in the shadows of Nightmare Moon, and Princess Celestia would have lost her favorite apprentice."

It wasn't enough to calm the nerves of Twilight Sparkle. She's been a natural worrywart since she was a filly trying to get into Celestia's school for gifted Unicorns. Always trying to meet her teacher's expectations, even though she would succeed in the end. But still, her fear of failure always stuck with her, even in triumph. It was as if her life would be on the line for every test she takes, for every objective she is given, and for every challenge that lays in front of her.

"Spike, you don't understand," She grieved. "All of this could have been stopped if we only knew where the Elements of Harmony were. According to legend, the eldest of the two unicorn sisters used the Elements of Harmony to banish her younger sister. Afterward, she sealed away the elements of Harmony waiting for the day to come. If only I had those elements of harmony days ago, none of this would have happened."

But before Spike could say anything, he noticed what appears to be a lush, green forest sticking out of the shadows. An area that Nightmare Moon hasn't touched. But why? Without hesitation, Spike called out to Twilight Sparkle. "Twilight. There's a bit of land that hasn't been touched by Nightmare Moon." 

That was more than enough to get Twilight's attention. She looked at the area Spike pointed out, still as bright green as ever. The fearfulness of Twilight Sparkle disappeared as determination burned within her. "Spike, take us to that location, on the double. That area may be the answer to what we're looking for."

Without Hesitation, Spike pointed in the opposite direction of the green forest and exhaled fire from his mouth, pushing the Hot Air Balloon towards the forest that bathed in light.

Much time after the balloon landed safely in the forest, Twilight Sparkle and Spike begin to set out on their quest to locate the Elements of Harmony. Using the powers of her Unicorn Horn, Twilight Sparkle placed what appears to be a necklace with a glowing white shard around her neck. She did the same thing to Spike with a similar necklace.

"Spike," Twilight stated "In case Nightmare Moon does cover this land in darkness, the power of the Sun Shard will protect us." As Twilight turned around and began to walk in one direction, Spike looked at his shard. To him, he is a baby dragon and shards remind him of gemstones. Delicious gemstones that dragons eats that allows them to breathe fire and fly. One look at that shard and Spike was about ready to sink his teeth into it.

"And don't even think about eating your Sun Shard!"

Those words that came from Twilight Sparkle were enough to stop Spike from eating his own Sun Shard. He then held his head up and walked towards where Twilight is going.

Despite how the rest of the countryside was shrouded in night, the forest itself was bathed in sunlight. Perhaps the last bit of sunlight left in Equestria other than the high peak of the Canterlot Capital. It's hard to imagine how once the whole land of Equestria was once blessed by the light of the sun, only for its light to be snuffed out in favor of eternal night. But for Twilight Sparkle, that very thought was embedded in her head as she thought of it as more of a failure than something she could not have stopped.

"Twilight, do you see anything that may resemble the Elements of Harmony, or any hint to the Elements?" Spike asked.
Twlight only responded with "No Spike. It may take hours, maybe even days, before we get any answers." But it only got worse when her stomach grumbled. It seems in her haste to explore what's left of Equestria, she forgot to pack a lunch, not to mentioned she skipped out on Breakfast.

"Maybe it was a bad idea to leave before breakfast. I actually wished I had eaten that sapphire muffin," Spike complained.

Twilight responded with nothing but "I know Spike. But I'm more concerned about the Elements of Harmony than food right now. Time isn't on our side in these dark times. Who knows where Nightmare Moon will strike? It's only a matter of time before..."

Just before Twilight could finish speaking, a white glow radiated, blinding her and Spike. Where was it coming from? As the glow began to fade, the two opened their eyes and saw the light emitting from a cave. That may be the answer to what they were searching for. Without hesitation, Twilight yelled "Spike, this way," as she galloped towards the cave with Spike running behind her.

As Twilight ran into the cave towards the light, it's warm glow began to fade deeper and deeper as the cave itself revealed to Twilight Sparkle and Spike. Further and further the two went as the light dimmed further and the cave became more visible, Twilight and Spike ran further in as they finally reached the source of the light. As the light faded, the source itself revealed to be a stone door that has been shut.

And near the door, lie 6 unconscious humans.

6 humans?

"But that's impossible," A confused Twilight responded to the finding of these 6 humans. "According to my research, humans are suppose to be extinct."

"Extinct?" Spike responded "If that is true, then where did these 6 come from?

Where did these 6 humans come from? 5 females, 1 male.

One of the females had long yellow hair that extended to below her neck, with a pink tank top and light blue cargo pants.

The eldest of the females had brown hair in a pony tail. She wore a orange shirt and blue overalls.

The youngest, a child, had long pink hair and wore a yellow shirt with a white skirt.

The second youngest, a teenager, had short black hair, wore a white, buttoned shirt and purple dress pants, as if she were dressed professionally.

The last female had pale skin, long white hair, and wore a purple dress.

The only male had short black hair, shorter than even the black-haired girl, wore a red jacket, a black shirt and blue pants. Judging by the hair color of both the teen and the only male, it seems they were siblings.

All 6 of the humans looked as if they had passed out. Unable to move, but still able to breathe. But where did they come from? What purpose do they have in this world where the population consisted of Earth Ponies, Unicorns and Pegasi? 

Having forgotten about the Elements of Harmony, Twilight turned to her faithful assistant Spike and said...
"Spike, do you have enough firepower for one letter?"

"I sure do," Spike said.

Twilight responded with "Take down a letter." As Spike took out a parchment paper and a quill and began to write down everything Twilight was about say, Twilight stated the following...

"To my faithful teacher Princess Celestia. So far, I have been unable to locate the Elements of Harmony. But my recent discovery lead to something that I thought was extinct thousands of years ago. Humans. 6 of them. Where did they come from? What purpose do they hold? And are they friend or foe? I am in need of some help teleporting these humans to somewhere safe so they do not suffer the same that has befallen the lands of Equestria. Your faithful Student, Twlight Sparkle."

The moment Spike finished that letter, he then turned it around and showed the completed letter to Twilight. She responded with a "Perfect," giving the baby dragon the cue to breathe fire into the note. The moment the fire hit the letter, it burned away as the magic of that fire spread towards the mountain top capital of Canterlot.

Twilight looked up as the fire trail disappeared into the atmosphere and smiled. It was the first time she actually smiled since leaving Canterlot. "It won't be long now," Twilight said. "Now I hope Princess Celestia makes it here in time before Nightmare Moon strikes this area down." But as she finished her sentence, a white light emitted from the sky, causing both Twlight and Spike to cover their eyes. As the light grew dim, the image of Princess Celestia took shape before she stood before her apprentice.

"Princess Celestia," Twlight said, feeling glad to see her teacher and ruler of Equestria. Princess Celestia nodded to Twilight and said with a calm voice...

"Twilight, I read your letter about your report on the humans you found. While there are those in Canterlot who are weary of seeing a live human, rest assure these new guests will be considered welcome here in these dark times."

"Thank you Princess Celestia," Twilight responded. Her smile went to a frown as she added "But I still couldn't find the Elements of Harmony."

Princess Celestia only added "One doesn't find the Elements of Harmony, the Elements find them. I believe only the magic of friendship is capable of locating the Elements and stopping Nightmare Moon." Twilight was only disappointed. She set out on her journey and she couldn't find the elements. "But you must not be in despair Twilight," Celestia added. "In time, guided by friendship, you will find the Elements of Harmony and restore this land to its former glory."

"Friendship? But why friendship?" Twilight asked as Spike stood by her.

"The power of Friendship will come to you as you journey deep into the darkness of the land itself. You, little Spike, and even those who came here through no fault of their own," Celestia responded. "I have a feeling these humans may play a role in helping you find the Elements of Harmony."

If its true these humans could hold the key to finding the elements, Twilight may have no choice. She nodded to Princess Celestia as Spike looked on. "I'll do my best," Twilight said.

"Very well," Celestia responded. "But first, we better take the humans to Canterlot. I can sense Nightmare Moon coming nearby and I fear if we don't act soon, they will become apart of the darkness. Even if their acts in the past were unforgivable, even they do not deserve to suffer in the darkness."

End Part 1
> Section 2: WHO ARE THESE HUMANS?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


MY LITTLE PONY
DIAMOND DREAMS
CHAPTER 1: NIGHTMARE MOON
SECTION 2: WHO ARE THESE HUMANS?



"LET US OUT OF HERE! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO KEEP US CONFINED TO THIS ROOM!"

The yelling and pounding of the door came not from the dungeon of Canterlot Castle, but from the outside of a regal guest bedroom, currently locked from the outside.

Inside, the six humans who were first discovered at a cave in what was once a bright green forest have already been transferred to the castle of Princess Celestia, ruler of what's left of Equestria.

The five girls were already calm and patient. But not the lone male. He's been frantically pounding the door with his fist with no response.

"Will, if you keep pounding that door, your fist is gonna hurt like my head currently is. So give it a ready, okay?" The brown haired, slightly older girl said.

"Sigh. Why are we even caged up in this place? As a matter of fact, why are we even here in this land for no reason?" Will complained.

The lone male, Will Diamond, is a brave, yet hot-headed and headstrong human. Patience is not really his best virtue and he is rather distrusting of the citizens of Equestria.

The brown-haired eldest of the girls, Rachel Robinson, was rather more annoyed by Will's constant pounding. Despite her lack of temper at the moment, she is more the calming mother of the group.

"Will, I know you are distrusting of our hosts and want to get out, but you're only making this worse on yourself and on the others," Rachel replied. "Besides, you're beginning to set a bad example to Wanda." She added as the long haired girl, Wanda Young, came up to Will to comfort him.

Will just looked at Wanda and just nodded, causing Wanda to respond with "Come on Will. You're usually the one who enjoys adventures. Besides, I can assure you our new hosts will be nice to us." Will only responded to "I can only hope." to which Wanda playfully replied with "You're just silly, Will."

Unlike Will and Rachel, Wanda Young is a more cheerful, energetic and optimistic human. But she is a little more naive compared to the rest of the gang as she doesn't accumulate the negative a lot and is sometimes careless. But despite all what is against her, it seems Wanda happens to be the leader of the gang.

"Wanda, you do know I take things rather serious. I mean, ever since I..." Will stated before being interrupted by Wanda who, in a positive tone, stated "I know what you mean, Will. It's because of what Butch Tuffman did to you and me that changed you. Even if he did mean to hurt my feelings, I just thought he was acting rather foolish and I forgave him."

"That's just it, Wanda," Will replied "But then again, I'm surprised you still forgave him when I haven't, even after what he did to hurt your feelings."

"Big Brother, you do know that Wanda's the kind of girl who doesn't let the worst case scenario get the best of her. Maybe you need to be more like her," the younger, teenage girl, with medium black hair said. This is Will's younger sister, Gem Diamond. She is seen more as a girl who has taken up various hobbies. While considered a jack-of-all-trades, she happens to harp more on perfection. "

Yeah, and you're not?" Will countered. But just as he answered, Wanda gave Will a playful noogie on the head. "Hey knock it off, Wanda."

Both Rachel and Gem laughed at Will's misfortune, as did the smallest of the girls. The same young girl with long pink hair. Her name is Lisa Robinson. She is the younger sister of Rachel Robinson. But unlike the others, she tends to be very shy due to a bit of a harsh past. Though in this situation, this is the exception.

"Aww come on, Lisa," Will joked "Don't go joining in to your sister and my sister's expense. You're better than this."

"Now, now, now," Rachel joked. "It's not wise to be picking on little Lisa, Will. You're suppose to be a bigger man than that."
"Alright. You got me," Will said, having calmed down.

But only one person in the room wasn't laughing, or even paying attention. She was busy observing downtown Canterlot from an open window in the room. This girl is around the same age as Wanda and Will, only slightly younger, and had white, long hair. Even longer than the rest of em. She also had pale white skin and was the only one wearing a dress. This is Suzie Tuffman, sister to Will's former friend Butch Tuffman. On the outside, she's usually a quiet girl. But on the inside, she happens to be a capable witch of some sort. Perhaps where these humans came from, magic happens to exist.

"Suzie, you seem rather fixated on the streets itself," Wanda said as she approached Suzie. "What is it that sparks your curiosity?"

Suzie looked at Wanda and said with deep, yet quiet voice "It's the people down there. They're not like us in these odd ways," Wanda only responded with "Well true. They are...horses."

"Ponies, actually." Gem had come up to Wanda and Suzie and corrected Wanda on the citizens of Canterlot below. "Derived from the old French word poulenet. Unlike Horses, Ponies are much smaller equines and they exhibit thicker manes, tails and overall coats. But not all of them are 100% pure land pony."

Gem pointed down to a pony citizen with a horn. "See that down there? That pony happens to have a horn on her head. That's suppose to be a Unicorn, based on old myth from Greek and European folklore," She said before pointing to another pony citizen with wings "And that over there? The pony with wings? That's suppose to be a pegasus."

"Wow. No wonder your big brother is envious of you, Gem," Wanda joked with Will yelling to her "I heard that, Wanda." Wanda just smiled and responded to Gem with "But still, how come Unicorns and Pegasi exist in a world like this? They're only myth and legends."

Suzie only countered in a low tone with "Many people thought magic was just a myth," as the tip of her right index finger lit up. "If Magic is a possibility, then so are Unicorns and Pegasi. Though I personally prefer cats and owls."

But Will still felt a little cautious. "I dunno. Till I know more about these Ponies, Unicorns and Pegasi, I'm not really trusting of them. I mean, what are they gonna do, open the door for us?" He said. But as he finished his sentence, the locked door somehow came unlocked and slowly creep open. Everyone turned around and was very confused.

"Does that answer your question Will?" Rachel said with a slightly sarcastic tone.

But Wanda was only happy to see the door finally unlocked. She yelled out "Finally, patience has been my virtue all along. I can't wait to explore this palace and meet this Princess Celestia." before she ran out the door as everyone looked in shock.
"You better go after her." Rachel said. "I don't want her getting in trouble."

Will was not hesitant to agree on that argument and responded with "Why not? Besides, I was hoping they'd open the door." before running out the door. Behind them, Rachel, Lisa, Gem and Suzie watched in confusion.

Rachel said nothing but "Something tells me they're gonna get themselves in big trouble."

Wanda was already exploring the halls of Canterlot Castle in curiosity. Every detail of the interior from the ceiling to the floor, decorated with statues and paintings, dazzled her eyes in excitement. To her, it was like a little kid wandering through the biggest candy store in the whole world. Though a part of her wanted to touch the items, she hesitated in case she wound up ruining a masterpiece of a painting or breaking the finely-sculpted statue.

"Amazing," She said. "I never imagined this castle to be magnificent. There were times where I wish I had a castle like this. Imagine if I could rule over a kingdom. I would make my people proud."

Then she began to day dream. She imagined ruling over a kingdom in a palace like Canterlot Castle, as Princess Wanda Young. She imagined her subjects cheering her on as if she were divine as she cheered her subjects back.

Then she imagined a giant dragon with red glimmering scales, sharp teeth and monstrous wings staring at her about to take her away when she took out her royal staff and smacked the dragon in the face. That blow caused that dragon to run off. She even imagined herself cheering and going "Go me. Go me. Go me." before a hand touched her on the shoulder, causing her to snap out of her dream.

"Wanda, have you been imagining yourself owning a place like this?" The voice that called out to Wanda and the hand that touched her shoulder from behind was none other than Will Diamond. Wanda was rather shocked and embarrassed, acting out her day dream and making herself look like a fool in front of Will. "It's alright, Wanda. You once again dreamed of saving me from a group of mobsters," Will joked. "Come on, let's meet up with the rest of the girls."

But just as they were about to go in the other direction, they heard footsteps. Who could be coming down that way? Wanda and Will began to look left and right, looking for a place to hide in order to escape whoever was coming. Just then, Wanda spotted a pair of magenta drapes in front of them, covering up a glass window.

"Will, this way" Wanda said as she and Will wasted no time running quietly to the curtains and hiding behind it in hopes of not being spotted.

As the two hid, the sound of footsteps grew louder and louder, in fact doubling and tripling, until the ones walking down the hall were that of Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia, and Spike the Dragon. It seems Twilight and Celestia were talking together.

"And what has become of the forest we came from?" Twilight said.

Celestia only responded with "Gone. The moment we escaped from that forest with my magic, it didn't take long for Nightmare Moon to cover the last bit of land in darkness. But don't give up hope, my faithful apprentice."
But Twilight only responded with "Yet, how come Nightmare Moon hesitated on turning the last bit of land to darkness? I know she didn't turn this land to darkness because of my brother's protective barrier, yet for some reason, that land was left untouched."

That too, puzzled Princess Celestia as she responded with "Well I am not so sure, ether. But I have a theory it has something to do with those humans you rescued not long ago."

As Twilight Sparkle and Princess Celestia continued to talk while Spike walked alongside, Wanda and Will hid behind the curtain observing the Princess, her apprentice and the baby dragon walk by. "A Unicorn with wings?" Will whispered in curiosity "How the heck is that possible?"

As he spoke those words, he noticed Spike becoming a bit startled from hearing his voice. Immediately, Will hid behind the curtain and pulled Wanda in. By the time Spike turned around and saw the curtain, the two humans were no longer visible.
"Strange. I swore I heard something," Spike said as he turned around and continued walking. As he does, Wanda and Will stuck their heads out, hearing what Princess Celestia and Twilight Sparkle were saying.

"I'm actually surprised you have a trust in the humans. We don't even know where they came from, nor do we know their motives," Twilight said out of curiosity.

The Princess only responded with "Nether do I, but yet I have a feeling that they may play a role in locating the Elements of Harmony. As long as they don't pose any threat to our people, they are welcome here in Canterlot."

Will was shaken odd by hearing the words 'Elements of Harmony.' "What exactly is an Element of Harmony?" Will asked himself?

But above him, Wanda was only in a trance. She thought to herself "We are welcomed here. I guess we are loved." as she was tugging on the curtain from below.

Will noticed Wanda tugging and immediately freaked out. "WANDA NO!"

Too late. Wanda tugged on the curtain so hard, it began to unhook itself from above and fell on top of both Wanda and Will. The sound of the curtain falling, plus Wanda and Will falling to the ground, caught the attention of Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia, and Spike the Dragon, who were just about to walk down the hall.

"What is going on here?" Princess Celestia questioned as Wanda and Will stuck their heads out with Wanda lying on top of Will. Wanda only grinned while Will fiddled his fingers on the floor and said "Nice job breaking it, knucklehead."

Twilight Sparkle saw the mess they made and put her hoof to her face in embarrassment, but Princess Celestia was giggling a bit at the mess Wanda and Will made. Immediately, two royal guards approached from behind Celestia and Twilight.
"Your majesty, we overheard a sound coming from the great hall," One of the guard stated.

But Celestia held her hoof out and said "It's okay. They are only guests who are confused about this place. In time, they'll get use to their surrounding."

The guard looked at the two humans, and nervously stated "Very well, we'll return to our posts." before leaving Twilight, Celestia and Spike. In the meantime, Wanda and Will have gotten out of the curtain that fell on them and stood in front of Princess Celestia.

Will was about to say something when Wanda butted in and said "Oh I'm terribly sorry for what I did your precious curtain. Is there any way I could make it up? Or am I to be thrown into the dungeon for my misdeed?" It seems Wanda felt guilty for what she did to that curtain, but it didn't bother Princess Celestia. And while Spike got a bit of humor, Twilight still didn't find it funny. But Will wasn't deterred by Wanda's attempt to apologize and quickly stepped.

"Look, no offense your Majesty," Will objected. "But I have this issue of trust right now with you and your people. And furthermore, I dunno where me and my friends came from."

Princess Celestia took heed to Will's choice of words and stated "I am aware that you have a bit of a lack of trust and I can understand why. But unfortunately, I do not have the answer to why you are here or where you and your friends came from." She then introduced myself. "I am Princess Celestia, ruler of the lands of Equestria. Next to me is my faithful apprentice, Twilight Sparkle and his assistant, Spike the Dragon.

Will was a bit hesitant, but he was willing to introduce himself, abet nervously. "Very well, Princess Celestia. My name is Will Diamond, and my friend here is Wanda Young."

As Will introduced Wanda, he saw her shaking the right front hoof of Twilight Sparkle excitedly stating "It's a pleasure to meet you, Twilight Sparkle. You know the ponies I saw on my planet don't have wings or hooves, or even talk like you."
Twilight felt embarrassed by Wanda and only responded "Uhh, it's a pleasure to meet you, Wanda." She then thought to herself "Oh brother."

Celestia only smiled, then turned to Will and said "Now then, I think it's time we met the rest of your crew."

Will smiled, though with a blush on his face, and stated "Oh I'm sure you'll be pleased to meet them, but I'm not their leader. Wanda is. She can fill you in on..." But before he could finish, what sounded like rumbling echoed through the halls. "What was that all about?" Will said, having been shocked a bit by the rumbling.

That sound wasn't good for Princess Celestia. But as she wondered why, the same guard who came by awhile ago to report, came back looking distressed.

"Your highness, trouble in the city," The guard said, shaking nervously "Nightmare Moon has sent the Shadowbolts."

"Nightmare Moon? Shadowbolts?" Will was even more confused than ever. But it didn't take long for Wanda to snap him out of it.

"Whatever it is," she stated "it sounds a lot like trouble. We better help out in any way we can."

Will didn't disagree. Without hesitation, he said "I know."

But Twilight stopped them "Wait, you don't know what you're getting yourself into."

Will only countered her argument with "Right now, I still have an issue of trust, but if what the guard said is true, then you may have no other choice but to accept our trust." before he and Wanda dashed off into the distance.

Princess Celestia looked worried. She told Twilight "Give aid to them, right away. I'll go look for their other friends" as she galloped down the hallway.

Spike looked at Twilight and said "Wow. First we find humans in the forest and now an attack by Nightmare Moon on the Canterlot City? This sure has been a wild day."

Twilight only responded with "I know Spike and I don't have faith in our new human companions, but I feel we have no other choice for the moment. Now jump on."

Without hesitation, Spike jumped onto Twilight Sparkle and rode off in the direction Wanda and Will ran towards.

End Part 2
> Section 3: THE INVASION BEGINS
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


MY LITTLE PONY:
DIAMOND DREAMS
CHAPTER 1: NIGHTMARE MOON
SECTION 3: THE INVASION BEGINS


The majesty city of Canterlot, once peaceful with stallions and mares trotting along and business booming across various shops, is now under siege by the Shadowbolts, fallen pegasi who attempted to fight back Nightmare Moon, only to have fallen and lost their free will. They now serve Nightmare Moon in bringing the eternal night to Equestria, and with their commands from the fallen princess, the Shadowbolts terrorize every Earth Pony, Unicorn and remaining Pegasi into hiding. Many of the guards who serve Princess Celestia fight back, but the sheer number of Shadowbolts is too much for the Equestrian soldiers who stand as the last line of defense between the invading Bolts, and the Castle.

Will Diamond and Wanda Young arrived outside on a balcony of the castle, only to witness the horror the Shadowbolts were doing to Canterlot City. Shadowbolts to the left of them, to the right of them, and even above them. It was like a swarm of locust and both Wanda and Will were shocked.

"Wow. I don't believe it," Will said, still shocked from seeing the huge amount of Shadowbolts. "It's gonna take a miracle to clear the skies of these invaders."

Wanda looked on in despair, seeing the damage they were doing. "Yeah, no kidding Will. But where did they come from? Why are they attacking us?" she said.

It didn't take long for Twilight Sparkle to come up from the doorway behind them with Spike riding on her back. 

"Those are the Shadowbolts." Twilight explained as Spike jumped off her back. "Nightmare Moon's elite squadron. A good portion of these foot soldiers were once the Wonderbolts, the best elite fliers of Equestria. It was a few days ago that the Wonderbolts tried to stop Nightmare Moon. But one lone pegasus, said to have been declared the first Shadowbolt, defeated the entire Wonderbolt squadron without breaking a sweat. With the Wonderbolts grounded, Nightmare Moon used her magic to convert them into Shadowbolts. It was then that the lone Shadowbolt who defeated them became the high commander. They say she goes under the name of Shadow Screech."

Even with the warning of Twilight Sparkle, both Wanda and Will were undeterred. Wanda rubbed her thumb against her nose and said "That sure sounds like a challenge. But I doubt me and Will will find it impossible. Difficult, but not impossible."
Will stood by and said "I agree. Besides, my good friend Wanda may be naive, but she fights hard like she's some powerful puff. And besides, what do these Shadowbolts think they are, a swarm of insects? And whoever this Shadow Screech is, I'm sure me and Wanda will take her out. Right Wanda?"

But before Wanda could answer, a flash of gray light nabbed Wanda and flew off, surprising Will, Twilight and Spike.
"Wanda?" Will said in a confused state while Twilight and Spike's jaws hung open in a state of shock. "Well that was completely uncalled for. Whoever did that didn't even bother to hit me."

Twilight didn't like Will's choice of words and called him out with "Will, are you crazy? Your girlfriend just got smacked by a Shadowbolt. And judging from the streak of color that said Shadowbolt emitted...I believe it was Shadow Screech."

"SHADOW SCREECH?" Those words would send Will flying under the curtains to hide. But it didn't come from Will, but Spike, who himself hid behind the curtains.

But it didn't matter for Twilight. She said to Will "Well regardless, your kind of tone sound very reckless and you need to think about what's going on with Wanda instead of picking a random fight."

Will was still undeterred and said "Oh really. I bet that Shadow Screech can't recognize a real fight. In fact, I bet she's coming back for me right about..."

But before he could finish, another Shadowbolt flew in out of nowhere and headbutt Will with enough force to send him flying into the wall. The collision causes Will to smash the wall and leave an imprint.

"WILL" Twilight yelled after seeing Will smash into the wall. She turned to the Wonderbolt and recognized the figure.
She had a orange mane and fur that showed was bright yellow, all while wearing a dark purple and black jumpsuit. To Twilight, she knew who the Shadowbolt was.

"You. You're Spitfire, the fallen leader of the Wonderbolts." Twilight said in horror.

Spitfire taunted her with "Correct. Unlike my past as a Wonderbolt, I feel like I have more adrenaline than ever. I can't say the same for your new monkey friend." as she pointed to Will, who was getting up from being chucked to the wall.

And boy is he angry, yet he still smiles. As he gets back up, he says to Spitfire "Call me a monkey will ya, cuz this Monkey is about to fight back."


Meanwhile, Wanda had just landed in a pile of grapefruit after getting smacked down by the Shadowbolt who attacked her. Or rather, Shadow Screech. While wearing the same jumpsuit that Spitfire wore, Shadow screech had a light-grey coat and a mane with three dark shades of grey.

As Wanda got up, she saw the rogue Shadowbolt standing in front of her, showing off those mean eyes and smirk smile as if the pegasus was taunting her. Wanda smiled and said in a cheerful voice "Is that your idea of a party? Because it could use some balloons and a nice chocolate cake and..." only to be interrupted by Shadow Screech covering the human girl's mouth with her hoof.

She then said "You know you remind me a bit of a friend I knew who also happened to be cheerful like you, but also a bit of a loud mouth." She then removes her hoof from Wanda's mount before continuing with "Name's Shadow Screech. Got it memorized?"

Wanda replied with "Sure. But I'm not the one's who gonna remember that, silly."

That comment only made Shadow Screech put her hoof to her face in embarrassment. She then said "Somehow, I wish I hit that other monkey. But it doesn't matter. I think it's time I taught you that monkeys never WIN!" before raising her head at Wanda, as if she were preparing to attack. But Wanda was still talking her mind out as if she weren't paying attention to the threatening presence of the Shadowbolt.

Shadow Screech raised her wings in anticipation. The sound of her wing going up was so loud and fast, it caused Wanda to take notice. The Shadowbolt's wings started flapping really fast, going faster and faster until Shadow Screech took off, bolting towards Wanda with the intention of hitting her again and smashing her into a wall.

But, for some reason, she missed. Wanda managed to leap out of the way in time, causing Shadow Screech to smash into the wall herself. Wanda landed on her feet and smiled at Shadow Screech.

"Uhh, I think I'll pass on that date," she joked. "I already have one with someone else my type."

Shadow Screech was starting to look teed off. She got onto her feet and snorted air from her nostrils as she looks primed to charge again. Wanda looked to her right and noticed a metal staff next to her. Without warning, she picked up the staff before Shadow Screech charged her again. This time, as Shadow Screech was about to hit Wanda, she blocked the headbutt with the barrel of her staff. But push as hard as she might, she looks as if she were losing a pushing match.
"What's wrong, lost your steam already monkey girl?" Shadow Screech taunted Wanda.

"No, I'm just getting warmed up." Wanda replied as she push Shadow Screech to her right, causing the Shadowbolt to fly uncontrollably into a cart full of persimmon. Wanda laughed at Shadow Screech's misfortune as if it were the funniest thing on Equestria. That only made the rogue pegasus angry as she got up and faced Wanda.

"Oh you wanna do this the hard way? Well we're gonna do this the HARD WAY!" Shadow Screech said, raring to go again.


Back inside the castle, the chaos was already spreading within. Princess Celestia was galloping down the hallway with Rachel, Lisa, Gem and Suzie right behind her But they were already in danger. Three Shadowbolts were right on their tail, hoping to separate one of the four girls.

"Why is this happening, Princess Celestia?" Rachel asked as she frantically ran as hard as possible.
Princess Celestia replied with "This wasn't suppose to happen. Twilight's brother Shining Armor was suppose to be holding the barrier up with his magic. Something must have gone wrong."

Upon hearing the word 'magic,' something lit up in Rachel's eyes. She turned her head to Suzie and said "Suzie, can you hold those shadowbolts back?"

Suzie only nodded, stopped, and turned to face her pursuers, holding her hands out with Princess Celestia, Rachel, Lisa and Gem stopping to watch.

The three Shadowbolts looked like they were about to gain up on her, raring to headbutt her hard enough to knock her down. They sped up to land the perfect smack down towards Suzie and were in range to deliver a headbutt so powerful, it would cripple her and send her tumbling across the floor like a rag doll.

BLAM

What was suppose to be a direct attack...resulted in 3 Shadowbolts getting knocked back down and Suzie remaining still standing with her arms still held out. Princess Celestia was shocked to see what Suzie did to ward off the Shadowbolt pursuers.

Rachel, seeing that Princess Celestia was confused over what just happened, replied with "She's some sort of witch, but she uses her powers for two things. Communicating with spirits and fighting evil. Now come on, we gotta get to the one known as Shining Armor."

Rachel, Lisa, Gem and Suzie ran past Princess Celestia down the hallway. Princess Celestia, who was still surprised from what Suzie did, said to herself "Who knew humans were talented in magic? The ones I once met never even heard of it." before galloping in the direction the four human girls went.

Will was still holding his ground against Spitfire. The Shadowbolt was relentless in her attacks against the human boy, flying back and forth, hitting and sometimes missing Will with powerful impacts, and not seeming to tire. She rose back up to the sky and faced Will with a smirk.

"Give it up, chimp," Spitfire taunted. "I have the higher ground and you're nothing more than mere prey that's about to become a predator's dinner."

"Ya know that's really smart words coming from an herbivore." Will taunted back. Without warning, Spitfire dove downwards towards Will, as if she were to dive bomb into him and knock the wind out of his sails. But before she could land an impact, Will jumped towards a wall and leaped off, allowing him to barely dodge Spitfire's ramming attack. She was able to recover fast and turn towards Will.

"Impressive," Spitfire said, flickering her hair in the wind with one swift turn of her head. "Not one grounded being could dodge that, especially a monkey like you. But enough games, it's time this monkey got the spanking of his life." She then whistled into the air.

Without warning, two of Spitfire's Shadowbolt crew struck Will from behind, forcing him down on his knees. Then they both grabbed his arms and pinned them to his back, preventing him from breaking free. Will was at a major disadvantage here. He can't move at all and the grip of both Shadowbolts were strong. Trapped like a rat.

"And now monkey boy, you will learn to respect our Princess Nightmare Moon." Spitfire said as she dove downwards again, aiming to hit Will with another powerful headbutt. Will looked up, seeing the pegasi inch closer and closer. He knew one thing, if he got hit by that headbutt, his lights are out and he's most likely gonna end up captured by the Shadowbolts and given to this...Nightmare Moon.

"Boy am I hating this day or what?" Will said to himself. But even the low volume of his voice caught the ears of the two shadowbolts holding him down. They proceeded to laugh and taunt Will as if he were deserving of it.

"There's nothing you can do, you deformed orangutan," One of them said. "You'll be lucky if they recruit you into the Shadowbolts, if you make it out of this."

"Then consider it my lucky DAY!" Will replied as he, without warning, raised his left foot up and kicked the Shadowbolt on his left side in the front right leg, causing the dark pegasus to lose his grip on Will and agonize in pain. Will didn't waste time attack the other Shadowbolt by also kicking him in the leg area. With that Shadowbolt also wincing in pain, he lost his grip of Will. The human boy was free. But Spitfire was about to hit him.

"You wasted all that time trying to break free? It's futile, monkey boy," Spitfire taunted as she closed in further and further on Will, about to strike him down.

But, at the last second, Will ran towards Spitfire and, just as she was about to hit him, slid under the pegasi, missing her by a few inches. By the time Spitfire realized that she had missed Will and was about to crash into the other 2 Shadowbolts, still in pain over Will's surprise attack, it was too little, too late.

CRASH!

Spitfire has crashed into the two Shadowbolts. The impact covered the area in a dust cloud. Will covered his eyes to make sure he doesn't go blind. When the cloud faded from the impact, Will looked forward to see that Spitfire and the two Shadowbolts were knocked out. It was tough, but he did it.

"Monkeys 1. Shadowbolts zippo," Will said with a smile on his face. It was good for him to defeat those 3 pegasi. "Maybe next time, you'd think twice before clashing with a monkey."

But without warning, Wanda passed by Will, yelling "Greasy mane, greasy mane, greasy mane," Right behind her, Shadow Screech was in pursuit, and boy was she in a bad mood. "DON'T MAKE FUN OF MY MANE YOU STUPID BABOON!" The rogue pegasi yelled as she flew past Will, paying no attention to the human male. Will was definitely confused.

"Ugh. Wanda," Will said to himself. "Sometimes you are more reckless than I am." Without warning, he ran off in the distance to run after Wanda and Shadow Screech, hoping to catch up to them.


Wanda was already running at top speed. But she knew she couldn't outrun Shadow Screech, the fastest Shadowbolt in all of Equestria. Why was the pegasi chasing Wanda? Early ago, she found out that Shadow Screech was very prideful of her own mane and prefers to Dress in Style. So she thought it'd be funny to poke fun at Shadow Screech's mane. That may have been a bad idea as Shadow Screech lost her temper and is now charging after Wanda, hoping to ram right into her and knock her out cold.

Behind her and Shadow Screech, Will was running at top speed along the side. He was able to pass by Shadow Screech, who was rather confused by his ability to run, before catching up to Wanda.

"Wanda, what are you doing? Will yelled. "You're suppose to knock out this Shadow Bolt, not play 'Keep Away.'"
Wanda only responded with "I thought calling her names would be perfect. Then I found out she's sensitive to her own mane. So I rolled with that." Confused, Will stopped running, allowing Wanda to run off and Shadow Screech to bypass him while he just looked on, completely puzzled.

"She is gonna get herself hurt over this," Will said to himself. As he said that, he heard a gallop come up behind him. It was Twilight Sparkle with Spike riding on her back.

As she approached Will, Twilight yelled out "Will, are you okay?"

Will replied with "Yeah. I'm fine. But I can't say the same for Wanda right now."

Twilight looked shocked as she heard those words come out of Will's mouth. "What do you mean you can't say the same for Wanda?" Twilight said.

But Will only replied with "Simple. She's playing chicken with a Shadowbolt."

End Part 3