//------------------------------// // Anticipation // Story: The Force of the Elements // by LuminousRabbit //------------------------------// Chapter Eight: Anticipation Nightmare Moon still hadn't found out what those ponies were for. Surely not their good company. To be safe, she dropped one element in a lake near Las Pegasus, and kept the other on her person. She recognised the black pony, but still wasn't able to pin a name to the fairy floss hair. The red one was obviously the one she'd almost killed. Did she know the others? Were they long-forgotten ponies from her past? She just couldn't tell. Maybe they were just there to throw Nightmare Moon off. Celestia had done stranger things. She soared through the sky. Night time didn't seem to be taking it's toll on the sun princess the way she'd expected. Perhaps she was stronger than Nightmare Moon had thought, and was able to resist the strong urge to just give up. There were ponies, when in times like these, shrank back and tried to escape notice. Other ponies were different. They rose up, became heroes. Nightmare Moon, and Luna before her, had always suspected Celestia was one of the heroes. But everypony has a breaking point, and with the stress of ruling Equestria, Nightmare Moon thought Celestia would have reached hers already. Luna was unhappy. She hated the killing. But even a small part of Luna had accepted it, knowing Nightmare Moon's power. She had given up. If the good within Nightmare Moon had given up, she was surely a match for Celestia now. Nopony was as strong as her, not even her big sister. Sometimes, you have to hide out and wait. And sometimes, you have to fight. Perhaps the time of waiting was over for Nightmare Moon. Perhaps it was time to fight. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Now joined with Celestia, the six ponies felt unstoppable. Even Celestia herself felt a certain elation at the power the six ponies she had gathered could achieve. She was convinced Nightmare Moon would come, seeking to destroy the only power standing in her way. Yes, maybe it wouldn't work out. Yes, Celestia'a life was on the line. But she was prepared to take that risk for the future of Equestria. Princess Celestia sat atop the highest tower in Canterlot, waiting for her younger sister to arrive. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Past the remains of Manehatten, Nightmare Moon was close. She could see Canterlot in the distance, the one place in Equestria she would preserve. As ruler of the land, Nightmare Moon would make more than a few changes. All the earth ponies of Canterlot would be in charge of growing food for her. She was hardly going to do it herself, after all. She looked forward to seeing the fancy and sophisticated Canterlot ponies working in the dirt. The unicorns would do nicely as her personal slaves. They provided conveniences such as being able to levitate objects, unlike other ponies. Pegasus ponies could prove more of a challenge to control, but she could make sure that all the good weather was sent in her direction. The rest of Equestria could take the storms and the cold. Anypony that expressed talent in a useful area would be promoted to her guards. She would need an army in case of invasions. As for the other cities, they would be left to fend for themselves. There would be no laws. Anypony being seen upholding "justice", she would kill as an example to the others. It would be perfect. She started the countdown. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There would have to be a few changes when Celestia averted this crisis. She needed allies, someponies she could trust. Forming international friendships would help as well. She wanted to extend the hand of friendship to the land surrounding Equestria. An invasion right after Nightmare Moon would not help her political favour. The stars moved across the sky. It was too slow for any ordinary pony to see, but Celestia could see it. What happened when they completed a full revolution? She supposed that they would just start again. She looked at the moon, frowning. Usually the moon was full around this time of month. But a sliver was dark. Odd. She concentrated, and found that the moon was waning. A guard brought her a meal. She realised how hungry she was, and thanked the guard warmly. He smiled a little, then climbed down the winding stairs of the tower. Celestia was alone again. She ate the food, not tasting it much, but appreciating it all the same. When she finished the moon was only half full. If Nightmare Moon had decided to wane the moon ahead of schedule, she was doing it at an alarming rate. It was like an eclipse. An ordinary pony would almost have been able to see the shadow over the moon growing larger. Celestia watched it for a while, then whipped her head around. Was it a distraction? Was Nightmare Moon somehow aware of her plans? Was she going to move against the Elements of Harmony while she stared at the moon like a fool? Was it already too late? No, stop it, she told herself. Being paranoid won't help anything. It could even bring her downfall. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Elements of Harmony waited in a large room, guarded by twenty diciplined ponies. Golden had become fast friends with Morning Glory, and they chatted away. Mr Tux was deep in conversation with Shadow, who was trying not to look in Dragonsilver's direction. 'What do you think they're talking about?' Dragonsilver asked Silver. 'What, Shadow and Mr Tux? Honestly, it could be anythin. Ah don't know, they both seem a little loopy to me.' Dragonsilver laughed quietly. 'All this anticipation is driving me crazy,' he said. 'Ah know, sugarcube. It's almost the worst part. Except, you know, being tortured,' said Silver. 'I know how you feel. I had to go through it too. But I'm not going to kid myself into thinking I had it as bad as you,' he told her softly. 'Y'all have quite a way with words, you know,' she said. 'Do I?' 'Yeah. You always know what to say, to keep us going. Ah guess that's part of the reason ah fell for you.' 'Thanks.' they were quiet for a while. Then Dragonsilver spoke up again. 'I can feel it. Can you? Celestia's worried. More anticipation.' 'Yeah. Ah'm getting it now, and ah sorta know what you mean,' Silver said. 'Now that we're connected to her ah'm gettin' faint traces of what you must get all the time. I get it, just a little.' Shadow walked up to one of the guards. He had white fur and was wearing a standard set of gold armour. She looked at his unblinking face, scowling. 'Shadow, what're y'all doin?' Silver called to her. Shadow poked her tongue out and screwed up her nose. Silver chuckled, but that wasn't Shadow's intention. She was still looking at the guard, waiting for any sign of emotion. Nothing. Shadow scowled again. She tried to stare the guard down, but he didn't blink. Her eyes watered, and eventually Shadow broke the gaze, wiping her stinging eyes. After she had recovered, Shadow tried to pull more faces. 'I never thought I'd do this,' Shadow muttered, 'But I will see you smile!' She sighed and did a stupid-looking dance that had the other Elements of Harmony rolling on the floor, shaking with laughter. Shadow, not getting any reaction from the guard, turned to the laughing ponies and took a bow. Behind her, the guard let out the tiniest smile. Immediately, Shadow whipped around and grinned. 'Gotcha!' she said. The guard acted as if it had never happened, but Shadow was satisfied, and let him get back to his duties. 'I won't tell the princess,' she promised the guard, then broke down into cackling laughter. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The moon was nearly gone now. What did this signify? What was Nightmare Moon planning? Celestia went down and checked on the six ponies, just to be sure. She went back up to the tower. She could see the moon against the dark sky. It was the tiniest sliver. It could be nothing, of course. Nightmare Moon obviously wanted her gone, and what better way than to play mind games with her? Celestia surveyed the land and the sky. It was dark, but she could still see quite well. The city of Canterlot was as beautiful as it was every night, lit up, it seemed to glow. Luminous was the word that perfectly described Equestria's capital city. Further away, the land was dark, save the tiny lights of farm-houses. Manehatten glowed in the distance. As for the sky, nothing seemed amiss, save the moon and unusual patterns of the stars. Celestia couldn't see anything approaching. She looked at the moon again, and watched as the tiny sliver became nothing. She heard the soft tap, as pony hooves touched the ground behind her. 'Time's up,' Nightmare Moon said. AN: Yeah, yeah, shorter chapter, but really. It's hard to write an entire chapter about waiting. So boring. Hope you enjoyed, I should be uploading the next one in the next day or two. The next two will be shorter chapters, but I'll upload them both on the same day ;)