The creature Rose had called Nocturne stepped forward, and as she did the air beneath her shivered and stilled, as though hardening to hold her weight. She walked forward a half dozen paces, head turning to inspect Canterlot far below. After another minute or two, she spoke in a resonant voice, as though three mares were speaking at once.
“Rosalia. How long have we been imprisoned?”
Rose straightened. “Twelve hundred forty-six years, my lady.”
“That long? We had expected better of you.”
“My apologies, my lady. I have no excuses.”
“Your sisters?” The creature began walking again, this time toward the frozen Scootaloo. She tried to move, but Rose’s magic held firm.
“Lirean is dead. Chrysalis is imprisoned within the moon.”
“I see.” The creature paused. “Rosalia, your form displeases us. Change it.”
Without a word Rose stopped being a pony and became a Changeling queen. She was taller in her true form than either Chrysalis or Lirean, with the same dark body and light blue hair. The tips of her mane and tail shifted from blue to pink in the last few inches. Nocturne continued looking down at her for another long second before turning back to Scootaloo.
As soon as the creature’s eyes fell on her again, Scootaloo felt that awful force of presence again, and her muscles locked up in fear.
“And what is this one?”
“Useless to us, now that you’ve been freed. Shall I dispose of her?” Rose answered.
Nocturne stepped forward once again until she was within five feet of Scootaloo. There was a soft pulse and the magic that held Scootaloo vanished. There was a brief feeling of falling, and then Scootaloo hit the hardened air that Nocturne had created.
“Maybe not so useless. We have been gone for too long. Others will not remember. They will fight us. We would avoid such a waste, if possible. What is your name, small one?”
“Scootaloo,” she answered, unable to stop herself.
Another impossibly long moment passed.
“This is a fortunate day for you, Scootaloo.” As Nocturne spoke, Rose tilted her head curiously. “We have a task for you.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Scootaloo saw a streak of midnight blue circling around behind Rose and Nocturne. Princess Luna!
“What do you want me to do?” Scootaloo asked. The dark streak was right behind them now, moving in a straight line toward Nocturne’s back. She was close enough now for Scootaloo to see the shape of Princess Luna, horn glowing with magic.
“Witness.”
Scootaloo’s stomach twisted as she was yanked upward thirty feet in a fraction of a second. Nocturne was still even with her, as was Rose, wearing an expression of surprise. At the same time, midnight blue magic flashed beneath them. Luna tried to pull out of her charge, but a flash of black struck her between the wings and she tumbled into free fall.
Another flash, this one of gold, and Luna was rightened and managed to catch herself. Another flash of gold and Celestia was beside her sister.
Scootaloo’s relief at seeing the princess only lasted a moment. Celestia was breathing heavily, one of her wounds from the battle had reopened on her side, staining her white coat with more crimson. Her mane and tail hung limply, and it seemed all she could do to keep herself in the air.
Scootaloo felt her stomach twist again and they were level with the princesses. Nocturne spoke. “Interesting. That spell should have killed you.” She paused, looking between the two of them. “You are like us.”
“Who are you?” Celestia asked.
“We are called Nocturne. And yourselves?”
“I am Celestia. This is Luna. We are the rulers of this city.”
Nocturne looked down once again. “A pony city, but empty. Much has changed since we’ve been gone. Things are not as they should be. Where are ours?”
“The changelings live in their hives to the far south, my lady,” Rose answered. “The windigos have been driven to the farthest north. The specters have been starved to near extinction in these lands. Fear and hatred have become rare commodities here.”
As Rose spoke, the giant ring of gemstones that had held Nocturne began to turn. The smoky black liquid began to fill the center once again.
“Then we have work to do.”
Celestia tensed, horn beginning to glow softly. Nocturne turned her head once again toward the princesses. “There is no need to fight, especially now that we know you are like us.”
“If you wish to spread hatred and fear, we have a duty to our ponies to do everything in our power to stop you.”
“But there is nothing in your power to stop us. To fight us would be to throw away your lives.” Nocturne tilted her head. “You are naive, young ones. Do not test us. There is no need for bloodshed yet.”
Luna’s horn began to glow as well.
“My lady, if I may,” Rose said. Nocturne nodded. “It would be best to kill them now. Celestia is weakened and injured. Those two are the greatest threats to your reign.”
“The greatest? What of Discord?”
“Imprisoned in stone,” Rose said.
“How fortunate,” Nocturne said. “But no, we have another use for them. Celestia, was it? And Luna? We can see from your words and your actions that you are like us in more than just form. You want what is best for yours, as we want what is best for ours. But to coddle them is to make them weak. Is there no way to make you see reason?”
“Not if your reason will cost the life of even a single pony.”
“That is a shame.” Shadows swirled about Nocturne and flowed outward toward the princesses. Celestia was too slow to mount a defense and the tide of shadows swallowed her. Luna managed to get a luminescent shield in place, but it only lasted a moment and she too was surrounded in dark magic.
Scootaloo tried to call out, but her body wouldn’t respond.
The shadows flowed downward, toward the ring of gems and the pool of black smoke.
“My lady,” Rose began.
“Yes, you would have us kill them,” Nocturne said. “And it would be wise, but we would not have this prison built for us standing open. They no doubt knew we may one day break free and planned for it. Let their magic believe it still holds strong.” The shadows holding the princesses flowed through the darkness in the ring and disappeared. The ring stopped turning and the black smoke once more disappeared into the gems. “That seems to be enough for it.”
Nocturne turned her back on the ring. “One final thing, then.” Her horn pulsed with black energy and an orb the size of Scootaloo’s hoof spun into being. The fur on the back of Scootaloo’s neck stood on end looking at it. It dropped toward the center of Canterlot in no particular hurry.
The orb disappeared from view, too small for Scootaloo to keep track of.
A sharp crack ripped through the air.
Canterlot Tower began to crumble.
Thistleroot!
Another crack, like thunder. Another building shattered.
A cacophonous explosion of noise brought Scootaloo down, hooves covering her ears as a wave of force and black energy ripped through Canterlot. Homes crumbled, streets were torn from the earth, shops were thrown about like leaves. In moments, Canterlot had been leveled.
Scootaloo could only look down in horror.
“It’s only a city, small one,” Nocturne said when the sound had died. “Those who had fled still live. And that is why you still live. As I said, you have a task. Tell others what you have seen. Let them fear me. Let them hate me. This is the dawning of a new era.”
Scootaloo looked from her to the ruins of the city, where Canterlot tower once stood.
“Go,” Nocturne said.
Scootaloo’s body acted on its own again, hurling her back as fast as she could move, flying away from the city. Away from her sister. Away from Thistleroot and Mimic, if they could have even survived that.
If. She had to hold on to that if. She had to believe there was a way for them to still be alive. Even if it was impossible.
She faltered, horror clutching at her chest. Her breathing became harsh as realization set in. Her family was stone. The princesses were imprisoned. The elements lost. Her friends…
She landed, paying no attention to her surroundings. Above her, the sun sank smoothly toward the horizon, despite it being only mid-day, and no moon appeared to take its place. The world went dark.