//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: The Nyxing Hour // by Nagel Navari //------------------------------// Twilight Sparkle was pretty sure she was on the right trail. The Everfree Forest seemed to do everything it could to confuse her—patterns of shadow formed to imitate the appearance of paths that weren’t there, and ordinary animal-calls twisted and lengthened into something horrifying. If Pinkie Pie were with her, she probably would’ve said something about the importance of laughing at fears, or whatever. But Pinkie Pie wasn’t with her. She was completely alone. Alone with the trees, alone with the animals, and the predator she had come to meet. You better be right about her, Zecora, Twilight thought, quickening her pace a little. The path itself was well-outlined by strange scores cut into the bark of the trees, but never even thought twice about until now. “She won’t be like the ponies you know,” Zecora had said. “But not so different either, you know.” The zebra had been light on details, explaining only that she didn’t think the pony was well suited to forest life alone. “Meet her, show her that not all of you are the same. To live the rest of her days alone would be a terrible shame.” How much further away are you, pony? The Everfree might feel like it went on forever, but of course that wasn’t possible. It had borders, so eventually she had to find an edge. Maybe if she kept going long enough she’d end up on the Canterlot side of the forest instead. Twilight started as she saw an outline standing on the path ahead of her. It was about the right size for a pony—probably a unicorn, judging by the horn-shaped protrusion on their hood. They stood quite still in the middle of the path, watching her approach. Are you the mysterious pony I’ve been sent to meet? “H-hey there!” Twilight called, slowing her steps as much as she could without making it too obvious she was afraid. In any other setting, meeting a strange pony wearing dark robes would just be another opportunity to learn something new about friendship. Alone in the Everfree Forest, and she was on her guard. “You wouldn’t be Midnight, would you? Midnight Storm?” She slowed to a stop maybe ten paces away—the path seemed to continue past the pony, though in what direction and for how long she couldn’t guess. “I’m afraid not,” the pony said. The voice was masculine, and erudite, and a little bit familiar. But she couldn’t place it. “I know you, though. You’re Twilight Sparkle, right? Princess Celestia’s personal student.” Twilight forced an awkward laugh. Even back in Canterlot it had been a little awkward whenever her involvement with the princess came up. In the city, that kind of connection could get a pony places. Into the best parties, special privileges with bonuses and restaurants. It wasn’t something she liked to abuse. “Yeah, that’s me. I’m, uh… looking for a friend out here. She’s supposed to have a cabin somewhere nearby, next to a big hill? Have you seen anything like that?” The pony advanced on her—she still couldn’t see his face, though she was close enough that the hood shouldn’t have concealed him at this point. It was like the shadow around the hood was just too stubborn to go anywhere.“I’m actually a bit lost myself, maybe you can direct me. I understand there’s a ruin out here of no small archeological importance to Equestrian history. You’re quite the student, maybe you could show me where it is?” Something glowed near his robe, and he produced a thick roll of parchment. It unrolled in front of her, hovering just above the ground, though getting a good look would require her to come closer. Even from far away, Twilight could see it was a map—a map of the Everfree itself, more detailed than any she’d ever seen. More detailed than any she had known existed. Twilight hurried over to the edge of the large map, all apprehension vanished in the flame of scholarly interest. It was all there—the ancient gorge with its sacred tree, the Castle of the Two Sisters, even the cave that led to the secret mirror pool. “This doesn’t look like an ancient map at all—the paper looks new. And some of these notes—I didn’t know other ponies knew about this. Where’d you get this map?” The stranger shrugged one shoulder. “Word gets around, Twilight. Do you think you could hazard a guess at where we are in relation to the castle there?” Twilight lowered her eyes again, scrutinizing the map intently. All the landmarks were there, it was only a matter of a little reckoning. I need a map this nice. I bet it would be a breeze to find Midnight with this. She didn’t notice the sound of hooves approaching from behind. She felt a sudden, sharp pain in the back of her head, then nothing. The world came back in starts. Twilight could feel a throbbing in the back of her head, feel rough stone bricks beneath her, and for a while that was all. The ache was enough that for a time it was the only thing she could think of. A few medical spells came to mind, but it hurt too much to even consider casting them. She just lay there for a while, trying to remember what had happened. Then she tried to move, and realized all four of her hooves were bound together. She twitched and struggled a little, but couldn’t loosen her bonds. She didn’t waste time fighting the rope—rather, she fell silent as quickly as she could, pretending as though nothing had happened. Maybe nopony would notice she was awake. Twilight cracked open one eye, and sure enough there was stone beneath her. A pale light suffused the area all around her, soft enough that it didn’t hurt despite the headache. She couldn’t see much more than the dirty stone floor she’d been dropped on, and her own bound legs. But she could hear—there were many voices somewhere not too far away, voices apparently raised in song. At first, she thought there were no words at all, but no. As she listened, she realized it wasn’t a song she was hearing, but a spell. A spell apparently composed in the ancient language of magic. A language maybe ten ponies in the whole world know. Twilight fought through the pain, concentrating her magic. She focused on her head first, with a simple healing spell she’d used on herself after many late nights of hard studying. But right as the flash of power came, she felt a sudden heat around her neck, and a sensation of metal digging slightly into her flesh. Something was choking her, something powered by her own magic. She couldn’t breathe! The spell fizzled out, and the pressure on her neck faded again. For several minutes Twilight lay gasping for air, resisting the urge to attempt a spell to rip the collar off only with great willpower. “You’ll have to forgive our methods,” said a familiar voice from behind her, the same direction the eerie singing was coming from. Twilight twisted her neck around and looked up as best she could. “We hadn’t really expected an opportunity quite like this.” He wasn’t wearing the robe anymore, and finally Twilight could get a good look at him. An older stallion, with the refined features of the Canterlot elite. She couldn’t see his cutie mark though, not through the dark armor he was wearing. He had a new cloak, one with stars on the inside that didn’t cover the armor, only accentuated it. He looked like a priest. But of what god? “Let me go!” Twilight demanded, trying to sit up and get a better look. It was very hard with her legs so tightly bound. As she did, she could just make out an open doorway behind him. There was moonlight, and the flicker of torches in the dark. All around them was dark stone, ancient walls that could only belong to one place. He knew where it was after all. “I don’t know who you are, or what you’re planning, but…” “Of course you don’t,” he said, drawing something from around his belt. A strangely curved knife, with a blade that seemed to suck in moonlight. “And you don’t have too. All Equestria will know, soon enough. Thanks to you, our true queen will soon reign once more.” Queen? Who could he possibly be talking about? Equestria never had a queen! Twilight felt the ground lurch out from under her, as she was lifted into the air in this unicorn’s magic. By reflex her own horn started to glow, and she formulated a counter spell—and instantly she was choking again, the metal against her coat growing hot. “Please, don’t try to use your magic,” the pony said, his tone almost compassionate. “The halter was meant to contain even the most powerful unicorns—it turns your own magic against you, as you’ve seen. There are… gruesome stories recorded about what it has done to those who tried to force an escape.” He stopped in the hall, and so did she. The stallion moved close, the dagger levitating up to her. She squirmed, whimpered, but didn’t cry out. “I do not wish to see any permanent harm come to you. You committed a terrible injustice by preventing the ascension of Equestria’s queen, but that was no fault of your own. I know too well how Celestia can manipulate ponies into serving her ends. When the night is over, you can become the first new citizen in Nightmare Moon’s restored kingdom. I don’t wish for you to suffer needlessly.” “That’s… i-insane,” she croaked, her voice raspy and ragged from constriction. At least she hadn’t tried the whole spell at once like last time, it wasn’t nearly as bad. “Nightmare Moon is gone. Destroyed by the Elements of Harmony.” He only laughed. “Not completely,” he eventually said. “And now she will be restored by the Element of Magic. There is justice after all.” They passed through the doorway and into the great hall of the ancient castle. Ponies had apparently been up in the rafters, enlarging the small holes in the ceiling. A perfectly round shaft had been cut, permitting moonlight to stream down from above onto the circle of celebrants. There were two dozen ponies here, across every tribe and age. The ground was covered with ritual markings, with various objects and accoutrements required only in the most advanced spellwork. It would’ve taken Twilight hours of study to guess at what a spell this complex was doing. She would not have that long. And besides—the strange stallion had just told her exactly what he planned on. It’s impossible, she thought. Nightmare Moon isn’t a separate pony from Princess Luna. They made their way up to the circle of chanting ponies, stopping only as they approached the center. A small fire burned there, bright blue and green instead of orange. It seemed hungry, somehow. But for what? “And now for your contribution,” the unicorn said, lowering the knife towards her again. He went so fast that Twilight couldn’t possibly get out of the way in time, assuming she’d been on the ground and could’ve moved. Suddenly she felt something cutting into her leg, deeper than she’d ever been cut before. She screamed. The shock was worse than the pain. “Blood for blood,” the stallion said. “Life for life.” Twilight dropped unceremoniously to the ground, still oozing blood from a thin gash in her leg. He walked past her, into the ritual circle. Twilight felt cold all over, exhaustion pressing her down into the stone. Her body wanted to sleep, but she fought to stay awake. She needed to keep her eyes open for any chance to escape. Maybe she could go back to trying to wiggle the rope off her legs. It couldn’t be that hard… The next thing she knew, there was an explosion of magic in the air above the ritual, so intense that more sections of the roof came crashing down. She couldn’t make out any of the words—it hurt too much for that. But she could recognize the outline of Night Guards. Dozens of them, in glittering silvery armor, pouring through the opening in the roof. I’m saved, Twilight thought. Then she blacked out.