//------------------------------// // Prologue: Once Upon A Dream // Story: The Secret Cult of Nightmare Moon // by SunnyCharm //------------------------------// "The Victors are the ones who tell the tale. History shall be kind to me - I intend to write it." - Commander Hurricane * * * "Since the beginning of Equestria, there was the Sun Princess. Celestia rose the sun every morning, and set it in the evening. She presided over court, and fairly judged her subject's requests and petitions, and life was good, for most. The Princess looked out upon her kingdom, peaceful and bright, and thought to herself that she was truly the most brilliant leader the world had ever seen." As Twilight Velvet recited the story, her young filly sat quietly on a suitcase, and looked out the window at the snow-covered hills. She had heard this story before, many times, but tonight was a special occasion. It was Twilight Sparkle's tenth birthday, and they were leaving Canterlot in a private train carriage. "For everything light in the world, there is also a darkness, and this is how the world should be. But some ponies feared the darkness, and hated the night, which was a shame, because no one paid attention to the second great princess: Luna, who raised the moon." "But a few ponies liked nighttime, right Mom?" Twilight asked, turning away from the window to meet her mother's gaze. "That's right, darling. Astronomers-" "Like dad!" Twilight interrupted. Technically, Night Light was a stellar cartographer, but to a young foal, there wasn't much difference, so Velvet didn't correct her. "- And artists, and peasants, and others, as well." The older Twilight finished, before she returned to the story. "The Moon Princess once had a great power, because she was Celestia's shield and sword. But in a peaceful nation, the ponies of Equestria only saw Luna in one of three ways. She was an annoyance to the nobles, because she fought for the working class. Those same working ponies saw her as the lesser Princess, because she accepted cases Celestia turned down. There were only a few ponies who loved Luna as much as most loved her sister." The Elder Twilight paused for theatrical effect, and her filly leaned forward in anticipation, even though she already knew what happened. "One day, frustrated by her sister's never ending popularity, Luna insisted that Celestia give her a throne of her own, and a true role in Equestria. Distrustful and greedy, the elder sister refused, and it was the last straw. A great fight erupted, destroying the great castle that the two sisters had built. When she saw that she was losing the battle-" "Because Luna was the better of the two, in battle." Shining Armor interjected from his bed. He said he was going to nap, but it seemed he'd stayed up to listen. "Right." Velvet agreed, and continued the tale before any more comment could be made. "When she saw she was losing the battle, Celestia used a set of rare artifacts to capture her sister, and banish her to the moon, for a thousand years." Silently, Twilight Sparkle swore she would never banish her sibling for a thousand years, no matter how annoying and smelly he could sometimes be. "But that's not the end of the story." Velvet smirked, reciting the rest of the tale. "Even though Luna was gone, her followers never lost faith, and it soon paid off. Even in her banishment, the Princess could still dreamwalk. She spoke to her followers, and they began to make plans. When the Moon Princess returns, she will have respect she deserves." "And we'll be the generation that gets to see it!" Night Light exclaimed cheerfully, returning from the dining car with a tray of food suspended in his magic. He passed it off to his wife, who helped distribute hayburgers to the family. "So what does that old story have to do with my question?" Twilight asked, around a mouthful of food. "Don't talk with your mouth full, dear." Velvet chided, before answering. "You asked why we had to leave Canterlot. You know that we believe that old story is true, don't you? Princess Luna will return, and she told us in a dream that it was important to keep you foals safe. The capital city of the Sun Princess is not a safe place for Lunar Cultists, Twilight." "But what about our friends back in Canterlot?" Twilight asked, and her parents gave her a look. "You mean my friends, and your books?" Shining teased, and the filly blushed. "Books are friends too." She added quietly. "Don't worry, honey. There will be books where we're going. There will also be other foals like you two, since this community is made up of Lunar Cultists creating a farmstead in the back country. I know a good Astronomer friend of mine has already moved out there. He's written me, and told me how nice it is." Night Light explained. Twilight was still unsure, but she was glad her parents trusted her enough to tell her about it. Even as a young filly, she knew how dangerous it was to support the banished Princess, when Celestia herself had decreed that her true name was never to be spoken again. When her only state-sanctioned holiday portrayed her as a foal-eating monster. "Where is this Lunar Village at, Dad?" Shining asked as he finished his meal. "Well, first we have a little stop to make along the way." Velvet admitted, answering for her husband. "First, we're going to a town called Ponyville to pick up some friends. Then, we'll all travel to the Castle Of The Two Sisters, deep inside the Everfree forest." "Whoa! The Everfree!? That's dangerous, isn't it?" Shining exclaimed, glancing protectively at Twilight. "Yes, but our Ponyville contact knows her way around that area, and we should be safe until we reach the castle." Night Light explained. "You said that they were making a farmstead there. How will they grow the food in the heavy underbrush? It's too dark to grow crops!" Twilight announced, having read about the magical forest in her studies. "Actually, we aren't growing crops in the forest at all." Velvet smirked, giving her daughter that Figure It Out smile. "Remember Nightmare Moon's last promise?" "That she would keep the moon up forever, and never raise the sun again?" Twilight said tentatively as the gears in her brain started turning. Given that information, what conclusions could she draw? Her mother was a scientist, and her father studied the stars. They were all going into the Everfree forest for what? To grow crops in the dark? Oh. To grow crops in the dark. "You... You won't need sunlight at all, will you?" Twilight grinned, excited at the prospects. "Hopefully not!" Velvet smiled right back. "We have enough provisions to last for a while, but we're excited for all of us to try out our theories, from hydroponics to artificial sunlight!" "And just imagine all the Pre-Monarchial manuscripts, Twilight! I bet there are a wealth of secrets hidden in there!" Night Light dreamily noted. While her mother infected Twilight with her love for science and research, her love of books and the arts came from her father. "Not to mention," Velvet nuzzled her daughter. "You can work on your magical experiments here. We forbade you from using your skills in Canterlot, because it was too risky to let Celestia catch you." "But once you got your cutie mark, we knew it was time to leave, even before the Princess confirmed it. We couldn't deny you your special talent." Night Light added. He looked toward his son with a smile. "Your brother's special talent is protecting ponies, and it's high time he got to practice his special talent too." The stallion grinned, because he was about to make Shining as happy as Twilight was now. "In the settlement, there's a member of the Night Guard. He can teach you things they don't learn in the Royal Guard anymore." Shining's ears perked up at that. He'd been rather moody the whole ride at the idea of having to give up his dream. "The job of the Royal Guard these days is largely symbolic." Velvet added with a shrug. "The Night Guard on the other hand, has real work to do once the Princess returns." "Really?" The colt asked excitedly. "I talked with Princess Luna about it after I got my cutie mark, but I didn't know I'd be able to get started so soon!" "The Princess is returning soon. We need all the loyal guards we can get." Night Light added, ruffling his son's hair. "Wait!" Twilight exclaimed. "Shiny got to talk to the Princess when he got his cutiemark!? Will I get to see her tonight!?" The little unicorn filly bounced up and down in excitement, and luggage began to levitate in her excitement. "Who can say?" Velvet teased. "You won't know until you go to sleep." "Oh stars, you're right! I'll go to sleep right away tonight, no late-night reading!" Twilight insisted, hopping into her bunk. It was thanks to Luna's funds that they could afford a sleeper car, and the whole family planned to make good use of the luxury. When Twilight Sparkle next opened her eyes, it was inside a massive throne room. Before her, was a huge raised dais, and upon it sat the mistress of the moon herself, Princess Luna. Twilight was scared, despite all the good stories her parents told her about the princess of the moon, but she soon realized why. Luna had strange dragon-like eyes that were a bit unnerving. A little less afraid now, Twilight dipped into a bow. No one told her to, but it felt like the right thing to do when facing a diarch. "Rise, Twilight Sparkle." The voice that gave the order was kind, and laced with amusement. "I see you have earned your cutie mark, my little pony. What is your special talent?" Luna asked, and Twilight shuffled on her hooves. "Um, I'm not really sure. I got this cutie mark when I helped my brother fix his shield matrix. The spell he learned in school was too..." The little filly frowned, trying to find a vocabulary word that fit how she'd perceived the spell. "Too brittle, I guess? It wasn't flexible enough to withstand much damage, and the magic efficiency ratio was horrible. My brother thought I was just imagining things, so I tried to fix it for him." The filly happily (if a bit bashfully) related her tale, and the princess nodded. "Then, I saw this huge rainbow outside my window, and I heard a sound like the crack of thunder! All of a sudden, I knew what to do!" It seemed young Twilight had seen a sonic rainboom. Those were assumed by many to be just a legend, and Luna had gotten reports of the event on the night it happened. "Ah, we have a great magical engineer among us! Such a talent only comes along once every century or so. Those with a cutie mark in magic are the ones who create spells and enchantments. Do you know of the last great Equestrian example?" "Starswirl The Bearded...!" Twilight whispered in a sort of awe. "Indeed. He designed many of the spells which are still used to this very day. Perhaps someday, you shall surpass his renown with your own, Miss Sparkle." "But... But everyone I know took an apprenticeship to learn their special talent!" The filly felt tears and magical energy building up, and even though she didn't want to cry in front of a moon goddess, it seemed inevitable. Who would teach her, if the last great spellsmith had been dead for over a millennium? "Fear not, my little pony." Luna smiled down with her sharp teeth, and stroked Twilight's mane. The filly was surprised she could feel it in her dreamscape. "If my sister can have a faithful student, what is stopping me from taking my own?" The princess mused aloud, and even the foal caught the bitterness in her tone of voice. "Banishment..." She replied sullenly, then blushed. "Or, was that a rhetorical question?" Twilight had never been very good at picking up social cues, and she worried she might have offended the Princess. "Even through dreams, I will surely guide you well, dear Twilight. You will be of great use to me when I return to Equestria." The black alicorn announced proudly, reaching down to nuzzle the little filly in comfort. "Really?" Twilight asked, excited at the prospects of knowledge and study. "Yes, really. The time is approaching for my return. You are only one of my students, but you will have a large part to play in my new world." The alicorn smiled again, showing those fearsome teeth once more. "A very large part indeed..."