“In the dark of the night I was tossing and turning…”
Shadows upon a cavern’s walls. Attention was drawn to the largest.
“And the nightmare I had was as bad as could be.”
Murmurs, chirps, and screeches. Some content, others not so much.
“It scared me out of my wits. A princess falling to bits...”
Great, blue wings extended. A wicked, fanged grin appeared above a gathering crowd.
“But then I opened my eyes and the nightmare was me!”
A wicked cackle echoed deep into the bat ponies’ mountain home, and more and more flocked to its origin. The source gazed upon them, satisfaction in her eyes.
However, not all were taken by it. A few cowered slightly at the sight of her, backing away into the dark corners of the caverns.
“Thestrals!” the mysterious alicorn called. “There is no reason to fear me. I am no stranger to you, after all. Do you not recognize the gaze of your loving princess?”
More murmurs of both excitement and confusion came. Various bat-winged ponies broke into arguments.
“I’ve seen her before… in my dreams!”
“So have I. She’s… she’s the one who will bring forth the era of the bat.”
“What?! I’ve never seen er’ before! What are yeh’ on about?”
“She's probably just another has-been trying to take advantage of us! Remember Sombra?!”
“Aye, yer’ right, lass. Why should we be trustin’ her?”
The figure was about to respond, anger in her eyes, but before she could, a cold, logical voice interrupted her.
“Because she is no Sombra.”
It came from a blue bat pony clad in black armor. One with red, glowing eyes. He clanked forward, standing before the rock the alicorn was using to address the crowd.
“With all due respect, Grand Admiral,” another bat pony questioned. “How do you know this?”
“We’ve trusted her in the past,” the ‘grand admiral’ said, narrowing his eyes. “For she’s correct in saying she’s no stranger. The legend, her voice, her infliction, height, and mane... it all leads to one conclusion: this is Princess Luna.”
There were several gasps. A few more spontaneous arguments.
“Princess Luna... but better,” the alicorn corrected, grinning. “Though I’m glad to see your mind hasn’t dulled, Grand Admiral Warp Song.”
He merely nodded in response.
The alicorn then glanced towards the crowd. “Indeed, in body, I am your princess. However, in spirit and mind, I am now something much more. Some of you appear to know of the Prophecy of the Endless Night. And for those who believed, know that your faith has been rewarded. May those that have wronged you tremble in terror, for that prophecy has come true at long last! And now, it stands in front of you, asking you to call it by a new name: Nightmare Moon.”
The Grand Admiral narrowed his unreadable eyes. “How may we serve you, Nightmare Moon?”
“My dearest Warp Song,” Nightmare Moon cood, stepping down beside him. “Ever loyal, despite all that transpired.” She gazed at the crowd. “I’m sure most of you know his story, don’t you? It’s likely you have similar ones. For years, he served the Seventh Fleet with honor, defending Equestria’s waters from all that dared to cross his path. And how was this service rewarded? With nothing but the public’s spite! Who here has shared a similar fate?!”
The crowd stirred, murmuring in agreement. Some even loudly agreed, shouting things like ‘Aye’, and ‘I have’. At the very least, the majority appeared to be listening firmly to what she had to say.
“My loyalty to you never ended, my princess,” the Grand Admiral said. “The same goes for many of us, I'd imagine.”
“Yet I didn’t earn it,” Nightmare Moon said. “Not while I was Luna. When the populace’s distrust and racism towards your kind finally boiled over, I stood idly by, just like my sister. We fought against it with words, yes, but in the end, we bowed to mob rule. For we both failed to accept the grimmest of truths: real power only grows from the tip of a spear.”
She narrowed her eyes. “I am no longer so naive. And to prove it, I come here this night as the bearer of good news: things are about to change in Equestria. And you will be the vanguard of that change, my children of the night. I can handle my sister on my own. However, I cannot handle both her and her army. That role will fall to you. Many of you are trained soldiers, but all who can wield a spear or sword may join. Together, we will right the wrongs of the past, overthrow my cowardly sister, and ensure equal rights for all ponies.”
She took a deep breath, then bellowed: “WHO IS WITH ME?!”
“I am!” the Grand Admiral said firmly.
And that was all that was needed to begin a civil war. For what was once a single voice of agreement quickly turned into a roar of approval.
“Me, too!”
“Death to Celestia!”
“Justice for thestrals! Equality for all ponies!”
“Where did I put my armor? Can’t wait to wear it again!”
“Nightmare Moon is best princess!”
When it finally died down, Nightmare Moon met them with a smile. One which almost seemed heart-felt.
“Excellent!” she said, a hint of a laugh in her words. “Excellent! I knew I could count on you!”
“What strategy shall we employ, princess?” Song asked.
“I will leave that to you, Grand Admiral,” Nightmare Moon grinned. “Your objectives are self-obvious.”
“Very well,” he nodded. “And when shall we begin?”
“On the 10th Day of the Bright Moon,” Nightmare Moon began. “The moon shall rise early, two hours before normal, and the sun will pierce the skies with its unwelcome light for the last time. Upon that moment, Celestia will fall, and a new age of Equestria shall begin.” She took another deep breath, and roared: “AN AGE OF ENDLESS NIGHT!.!.!”
“HOORAH!” the crowd roared.
“IN THE DARK OF THE NIGHT, TERROR WILL STRIKE THEM!”
“TERROR’S THE LEAST WE CAN DO!”
“IN THE DARK OF THE NIGHT, SHADOWS WILL BREW!”
“SOON ALL WILL KNEEL, TO A NIGHTMARE COME REAL!
IN THE DARK OF THE NIGHT, THEY’LL. BE. THROUGH!.!.!”
--
1012 YEARS LATER
PRESENT
Luna sat at her desk in her quarters, flabbergasted by one of the few, potent memories she had as the Nightmare. It was her furthest fall from grace by far. Where she had manipulated a desperate, angry people into becoming a large part of her armies. She had forgiven herself for much, but that...
"No," Luna said, to nobody in particular. "No, it wasn't me. It was her. It was always her."
"Captain," the computer suddenly droned, almost making her jump out of her seat.
"Y-Yes, computer?" she asked.
"Your presence is requested on the bridge. We're approaching the --ERROR-- system."
Luna's eyes widened. She must have lost track of time. It was actually amusing to a degree. She had spent the first thirteen hours of the hyperspace trip gazing at the clock, waiting for their arrival, only to get lost in her memories in the last two.
If given the choice, she'd have taken the latter. Her memories weren't exactly the happiest most of the time.
Nonetheless, she wouldn't let them completely sour her mood. This would be the first system they would be visiting after Kumquat. And it would be a completely different beast than that adventure. Partially because…
--
"This system happens to have a Red Hypergiant at its center," Ocellus eagerly announced.
Luna took her seat on the captain's chair, Spike giving her a welcoming smile as she did.
Ocellus continued. "One that's actually visible from Equis. All it takes is a small telescope!"
"Quite right, my astronomically astute friend," Doctor Whooves said. "Most hypergiants should be to a certain degree. I can't recall the name of this one, however."
"Scorpan Major," Luna stated, smiling whimsically. "I remember Celestia suggesting it."
"You named it after Tirek's brother?" Spike said.
"So shines a good deed in a weary galaxy," Luna said softly.
Spike blinked. "What?"
"It won't be shining for long," Pharynx said bluntly. "This is supposed to be a dying star, remember?"
"Indeed," Doctor Whooves said, a hint of sadness in his tone. "The hypergiant stage is the final of an already massive star's relatively short life. It is likely to go supernova in the next ten thousand years." His tone quickly reversed, turning chipper once more. "Bad for it, good for us, however. There should be plenty of Solarium to scoop up, even if it doesn't have any planets left."
'Poor star,' Luna thought. 'I wonder if it will even have anything to say to me?'
"Approaching the edge of the system now," Ocellus said cheerfully. "We should be able to drop out at the edge of its Koopa Belt."
"Why the edge, again?" Spike asked. "Why can't we just jump all the way in?"
"Jumping in and out of gravity wells is not a good idea," Ocellus said. "According to my training, ships that do have a slight problem with… exploding."
"Yikes," Derpy squeaked.
"The bigger the star, the larger the gravity well," Doctor Whooves said. "So to be safe, we have to exit hyperspace at a decent distance."
"Gotcha," Spike nodded. "Exploding bad. Not exploding good."
“Indeed,” Doctor Whooves said blankly.
“Ocellus,” Pharynx signalled. “ETA until we drop out?”
“One minute,” she responded happily.
“Just enough time,” Pharynx said. “Captain, permission to charge up our MSA Cannons.”
"My word, Pharynx," Doctor Whooves said, slightly alarmed. "Isn't that a little extreme?"
Pharynx gave him an annoyed look. “We know there’s a hostile force out there - those that built this ship. But we don’t know where they could be. So no, I don't think it’s 'extreme'.”
“Yet if we run into a friendlier face, that might jeapordize first contact,” Luna pointed out.
“They’ll get over it,” Pharynx said. ”Chrysalis was a nasty piece of work, but she did have some wisdom. One piece being: shake with one hoof and arm the other. Never walk into even a diplomatic situation without the means to fight your way out of it. Any civilization smart enough for space travel would be smart enough to make it their policy. It should be universal.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Luna could see Ocellus twitch nervously. Nevertheless...
“I see your point,” Luna nodded. “Or Chrysalis’s point, I suppose - something I never thought I’d say - however, that still seems a bit brash.”
Pharynx looked like he was about to start an argument, but Spike interrupted before he could. “How about we don’t charge weapons, but we do raise shields as soon as we leave hyperspace? That only takes a few seconds, right? We wouldn’t be defenseless but we also wouldn’t look like we’re about to shoot at somepony.”
“That would be… a reasonable compromise,” Pharynx nodded.
“Very well,” Luna said. “Prepare to transfer all available power to our shields.”
“Aye, captain,” Pharynx said, looking at least somewhat content.
Ocellus smiled at her uncle, before gazing back at her station monitors. “Exiting hyperspace in three, two, one…”
There was another loud BANG! that came from the rear of the ship. And a millisecond after, the space shown in the viewscreen turned from an odd blur of blue to its normal self. They found themselves among a sea of small, icy rocks that stretched on for unknown kilometers. And in the far distance, illuminating it all, was a surprisingly large, red orb.
The Red Hypergiant certainly lived up to its name.
"Putting up the shields now," Pharynx said, tapping his console. A slight ripple off the bow was the only other evidence anything had happened.
“Wondrous!” Doctor Whooves said, mesmerized, as he rapidly glanced between his station and the viewscreen. “Derpy, do me a favor and record every shred of data we get as it comes in.”
“Will do, Doc!” she beamed, operating a smaller console next to Doctor Whooves’s. It was actually a station designed for sensor readings which the good doctor had reconfigured into a science sub-station. “Scanner is picking up tiny objects everywhere! Millions of them! This Koopa Belt is much bigger than the one in Kumquat.”
“Bigger star, more leftover material,” Doctor Whooves nodded. “What about Solarium readings?”
“Picking up trace elements of it on nearly every object!” Derpy bounced.
“Just as we thought!” Ocellus beamed. “Well, Yona thought, actually. Don’t want to steal the credit.”
“Wait, Yona the Yak?” Spike said, astonished.
“Don’t let her brash demeanor fool you,” Doctor Whooves said. “She has a keen scientific mind. Saw it myself at the School of Friendship oh… five years ago now?”
"The Yaks are smarter than they look," Pharynx mentioned. "I learned that the hard way during my last infiltration mission."
"Ahem," Derpy coughed. "Switching topics. Um… Doc, can you check the sensors? They're picking up something odd."
"Hm?" Doctor Whooves blinked, switching a screen on his console. His eyes widened. "Captain… captain! There's an… an object inbound. Picking up trace ion readings… definitely a ship!"
"Uh oh," Ocellus gulped.
"Don't freak out just yet," Spike said, before turning to face Luna. "Captain?"
"Right," Luna said. "Turn the ship, ensign. Point our bow at it."
"A-Aye, captain," Ocellus squeaked, quickly tapping her console.
A slight hiss could be heard as the manuevering thrusters kicked on. The viewscreen showed numerous, sparkling rocks floating by, before finally, something else could be seen. A metallic speck that was quickly growing in size.
Until finally, it revealed itself to be a triangular ship.
Luna gasped, frantically turning to Pharynx. "That's an Oblivion ship! Charge the cannons! Now!"
"Now we're talking," Pharynx grinned, tapping on his console. "Charging MSAs."
A terrific whirring sound could be heard coming from beneath them. Twin bow cannons preparing to fire.
"Crap," Spike groaned. "Just our luck. What do you think they want?"
"Whatever it is, it can't be good," Derpy said nervously.
"Steady, everycreature!" Luna said, surprising herself with just how calm she was keeping. "Focus on your stations - collect information. And Pharynx, hold fire until I give the order."
"Very well," he said, slightly disappointed.
"D-Dimensions of their ship are even smaller than the one on Oddball," Doctor Whooves said, gazing at his screen. "About a quarter the size of Starshot. Though… though their primary weapon appears to be charged!"
"T-That doesn't sound good!" Ocellus squeaked.
"They could just be being cautious," Spike suggested. "Honestly feels like they're just checking us out. Cus for real, why would they want to fight us with something so tiny?"
"This is an older ship, Spike," Pharynx said. "That ship might be ten times more advanced for all we know. And in war, the size of your sword doesn't matter if your enemy is carrying a firearm."
Spike shifted in his seat. "That's a… terribly uncomfortable thought."
"They're doing a deep scan!" Derpy called. "Or deep probe… whatever you call it!"
"Trying to find out more about us," Luna said. "I think you were right, Spike. Plus, if their weapons are already charged, why haven't they fired yet? Especially if they know we're readying our own."
"We knew that right off the bat," Spike nodded in agreement. "So so should they."
"By the way, MSA cannons are now fully charged," Pharynx announced. "I've also taken the liberty to ready the S-Beam projector."
"S-Beam projector?" Derpy asked, confused. "What's that?"
"Scrambling Beam Projector; a weapon used to disrupt shields," Pharynx explained, before giving both her and Doctor Whooves an annoyed look. "At least I'm assuming they have theirs up. Someponies failed to announce that."
"Sorry about that," Doctor Whooves said, snark in his voice. He didn't even bother to look up from his console. "Some of us have more things to do aside from 'readying the guns'!"
"Doctor..." Derpy sighed. "For real, Pharynx, our bad."
"What's done is done," Pharynx said bluntly. "Just try to be more diligent in the future." He then looked back at Luna. "Speaking of the future. I'd feel a little more secure about it if we took care of the problem in front of us sooner than later."
"Seriously, Pharynx?" Spike said, with a tone of 'not surprised but still disappointed'. "You wanna blow up someone who hasn't even attacked?"
"A pre-emptive strike is perfectly justified in this scenario," Pharynx said coldly. "Captain, after your experience dealing with these Oblivion nightmares on Oddball, you must know there won't be any sort of shaking hooves with them. We should act first while we have the chance."
"Uncle…" Ocellus said. "We don't do that sort of thing anymore. Thorax--"
"Isn't here," Pharynx said. "You'd be wise to put his teachings out of your mind for now, kid." He glanced back at Luna. "What's your call, captain?"
Luna felt unsure. Yes, he did have a point. Even if the Steward was a fluke, the worst possible first impression of the 'Empire', everything else they knew about them just screamed they were no better than your average Equestrian beast stalking the darkest woodlands. Beasts she wouldn't give a second thought to blasting on her nightly patrols.
Yet still… while their leadership may have been rotten, the crew of the Steward's ship seemed to be more brainwashed than anything. At least from what was mentioned in their engineer's logs. It was possible the entire Oblivion Empire was similar. If so, Quick Card would have tried to save them, not exterminate them. So would most ponies for that matter, including her sister.
She glanced between a pleading Spike and Pharynx, trying her best to make a decision.
Though fortunately, she never had to.
"Incoming transmission!" Spike said, navigating through the controls of his own, miniature console.
"By the night," Luna exhaled in relief. "Put it on screen!"
"Would never be happier to," Spike smiled, hitting in a few simple commands.
Unfortunately for Luna, however, the sight that blinked on it was worse than making a hard choice. For though she never believed in ghosts, it was one of the few explanations for the face that was now gazing at her from across the void. A face a thousand years past, but burned into her memory. The second in command of Nightmare Moon's forces during a bloody, pointless, ancient war…
"G-Grand Admiral Warp Song?"