Chapter Two
Lunar Festival
Both of us tensed, gripping our weapons. Applejack was equipped with a heavy battle axe. Looking around, I could see a few others equipping themselves. Chief among them was the girl's companion, who was using dual knives. I saw a few other swords and some lances as well.
Soon everyone’s attention had been turned to the black-clad figure, who stepped forward and spoke. “Freedom at last...” The voice was recognizable as feminine, shrouded as it was by the dark armor. She surveyed the town placidly. “How long has it been...? Five hundred years, perhaps? Six hundred?”
“Four ninety-eight.” A voice from across the row of seats chimed in. Turning, I saw it was the girl from before- Twilight, her guardian had said. She must have a death wish. Probably would have gotten it a while ago if not for that guardian of hers, no doubt.
The dark figure snapped to attention immediately, staring at the point where the voice had come from. “My. You’ve done well for such a short time, haven’t you? Not even five hundred years since I’ve been awake last, and you’ve made some advances, I see. So, I take it you haven’t forgotten me already, then?”
My mind was racing, trying to catch up to the conversation. The beginning of recorded time, asleep since then, black armor...
Several years previously, back when he was still around... A story he read out of an old, dusty book, telling of the princess Luna... Of her attempted overthrow of the Ruler Queen, to turn the kingdom into a land of darkness... It seemed plausible at the time, but now...
“Luna.” I whispered to Applejack. “Or, Nightmare Moon, whatever works. It’s her.” Her eyes widened slightly, but we otherwise stood silent. Twilight, however, didn’t get that message, but seemed to have made the same connection as me.
“Nightmare Moon.” She said, undaunted. Shouldn’t her guardian be trying to make her shut up? “You may have broken free early, but don’t think this means we’re not prepared to stop you.” Oh lord, someone please just kill her now.
Nightmare Moon simply stared at her, possibly dumbfounded. When she spoke again, she said this: “Tell me, young one, have you ever heard of something called the ‘Real World?’ I wouldn’t imagine so with the rate at which you’re going. If all your precious Queen could do was seal me away, and not even do a decent job of it, what can you possibly hope to accomplish?”
It was just then that I noticed a shape moving in the background behind her. Ah, that explains it. Let’s see what he can do then. The guardian had somehow made his way to the back of the stage, had both knives drawn, and was preparing to strike.
“Truly...?” The fallen royal sighed. In one move, she spun around, grabbed him by the shirt and tossed him across the stadium. He crashed into the ground, coming to rest near the opposite wall. The rest of the crowd chose now to run. “What lies have been spun, to avert trust from me so soon? Can a purpose so powerful truly be so quickly forgotten?”
Nearly everyone else had already fled, and only a few people still remained. Among them were Applejack and myself, as well as, regrettably, Twilight, Rarity, and a few others I couldn’t name off the top of my head.
“And such a cowardly bunch, too. You must live a rather cushy life these days, don’t you? One look at someone who can fight, and... Ah, pardon me, I’m rambling again, aren’t I? Well, who’s left? A few decent looking fighters, at least. Well then, why not show me what battle ability has survived in a world overseen by my sister?”
She spat out the word with extreme contempt, then cast her hand in the air, drawing more wisps of darkness from nowhere. She herself vanished, while the clouds materialized into beings somewhat resembling large dogs, but completely black with glowing yellow eyes. More appeared by the second.
I looked around, and- somewhat unsurprisingly- saw no royal soldiers whatsoever. “Looks like we’ll have to clean up the Queen’s mess once again, eh?” I said, bringing my sword to bear over my shoulder.
“Shame she don’t pay us for it, we’d be rich by now...” Applejack mumbled, bringing hers to the ground. We stood back to back, faced each with a horde of the beasts. I slashed one in half as it jumped at me, and it disappeared in a puff of smoke. They aren’t real beings, then. This is only a test...
I caught a glimpse of the guardian rushing outside, and heard sounds of battle from there, too. Opal, it seemed, had also left to fight outside, as well as some others. Twilight and Rarity had joined in with the two others who still remained in the stadium.
Rarity fought weakly with a rapier (exactly what I’d expect from a noble) Twilight shot down enemies with thunder spell (with surprising skill) and the third (one with messy magenta hair who generally just seemed a bit... off) fought wildly but effectively with a spear. The fourth (I might have seen her somewhere before, but for the life of me I couldn’t remember. She had long, pink hair and sad eyes) didn’t fight at all, instead staying behind the group and trying to remain unseen. I suppose she just didn’t get out in time. I thought.
I sliced down several more, sent a disc of wind across the ground and killed several more. I nudged Applejack, motioning to the other group. She nodded in understanding, and we fought our way over to them. “Need a hand?” She yelled cheerfully over the growling of the dark beings.
The others stared for a moment, but when they were brought back into the battle and finished their next opponents they nodded. We fell in behind the group, forming a complete circle around the non-fighter. After a while the crowd of demonic shadows finally started to thin out, and the others were mostly starting to slow down.
At last, when only a few remained, they just glanced around and disappeared. While the other four let out their held breath, some coming close to collapsing, I took the time to survey what damage had been done. The inside of the room was a mess, and hardly any of the decorations were left standing, but the building itself was intact. I could also see no significant injuries on anyone. There’s nothing broken we can’t repair, yet they could have wrecked the place if they wanted. They really were just testing us this time around.
“Well.” I said, turning to face the group. “What now?”
Twilight, as was to be expected at this point, was the first to respond. “We have to do something to stop her!”
Typical. “Well, I would like to speak with her at the very least...” She seemed to think she was misunderstood somewhere along the line. Still, it’s clear overthrowing Celestia wasn’t misconstrued. I do wonder... “Right then, we’ll go off and find her. First thing’s first, let’s find some backup- Two dependable fighters out of six just isn’t good enough.”
“Wait, who went and made you leader?”
I went as far as to face-palm myself. “Maybe because out of all of us, I’ve actually got some experience? You and Rarity are both nobles- and by that logic, have likely never been in a real fight before now, and these two-” I motioned to the other two who hadn’t been introduced- “Well, they don’t exactly look like they could lead either. That leaves me and Applejack, and I pretty much do all the talking for both of us already. Any questions?”
“Being able to fight doesn’t mean you can lead. I’m the Queen's apprentice, for goodness sake, I think I have a bit more experience in that department.”
Queen’s apprentice, that’s right. I could feel my hate for this girl growing, but I saw an opportunity here. “Fine then. You think you can lead better, fine. Lead us. Just so long as I can get to this Nightmare Moon, it doesn’t matter. You in, Applejack?”
“‘Course.” She said simply, hefting her axe over her shoulder.
“Oh, what’s your name, anyway? I’ve been introduced to everyone else but you already.”
“Ah, yes, forgot you’re not from around here. To you all, it’s Rainbow Dash.”