Prologue
The former Princess Luna gazed over the Everfree Forest from her room in the old castle as night settled over the land of Equestria. Normally such a sight would have been a welcome momentary release from her envy and hatred, but her sister had taken on the responsibilities of the night, and was now in charge of both the celestial bodies. Now, as she watched her beloved moon creep up into sky, without her…
She ground her teeth and her mane and tail thrashed at the thought of it being handled by her dear sister.
With a scoff she turned and paced back into the interior of her new home. After the dealing she had had with… well, after she had changed into Nightmare Moon and had disappeared into the forest, she had wandered aimlessly for some time before she remembered that Celestia had said something about there being a castle in the deepest part of the woods. It took a bit longer than she had thought previously to find it, but find it she did.
As the days passed with her living in self-exile, she had been experimenting with her new powers, learning to control them, to mold her mane and tail into weapons. She had also learned that she was able to turn herself into a cloud of darkness, and slip through the night silently, even being able to change her own form and to enter other sentient beings’ consciousness.
She became convinced that there was no possible way Celestia was able to do these things. Celestia had never had to go through the hardships she had endured. She had never been so deeply in love with somepony that she would have died for them, only to have that same person crush your heart and soul in one fell swoop.
No. Her elder sister had never dealt with the heartache and anguish she had lived with since that night. Anger had given her a new insight into a newer, more powerful kind of magic. And she was positive that with this magic, she would be able to beat Celestia and take control of Equestria.
Then the night would last forever.
Nightmare Moons’ dragon eyes glinted with malicious pleasure as the thought of eternal darkness waltzed through the most intimate corners of her mind. She could think of nothing more beautiful than the sight of endless stars and an unending moon hanging in the sky.
Her hoofsteps echoed throughout the halls of the empty castle as she walked slowly to the room she had claimed as her sleeping quarters. She was still thinking of the best way to go about defeating the Sun Princess. Besides the obvious fact that even though she was more powerful than Celestia, the white alicorn would still put up a bit of a fight. Then there was the entire royal guard that she might have to deal with. But that could be dealt with easily enough. All she had to do was to get an army of her own. Some monsters in the forest along with some of the ne’er do well ponies scattered throughout the land; the malcontents, the exiled, mercenaries, ponies like that, and she would have a decent enough army to take with her to Canterlot.
Then it wouldn’t take long until she was Queen of Equestria.
The Mistress of Darkness sighed as she crawled up into her bed, thoughts and plans buzzing around her head like so many bees. She would have to make sure everything was perfect, that every angle was thought of, that every discrepancy was accounted for before she could even think about making her first move.
She wasn’t worried though. Celestia had never been one for any sort of fighting, even when they were fillies. While Celestia had always tried to solve everypony’s problems through diplomacy and negotiations, Luna had always preferred things to be handled a little less… tactfully. Show of force was the only real way to make sure anything got done the way you wanted it. So even if, When, Nightmare Moon corrected herself, Celestia tried to smooth things over with talking, she had the upper hand, no matter how she looked at it.
Another sigh escaped her mouth. She couldn’t help but remember the good times while thinking about when they were younger; when she and Tia were the best of friends. But when their parents died and Celestia had taken up the mantle of responsibility until Luna could help… they had started to drift apart. Celestia began spending less and less time with her in order to do her duties as Princess. It had hurt her more than she had thought.
And finally when Luna was old enough to become the caretaker of the moon, the ponies of Equestria shunned the gift she had given to them night after night.
Nightmare Moon’s brow furrowed as she frowned. Honestly, what was so great about the sun anyway? How is it that everypony thought that her sisters’ work was so much better? They knew nothing about beauty.
But again, that would all change soon enough.
In the morning she go out and collect warriors for her army. She would travel cloaked, hidden from the world as she visited the seediest bars, the filthiest hovels, and the darkest holes for any and all ponies that she could use against Celestia. Money would buy the loyalty of most of them, and those who couldn’t be bought… she could always persuade to see things her way, just another benefit from her new powers. And next would come the beasts; hydras, dragons, timber wolves, manticores, minotaurs, and anything else she could find.
Her grin was chilling as she thought of the entire population of Equestria bowing at her feet and finally giving her and her night sky the respect and reverence that they deserved. Before the season was out, it would come to pass. She was sure of it.
“And my dear, sweet sister… you’ll have the best seat in the house when I finally banish your sun; your rightful seat… under my hoof.” Her laugh was ominous and menacing as it reverberated through her room and out into the night.
Tomorrow, her revolution would begin.