//------------------------------// // Prologue: The Lookerponies // Story: Demon Days // by carnivale //------------------------------// Demon Days by carnivale ======== Prologue: The Lookerponies The waning moon hung eerily in the fully-fledged night of black, casting its ghostly aura upon the dark being of the Everfree Forest. The branches that reached out like gnarled claws creaked in the breeze that weaved through the trees. The entire forest was unearthly; still without life. Nothing moved, nothing howled. Nothing skittered across the damp forest floor. Everything was as still as could be. Except for the dark pony that padded effortlessly through the towering trees. The pony was a male earth pony; his coat was as dark as a night sky without stars. He was hefty and muscular, legs and body long. His amber eyes gleamed in the darkness, penetrating the forest with their spectral glow. His big black hooves crunched the soil beneath him with every menacing step he took. His coat was ragged, clumps of fur and flesh hung off and flitted crudely in the breeze. The most noticeable features upon him were a giant scar that ran from his underbelly to the inside of his thigh, and three raw burn scars that reigned upon his right eye. He didn’t seem tentative by the spooky aura of the Everfree at this time of night. The stallion guided himself through the trees that transcended above his head that was placed on a rather long neck. His burning eyes grazed the floor obscured by darkness that was laid out before him, and one could only wonder if his eyes were as efficient as night vision goggles. Soon enough the pony came to a clearing that didn’t stretch too far, and was bordered by more looming trees. The air seemed to shimmer, and the closer he approached, cave dwellings seemed to appear out of thin air. Ghostly-looking earth ponies took shape around a roaring fire; they wore necklaces that bore some sort of reptile’s fangs, and they were clothed in pelts that seemed to be colored the same as the dark pony’s coat, as if honoring him somehow. The group of ponies also seemed to be dancing around the flames, songs in an ancient language, it seemed, issuing from their mouths like some creepy chant and ringing through the air. As soon as the scar-faced pony approached, the chanting died down and the ponies took their places in two lines that stretched traverse the clearing, bowing their heads in silence. The whole forest was again thrown into an eerie absence of sound that hung in the air like thick fog. Finally, an ash-gray earth pony with a scruffy auburn mane took his place next to the black stallion. He stood solidly, leaning a few inches towards the muscular pony. “Have you spoken with our ancestors tonight, Lord Somber Hooves?” he inquired in a low voice. The black stallion – Lord Somber Hooves – nodded, dipping his head in one elegant movement. “Indeed, I have, Deputy Brawny Boulder. And now, I must make an announcement.” Brawny Boulder nodded respectively and turned to the crowd of chattering ponies. He lifted a hoof to his mouth, blew, and shrill whistle echoed throughout the forest. The chatting immediately ceased, and soon enough all eyes were focused on Lord Somber Hooves, who was making his way to an elevated boulder that jutted out from the earth, its peak protruded towards the sky. His onyx coat blended with the night sky, but his fiery amber eyes glowed, almost as if they were one with the phantasmal aura. Everypony’s eyes were drawn to him, unmoving, like a curse that they couldn’t break free of. “Ponies of the Looker clan: mares, stallions, fillies, colts – our tribal ancestors have spoken to me again, this year. They have acknowledged the need of our annual events. And so, this year – may it be our last – the night before the day of Celestia’s Summer Sun Celebration, we will do our best, again, to bring forth the spirit of our former leader, Nightmare Moon, and the spirits of the dead, and make sure the Sun is conquered, leaving the night to last forever!” The last note of his voice shot up in a throaty bellow; it rolled across the clearing and rattled the brains of the numerous ponies situated below the highrock. A feeling of adrenaline surged through each of their veins – foals, stallions, mares alike – and they all rose to their hooves, letting roars of delight and concurrence rip from their throats and become one with the night. Some ponies pumped their hooves in the air, others stamped their hooves onto the rocky ground, causing sounds like thunder to be radiated like rolling waves through the air. Their cries sounded like death, a hunger for blood, for the night to take over Equestria once more – for good. The ponies had a good feeling about tonight. The previous years, their magic hadn’t been strong enough to release the spirit of Nightmare Moon into the sky to conquer Celestia’s Sun. Even though the Looker clan is full of earth ponies, their magic is the most powerful – the magic of demons and spirits alike. “Bring out the relic!” Lord Somber Hooves boomed. As soon as his voice was heard, a trio of stallions emerged from the depths of a hollow cave, two long, thick rods of wood placed upon their hindquarters, the two ponies in front carrying one, the two ponies in the back carrying the other. Upon the two rods was a square slab of wood that transported an ancient-looking stone. It seemed to be carved into somepony’s face – Nightmare Moon’s face, perhaps – and there were two gaping holes that seemed to take the shape of her eyes. The relic was then placed perpendicular to the highrock, situated in the middle of the broad clearing. Lord Somber Hooves did not step down from the boulder, instead watched with luminous amber eyes as the clan of earth ponies gathered around the relic, silence reigning down upon them all once more. The sound of song broke out, then. But it wasn’t like any song, it was more of ancient chant that sounded like death when it emerged from the clan’s mouths. Their faces were as hard as stone, the words issuing as if nothing prodded them to do so. The kindling night was filled with the barbaric sound of song, the aura spurring the ponies on. Suddenly, a vague glow was seen in the eyes of the relic, flickering green, then blue, then finally wavering black. Rolling, musty steam began to gush from the slit that was Nightmare’s mouth, whirring in a circle around the relic, and then there was an ear-splitting clap of thunder as a beam of blue and black light shot into the air. It spread out across the sky like electric fingers, Celestia’s Sun beginning to rise. The darkness was fading, too quickly for any of their tastes. Lord Somber Hooves growled deep in his throat as he witnessed the darkness struggling to fight down the Sun, but the Sun looked like it would be the one to emerge victorious. The glowing beam of light began to fade, too, and it wasn’t long until it shot back into the relic with a thundering boom and the fulgurating steam became tangible in the damp air. The eyes that were feeding wrath began to fade, too, and the song of the ponies died down in sync with the dimming glow. Before everypony knew it, the Sun was successfully raised in the air for about the millionth year as far as their tribe’s been alive. Lord Somber Hooves stamped his enormous hooves against the rock in frustration, the boisterous sound tumbling across the clearing. “Celestia is still stronger than us!” he thundered. “What shall we do, my Lord?” Brawny Boulder said, scampering up to the foot of the highrock. “It seems like every year we perform this, our ponies get weaker. How are we going to conquer the Sun of our strength is failing us?” Lord Somber Hooves scraped his hoof across the rock, running it across the ancient lettering that had been engraved there for many years. The codex that is encoded there, the one that sent bile building up in Somber Hooves’ throat. It took the shape of Nightmare Moon whinnying in fright as she is defeated by six ponies: two pegasi, two unicorns, and two earth ponies. The ponies formed a circle around Nightmare Moon, one unicorn reigning at the bottom, the two earth ponies above her on either side, and the two pegasi above them. There’s the other unicorn on top of Nightmare, her eyes empty, glowing. Somber Hooves scowled. “I know what we must do,” Somber Hooves announced, his eyes scorching the back of each pony’s mind with his blazing eyes, sweeping them across the crowd. “We must bring Nightmare Moon to her full form. That way the Sun will finally be conquered, and night shall reign forever.” Gasps and murmurs skimmed through the crowd, at first loud and unsure, then growing quieter as they carefully considered this opposition. Brawny Boulder stepped closer to the rock, his emerald eyes narrowing in question. “My Lord – “ “It will be a rough task, and it may take a while, this I know. But that does not mean we shouldn’t fight for ourselves, for our leader. Nightmare Moon shall rise again!” On his last words, a crack of thunder echoed across the blank sky, catching the ponies off guard and silencing their words, only to, again, raise their voices over the boisterous sound to cheer loudly in spite of their Lord’s sayings. Brawny Boulder grinned before scanning the crowd. He pointed towards a female pony before motioning for her to stand next to him. The pony stepped up; she had a black coat, just like her leader, but it was speckled with white, as if the stars were sprinkled across her skin. She had a pale blue mane and piercing cerulean eyes. She traced lines in the dirt with her hoof, giving away her demure psyche. “Nightwish, keep the relic out here in the center of the clearing – station guards, build a rock tower around it if you need, just make sure nothing or nopony takes it.” Brawny Boulder ordered. “This plan that Lord Somber Hooves is cooking up, it may take a while.” The onyx pony, Nightwish, nodded firmly before trotting off and materializing into the darkness. The ash-gray deputy then gazed up at Lord Somber Hooves, his stomach churning. I hope this plan works, Somber Hooves, he thought, for the clan's sake.