//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: Luna's Attack - Darkest Fears // Story: A Return to Sibling Rivalry // by dracolord85 //------------------------------// Disclaimer – I own none of the cannon characters, settings, or locations contained herein. All ownership credit goes to Hasbro/Lauren Faust respectively. Chapter 4: Luna’s Attack – Darkest Fears The hall of the night was as it usually was, dark and mysterious, just as its mistress liked it. Those ponies who found themselves employed therein were all given enchanted bracelets that bestowed upon them feline eyes, which allowed them superior night vision like their employer. The large white alicorn that had slipped into the hall did not have one of those bracelets, and had to let her vision adjust for a moment before proceeding forward. The scattered candelabras and chandeliers cast forth light with their blue flames, but they never seemed to create more than small islands in the gloom. It was a simple recon mission for Celestia as she tried act nonchalant wandering through her sister’s halls. With quick pulses from her horn she was able to sense the vague outline of various traps that her sister had set, making sure to avoid them. Once she was within sight of her sister’s chambers she suddenly felt as though a cold draft ran straight up her spine. There was the distinctive feeling of being watched although she could see nopony in the area, and her magical senses told her that she was not being targeted by a remote viewing spell of any kind. A nameless, primordial fear took hold of her at once and she suddenly felt the need to return to the warmth and safety of the sunlight. The decision was made for her when she heard a shrieking noise and the distinctive fluttering of wings. In the present darkness she could not see the source and panicked like a foal separated from its parents. With a loud, instinctual whinny that was far less than dignified for a princess, her flight instincts seized control of her motor functions and had her bolting down the hall towards the safety of the bright daylight beyond. Spurring her faster, she could hear the winged thing following her no matter how fast she seemed to gallop, it was like a scene straight out of her worst nightmares! Her pursuer was gaining on her but she was almost upon the main doors that lead to her escape. Just as she was sure she felt its breath on the back of her neck, she slammed into the doors and burst forth into the bright hallway. Rounding the bend on the opposite side of the hallway, Luna and Nightmare looked about to see who had been running so hysterically around their normally peaceful hall. As the last of the sunlight faded with the door swinging shut again they looked to each other and shrugged in confusion. “Who was that, and why were they causing such a commotion?” Luna inquired. “The pattern of hoofbeats tells me whoever it may have been was running in a near blind panic.” Nightmare observed casually. “Perhaps the darkness frightened them away. Although I wonder if our mystery pony’s departure created an opening for our pet to escape the main hall.” “I haven’t seen any trace of the little bugger anywhere; maybe he did escape into the main castle.” “Perhaps we should question our sister if she has seen him. Let us find her and ask before she assumes the throne for the day.” Luna reasoned as she headed for the main hallway doors. ===== Near the throne room ===== Luna must have had guards besides the normal Sentinels that she employed, more beings adapted to her dark preferences. Celestia reasoned, as she caught her breath, that she would have plan better the next time she was going to set up anything near Luna’s quarters. Checking her internal sun dial, she realized that she would soon have to open the day court. Grumbling issued forth as she trudged towards the throne room, ‘this was not a victory for Luna’, was the mantra she chanted in an attempt to console herself. Just because she ran from her sister’s hall in a blind panic did not equate to a victory of any kind. Steeling herself as she approached the throne room doors, she banished all traces of irritation from her aura. The day court was set to begin any moment as Celestia confidently climbed the dais steps to her throne. With a confident grin she settled into place while her aid began rattling off what to expect from the day’s session. She however was lost in victorious thoughts of thwarting her sister’s latest strike in their ongoing contest. She may have been rattled earlier, but if Luna’s goal had been to send her running and screaming like a foal then she had miserably underestimated her many years of fortitude and resolve. The aid stepped away as she thanked him with a warm smile and adjusted herself on the throne in preparation for the doors to open and her little ponies to begin filing in. Fate, it seemed, would not allow her smug attitude to endure however. Celestia froze stock still on her throne as the felt something shift within her mane. Not wanting to cause alarm she neither panicked at the foreign feeling nor did she do anything whatsoever to acknowledge it. As the first of the petitioners came forward to have their business heard before the throne, Celestia could have been mistaken for a life sized marble statue that was placed upon the dais. She did not blink, or shift, nor did she even appear to be breathing really. Several more petitioners passed through while Celestia gave them the most cursory of nods and acknowledgement of her consideration for their petitions. With terror welling in her heart at every subtle tug or pull the thing in her mane made she realized that it had climbed higher until it should have been level with her head at this point. As was usual with her mane style, one of her eyes was covered by her billowing mane, and that proved to make the impending nightmare so much worse than it could have been for anypony else. After another tug at her mane the eye under her hair focused inward as a seam opened up in her mane just in front of her eye. Her eyes shrunk to tiny pink pinpricks as the creature in her mane revealed itself. The tiny head with large round eyes and almost comically oversized ears poked out of the divide and beamed a wide smile at her as it sat suspended, not more than an inch from her eye. The little creature snuggled itself into her mane as it made itself comfortable and gave her a nearly inaudible squeak of happiness before it settled down; Celestia gave an equally inaudible whimper of horror. Celestia’s entire world faded into the unyielding darkness of the abyss. Gone were her happy subjects, the stoic guards, even the whiney nobles. As her throne room faded, time itself ground to a halt simply to maximize and prolong her suffering. Her mind snapped as panic and horror rose up from the depths of her immortal soul. Her very life was at stake with the eldritch horror this far within her defenses and drastic measures would have to be taken to save herself. She would call the very sun itself down to her side as she pulled her ancient battle armor from within it and wielded the terrible pyroclastic fury that was her birthright. The entire earth would be reduced to cinders as millions died in the fallout of her battle with this distilled evil before her. The struggle would be monstrous as the sky was torn and the earth rent asunder with the force of their battle, and the black maw of Tartarus would claim one of them before it was all over. The terror settled into the pit of her stomach as her mortal foe continued to stare into her eye with its insidious grin. She had gotten lax in her security and her foe had taken advantage to the point that she was now left with no immediate defense except to simply continue her game of psychological chicken. When it became clear that her foe would neither blink nor grant her any quarter she began to entertain more desperate ideas. A crooked smile split her face as she began losing her mental balance. The sun overhead pulsed brightly as she called out to it to aid her in her time of need. “Ah, sister, we should have searched here first, of course thou wouldst be upon thy throne at this hour.” The words cut through Celestia’s haze and returned her to the world of the living once more. Though still frozen in fear, she chanced a quick glance from her mortal enemy to see her sister trotting down the throne hall towards her. Everypony in attendance was staring at Celestia strangely and she began to realize that she may have been behaving strangely and ignoring everything else around her excluding her current quarry. With a slight start at a sudden cold sensation on her chest, Celestia glanced down to see that her royal physician had removed her golden collar and was pressing a stethoscope into her chest fur. Clearly she had been immobile for long enough to cause a medical scare. It was also about then that she noticed her tormentor had shifted its attention from their staring contest to looking about while pivoting its large ears in every which direction. With a heart stopping realization that made her doctor strain to hear anything from the buds in his ears, Celestia understood what was about to happen. With an excited squeak, the small creature stretched forth its horrific, spindly limbs and pulled itself out of Celestia’s mane, and directly onto her face. Everyone in the court stared in amazement as the small purple fruit bat awkwardly used its legs and wings to crawl out onto the tip of the white alicorn's nose before squeaking again and smiling towards the lunar alicorn. Luna smiled and rushed forwards to the great amusement of the bat on her sister’s nose. “Ivan, thou art a terrible creature for worrying me so, I searched both high and low for thee!” Ivan the fruit bat spread its wings and quickly fluttered to a new perch atop Luna’s head, just behind her onyx crown. This of course caused complete system overload for Celestia, whose eyes rolled back in her head and collapsed with a slight sigh. Unfortunately, her doctor had not been quick enough and was immediately overwhelmed with the much larger alicorn that bore down on top of him. The doctor struggled while two solar guards tried to determine the best way to shift their collapsed princess without putting their hooves somewhere inappropriate. Luna meanwhile turned to face the audience with a happy smile on her muzzle and Ivan sitting contentedly on her head. “Princess, what pray tell is going on today?” One of the more bold nobles approached with his wife in tow. “Duke Iron Gate I believe?” The properly identified earth pony nodded. “This doth all stem from an idea presented to me by mine sister just yestereve. I happened upon her caring for her companion phoenix and was greatly confused why she would do so. It was impractical to keep animals for companionship a thousand years ago, but she explained to me the concept and benefits to be wrought from such an alliance. In the end she suggested that I go forth and find an animal friend to call mine own, as it would help me to identify with the ponies of this age.” “So you saw Princess Celestia playing with her pet phoenix and she told you to go and adopt a pet for the fun of it?” The Duke attempted to surmise with a question. “Indeed. Allow me to introduce mine companion, Ivan the Adorable! I could not think of a better companion befitting my station as guardian of the night!” The happy little bat spread his wings before his audience and gave a shrill squeak of greeting before flapping into the air. “Certainly Princess, and such a lovely shade of purple too.” The Duchess, Feather Gale, smiled as Ivan landed on her pro-offered foreleg. This display brought forth the rest of the court to admire Luna’s new friend Ivan. The royal purple bat was loving every minute of the attention. Behind them, Celestia’s doctor continued to struggle in vain with the dead weight of the solar alicorn on top of him. “I’M TAPPING! I’M TAPPING OUT! GET HER OFF OF ME!” The pinned medical stallion hollered while slamming a fore hoof on the ground repeatedly. Not a single pony had moved to help the downed diarch as they were thoroughly distracted with Ivan the Adorable, posing gallantly from various perches on his mistress. Soon enough though, the dark princess calmed the little bat down and began her way towards the throne room entrance again, just as her sister was regaining consciousness. “Come Ivan, we must be away for there are things yet to do this day. I bid thee all farewell my little ponies.” Luna said as she walked away, stealing a glance at her sister. “And lest I forget, thank thee, dearest sister for keeping Ivan company until I found him. I had meant to introduce the two of you later, but it would seem as though thou already get along so well that I may have to employ thy services again sometime.” Luna flashed a wicked grin before turning down the hall and out of sight. ===== The airfield ruins of the old castle ===== An angular, low profile chariot touched down on the long unused landing strip of the ancient castle. Pulled by Luna’s two Shadow Sentinels, the almost warlike vehicle clattered forward across the now uneven surface as they made their way toward the castle ruins. Sitting atop the open air chariot, two cloaked figures looked upon the ruins with nostalgic eyes. They saw not so much the ruins, but a vision of the past, and what had once been such a grand sight, so very long ago. Bidding the Sentinels forward to a vine covered hangar, Luna swept her glowing horn sharply from side to side, causing blades of shadow to clear the entrance for their use. Once inside, the two alicorns disembarked and left the Sentinels to wait for their return. After removing her cloak and shaking out her long silver hair, Nightmare caught up to Luna as she entered the ruins of the castle. "Hmm, I wonder what we will find. Can you tell if the preservation wards are still in place?" Nightmare queried Luna who responded with a pulse of magic from her horn. "Most interesting. It would seem that the wards are indeed still active, but what's more, the silent alarm system we placed in them has been tripped, and just recently." Luna responded with curiosity heavy in her voice. "Really? You mean there might be some dirty treasure seeking thief going after our research?" Nightmare asked with entirely too much excitement. "Let us make haste to our library. If I am reading the alarm correctly then they may still be there!" Luna set forth at a gallop slow enough for the smaller Nightmare to keep up with. The two friends dashed through the crumbling halls and time worn chambers guided by their shared memory of the layout of the castle. Both once again saw not the decay, but the castle as it once was, even going so far as to swing wide around corners so as not to crash into servants that had not walked the halls for a thousand years. Soon enough, they came to their personal wing of the castle, or what was left of it. Luna panted lightly as she slowed on the approach to the library entrance, Nightmare showing no fatigue due to her artificial body. Stopping, Luna issued covert hoof signals to Nightmare to remain silent and take up a position on the opposite side of the library doors. Once in place they pressed close to listen for any disturbances, which they heard plenty of indeed. POOOOF! "Aughhh! My mane! Stupid book, how dare you!" THUMP! "Okay, now open up and don't make this harder than it needs to be!" KA-ZAAAP! "What the hay!? That hurt you useless thing!" THUMP! "There must be at least one book here that isn't riddled with traps! And I know this is the one!" KER-SPLAAASH! "EEEEK! Oh Faust, It's everywhere! What is this stuff!? You stupid, hateful, thing!" THUMP! Outside the doorway, Luna and Nightmare Moon had heard enough. Once again signaling with her hooves, Luna instructed Nightmare to remain silent and sneak around to a flanking position on the thief. Once Luna signaled her, she was to provide support as necessary. Nightmare nodded her understanding and slipped into the room, her black coat blending into the shadows perfectly while she took care not to let her silver mane and tail give her away. Once Luna finished a two minute count she charged her magic and blew open the doors to the library to confront the thief. “Halt there! Who would dare to intrude upon the sanctum that is our royal library!?” “Eeep! Whoa!” The thief stumbled and fell in their fright. Luna stood firm, blocking the only entrance to the room as she gazed down on the intruder, and did her level best to not begin laughing at the sight before her. The intruder was a unicorn mare, and whatever colors she had been could not be determined now, as well as many other features beyond her gender and race. It appeared as though she had set off every trap that Luna and Nightmare had set on their research books, traps that had been meant to deter a snooping Celestia. The smaller mare’s coat was the most obnoxious shade of pink ever seen. Her mane alternated stripes of green and red as well as being stuck in a rather tall mohawk fashion. Whatever color her tail had been, it was now a dingy shade of brown and woven into a tangled braid. To top off that ridiculousness, she was spattered from horn to hoof in some sort of blue gunk that managed to mostly obscure several singe marks on her body. What caught the princess’s eye however was the mare’s cutie mark, a star topped wand casting a sweeping crescent of magic. “P-p-princess Luna? I’m so sorry, I didn’t know these book belonged to you! Please, I never would have touched them if I had known!” The young mare threw herself into a deep bow. “State thy name and occupation, besides thief of course.” Luna suppressed her amusement and glowered down at the prostrate unicorn who cringed at the moniker of thief. “M-my name is Trixie, Trixie Lulamoon your highness. Please, I didn’t know who these belonged to!” “Lulamoon you say?” Nightmare slunk out of the shadows behind Trixie and sidled up next to her, scaring the poor mare half to death. "Eeeeek! W-who are you?" Trixie squeaked in fright of the new pony. "Hmm, I suppose I look a bit different now." Nightmare flicked her long silver mane "I am Nightmare Moon my little pony." Nightmare finished with a fanged smile. "Thou hast left mine question half answered Trixie of the Lulamoon clan. What is thy occupation?" Luna broke Trixie's focus on Nightmare, who had begun to circle her. "I a-am a t-traveling showmare y-your majesty, m-my special t-talent is illusions. Please d-don't feed me to Nightmare Moon your majesty! I am s-sorry!" Trixie was practically sobbing at the self created thought being devoured by Nightmare Moon as punishment. "And tell me, young illusionist, for what purpose did you violate the sanctity of my library?" The now intrigued Luna questioned the now slightly more calm Trixie. "I was made a fool of in my last performance your majesty. After I was run out of town and into the forest I stumbled on this castle and this library. I thought I could learn enough to teach them a lesson, and show them the error of their hateful ways." Trixie cast her eyes to the floor as she remembered the events of the past days. "Hmm, thy intent seems innocent enough, so perhaps only a short imprisonment term should suffice as punishment" Luna pondered as Trixie continued to stare at her fore hooves. "Neigh Luna, what if she is of the same bloodline from era's past? A Lulamoon mage could be a powerful ally if trained properly." Nightmare spoke up from between the two other ponies. "I cannot say that the thought does not intrigue me at least somewhat. But without the rule of law and punishment for offenders then society will destabilize, surely thou understand this?" "Oh, we both certainly understand the meaning of punishment dear Luna. But perhaps I understand the meaning of forgiveness more than you. She did no damage, and we have not laid claim to this library for a thousand years now. I say we offer her the training she seeks and simply remove the materials of this library to the new castle to prevent another incident like this." Nightmare retorted. "Hmm." Luna scrutinized the mare before her, who had not moved an inch. "Perhaps then, a compromise is in order. Nightmare, you seek to forgive her for innocent mistakes. Ms. Lulamoon, you seek knowledge to better yourself. I seek to uphold the rule of law. Therefore my decision is a s follows, Trixie Lulamoon, by the authority vested in me as the sovereign of the night, I hereby pass judgement upon you." Luna straightened herself up after analyzing the situation. Luna's horn glowed as she lifted Trixie from the ground, who flailed her limbs briefly. The shadows of the room seemed to dance as the magic surrounding the showmare intensified, their movement and the low hum of the princess's magic giving the feel of an ancient and heretical ceremony being performed. A pressure began to form around her lower left foreleg, and just as it seemed to grow intense enough to cause her to cry out, Trixie was unceremoniously dropped to the floor. After shaking her head clear, she glanced down at her leg to notice that it now sported a rather thick looking black metal band just above her ankle. "Thy punishment Ms. Lulamoon is that thou shall become our personal student. Be warned now, this path shall not be one of ease. Should thou choose to abandon my instruction, this bracelet shall transport thee directly to the depths of the castle dungeons. Should thou embrace my teachings, thou shall find the knowledge and skill that thou seek. As my pupil thou shalt be given accommodations within our hall, and thy needs shall be taken care of so that thou may focus only upon thy training. What say you to my terms?" Trixie stared at the bracelet for a moment longer before regarding the princess and bowing once more. "Yes, your majesty, I accept your judgment and will do my best as your student." "Hmm, that seems like a fair compromise." Nightmare nodded her head slowly. "Indeed. Now let us be off, we shall gather our books at a later time, for now we shall return to the castle with our... interesting looking student. She set off so very many traps that it shall take a while to remove the hexes from her. Come student." Luna motioned for Trixie to follow as she began to return to their chariot. As they trekked through the ruined halls, Luna went over the recent series of events in her mind. If Nightmare's suspicions were correct then they had gained a powerful ally indeed. With a bit of training, this Trixie could prove to be a potent weapon in her ongoing rivalry with her sister. But in a more practical sense, she could be another sign of goodwill and stability that she needed to show to those still skeptical of their newly returned princess. She never was that interested in punishing the poor mare, but she didn't need to know that for now. For now Luna needed to get back and get some sleep after so much drama, she had a contest with her sister to maintain after all, and clear minds made for clear actions.