The Vacation Day 3:
Nocturne...
Nocturne watched Twilight with interest. She had been, somewhat, impatiently awaiting her arrival for some time now. Her violet eyes, a match to Twilight's own, gazed at the younger pony silently as she wandered around her body. Her wings obscured her cutie-marks for the moments, or Emblems as Ponies had come to call them. Nocturne found it a much more fitting name. It was also somewhat ironic if one looked at how Cutie-Marks were originally called Symbols.
They started as Symbols, became Cutie-Marks thousands of years later, and later still would likely be changed to a more gender neutral "Emblems". Symbols had also been Gender Neutral, why it was changed to Cutie-Marks, Faust had adamantly hidden from her. Though there was some talk of a weird pony named Tootsy Flute or Toola Roola or something calling them that. It was debatable in whether or not Cutie-Mark was Gender Neutral, but even she heard a more feminine ring in Cutie-Mark than Symbols or Emblems.
"So your name is Nocturne," Twilight murmured as she trotted around the mare. "you're an Alicorn," She continued while Nocturne watched her. "and you seem to wear battle armor." Twilight finished with a thin frown.
"It's actually Combat Regalia, quite common among royalty I assure you." The admittedly short alicorn responded dully. "Celestia and Luna have some as well, but in your era they rarely need it." Nocturne explained softly, her monotone voice breaking Twilight from her musings. "And really, the only reason I wore this is because I have like a thousand different Regalia and change them when I get bored of wearing the same thing." The alicorn stated as she watched the lavender unicorn blink for a moment.
"Wait, so you actually change your clothes?" Twilight questioned and watched the alicorn look at her with a frown. "Oh, um, yes well I mean, I've seen Celestia's before. But I would have to assume Luna's was the armor Nightmare Moon wore." Twilight replied nervously. Nocturne felt a stray ghost of a smile tug at her lips before closing her eyes and sighing.
"No. That was actually crystallized magic hardened onto her a thousand years ago." The alicorn explained and looked at an armored hoof. "Luna's actual armor is actually more detailed than what Nightmare wore." Nocturne stated, her eyes dull and almost listless. She watched Twilight shiver and shift uncomfortably in her presence. She knew that the little mare was very nervous around her. At her age she would've been as well. Then again, at her age she was very afraid of her. Looking back now, older and wiser, she actually found this all quite amusing.
"A-are you the pony who lost her emotions to a charm?" Twilight questioned nervously. She shifted nervously on her hooves while the alicorn watched her. Nocturne mentally smiled, the mare was curious and frightened, and she was right to assume she had lost her emotions. Unfortunately she was wrong, she hadn't lost them, merely maintained control of them as she needed. As for charms they were, while not impossibly, annoyingly difficult for her to cast. She had complete control over her emotions but her imagination still left quite a bit to be desired.
"No." Nocturne stated, still in a monotone. "I simply have a tighter grip on them than..." She halted her speech and clicked her tongue. "... others." She finished with a noticeable frown on her face. She meant Faust of course, Twilight could know that, but explaining that Faust was still alive, that would be a bit harder. Then again explaining to Twilight that she was one of roughly a dozen probably outcomes of her future, that would be a mess as well.
"So, why do you sound so..." Twilight struggled for a word, then shrunk back. "... dead?" The little lavender unicorn was still scared of her. Nocturne wondered why, if it was because she was so calm, because she had sung a dirge not long ago, or because she resembled a short Nightmare. Then again she could simply be terrified of angering an alicorn. Which, in her own opinion, was a fairly intelligent fear. Alicorns, even in her time, were still quite possibly the single most formidable beings in all of Equestria, and she was more so than some others.
"I just do. Do I have to have a reason?" The alicorn questioned with a curious tilt of her head. She watched Twilight sputter for a moment, then struggle with her answer. She clearly assumed there was a reason for her being so monotone and dull. In all honesty there really wasn't besides the fact her fellow alicorns were all somewhat zany. She cared for each of them dearly, but after thousands of years she tired of their antics. She also hated all the short jokes from Discord, he seemed to think it was hilarious. Oh, and she got bored of most things rather easily, that was also a part of her monotone and dullness.
"I guess not, I sort of assumed you were really sad and trying to hide it." Twilight admitted. Nocturne wasn't sure if she was amused or disappointed in the mare. Had her dirge really led her to believe that she was sad? Perhaps she had envisioned her as a depressed alicorn on the cusp of falling to the same darkness as Luna. Well she was sorely mistaken. Her dirge was in honor of her first friends, once every hundred years she came here to sing it for them. The day was chosen for it was the last day that the last of them had lived to. The dirge was a song not only of grief and longing, but also of hope.
"I am afraid that I must inform you that I am neither depressed, nor am I especially evil." Nocturne noted with a roll of her eyes and trotted around the lavender mare. "Sometimes I wish to sing a somber tune, not all music need be happy after all." She stated with a nod, fluffing her wings for a moment and returning to the dais. She had time to talk to Twilight, at least if memory served, and perhaps she could show her a glimpse of a future she could make. She stepped onto the dais and sighed tiredly, closed her eyes and waited for Twilight to approach.
Faust had created her and this world, or rather her charm had done so, based on probability and the information she had access too. She was the most likely outcome, of a dozen, of what Twilight would grow into at this point in time. If Twilight's life didn't go through any radical changes, she would eventually become like her. There was still a rather slim probability that something would change and so Twilight would change. But then again it was just as likely that nothing would change and Twilight would grow into her at some point.
"So you look like a short Nightmare by chance?" Twilight questioned as she approached her. Nocturne inwardly chuckled and outwardly rolled her eyes. Her appearance wasn't "by chance" there was a definitive reason for her appearance. The truth was that long ago, when she was still called Twilight, Princess Luna and Celestia had noticed how she never grew or changed. They attempted an old ritual that bound her to the sun and moon, which also had the effect of changing her physical appearance a bit as apparently she took to the night a bit too well.
"There is a reason for that, but it's kind of a boring story." Nocturne admitted and opened a wing to examine her feathers. She actually hadn't had feathers for quite a while now. That had been caused by a different incident than her dark mane, and the black marks around her eyes. "And I'd rather not go into it if I don't have too." She stated calmly and watched Twilight pout. She had to wonder if she'd really been so adorable at that age, or if perhaps she was just so old now that young ponies were always adorable to her.
"Well can you at least tell me why you're wearing armor?" Twilight questioned curiously. Nocturne hummed quietly and tapped a hoof to her bottom lip. Unlike many of her other questions, that one would actually be rather simple to answer and had no overlying ramifications.
"I'm wearing it because there is a rumor that once every hundred years, Nightmare Moon appears in this place." She finally replied and watched the proverbial mental gears turn in Twilight's head. A moment later the little lavender mare shot her a flat look.
"You're the 'Nightmare Moon' who appears here aren't you?" She questioned. Nocturne resisted an urge to giggle and merely smirked instead. The rumor of Nightmare Moon had been started as a way for her to scare off ponies. She liked to sing in peace and quiet these days. She would still sing from time to time for reasons besides the loss of her friends. She would also occasionally sing to a subject who wished for her too. Yet, every so often, she wished to be alone and sing a somber tune, rather than those she usually did. Besides that, sometimes it was fun scaring her little ponies.
"Can't an ancient alicorn have a little fun at her ponies expense?" Nocturne questioned the younger mare, her voice laced with a teasing tone. The little lavender mare glared at her, she honestly found it quite amusing. She idly wondered if she'd glared back then as well. Probably.
"Doesn't that seem just a little immature?" The unicorn questioned quite pointedly. Nocturne merely rolled her eyes and glanced out one of the broken windows. She knew she was being immature, but honestly, she didn't really care. In her first thousand or so years she'd been the most mature of the alicorns. Luna had been serious until she had discovered video-games and became almost addicted to them. Celestia still pulled the occasional pranks on her for laughs and had a sweet tooth to put Pinkie to shame. Cadence, well actually Cadence had always been a bit silly...
"Maybe, but no pony can be serious all the time," Nocturne replied with a shake of her head. "and I should know, because I actually tried." Clearly from the look on her face, the alicorn's reply had caught Twilight off guard. However she quickly recovered, shook her head and huffed.
"Well in any case can you tell me how I finish this trial?" Twilight questioned with a frown. Nocturne hummed lightly and leaned her head back to look at the ceiling. Or rather where the ceiling had been thousands of years ago. Now she could just look up to see the stars of the night sky.
"Must you be so impatient?" the alicorn mare questioned and glanced at Twilight with a frown. "I would think a break would be enjoyable, even to a workaholic like you." The said lavender pony merely rolled her eyes and frowned. Nocturne sighed, a pout on her face as she looked to Twilight. "Oh very well. In order to wake up you have to answer one question." The alicorn replied and idly tapped her hoof. Truth be told she could end the charm at any point she wanted, but she was kind of enjoying seeing how she was back then.
"And that question is?" Twilight questioned anxiously. Nocturne mentally sighed and looked at the little lavender unicorn with a frown. Had she always been so impatient? If so, why had no pony ever told her how impatient and rude she could be. 'Actually, that might be why I didn't have any friends besides Spike, Shining Armor, and Cadence before I moved to Ponyville...' Nocturne admitted with a mental grimace. That thought now spun in her head, but Twilight's anxiousness was clearly not abated. So the alicorn sighed and thought of a question before she spoke.
"Of the three Fausts you met today, who has survived the Test of Time." The dark alicorn went silent, her question asked she watched the lavender mare. Twilight looked understandably confused, and stared at Nocturne for the longest time.
"Test of Time?" Twilight questioned and Nocturne silently nodded her head. "Aren't you at least going to give me a hint?" She asked the ancient alicorn impatiently. But Nocturne silently shook her head and laid down to watch Twilight. The little lavender unicorn huffed and then crossed her forelimbs with a frown. Nocturne silently watched her, almost able to visualize the mental gears turning in the mares head.
"Clearly the Alicorn of the three has survived time, she would be practically immortal." Twilight noted aloud with a tap to her chin. Nocturne frowned inwardly, yet outwardly remained as stoic and dull as ever. It was a good assumption, but one based on the idea that the true test of time was to live long. "But... no," Twilight decided with a shake of her head and clicked her tongue. "maybe the winged-unicorn." She reasoned thoughtfully. "She's older than the unicorn, she looks tired and she has a good job." Twilight noted to herself. Again Nocturne inwardly frowned, her younger self was close, but that also wasn't the test of time...
"Yet somehow I get the feeling it's not her." Twilight's admittance caught the alicorn off guard. Perhaps she had been wrong and the mare would understand what the Test of Time truly was. "The unicorn... she has a broken horn, an advanced case of thrush, lives in a castle in the middle of nowhere, yet somehow has still managed to master charms to the same extent as the others. The alicorn has all the time she needs to master them. The winged-unicorn is an archivist with access to notes and spells." Twilight said to herself and then looked to Nocturne. The alicorn merely watched her with great interest.
"I think the unicorn was the one who survived the Test of Time. She had less time and a lot against her, but she still did what the other two did." Twilight stated with a nod of her head and watched as a true smile crossed Nocturne's face at last.
"Correct," The alicorn stated and brought her hooves to her helmet. "for you see, it's not how long you live that matters, but how fully you've lived." Nocturne stated as she removed her helmet and laid it down at her side. "Some ponies live for a million years, conquer a million fears, and shed a million tears, yet remain unfulfilled." Nocturne stated as an inky black substance began to slither off of her body, her coat a familiar lavender, mane and tail a dark violet with stripes of pink and purple, a magenta star-burst suddenly visible on her flank...
"While others, who live only a hundred years, constantly battle against their fears, and look to others when they shed their tears, yet they live a life of fulfillment." Twilight 'Nocturne' Sparkle stated softly as the inky black magic became a part of her shadow. She silently looked at her mane, brushed it to the side for a moment and looked to her shocked counterpart. She imagined than when she woke up she was in for a far greater surprise.
"Y-y-you're!" Twilight tried to say, her voice failing her as her brain tried to process what she was seeing. Nocturne smiled softly and rose back to her hooves.
"You've answered my question, but here's a little advice from me to you." Nocturne whispered as she trotted to stand before Twilight, the tips of their horns touching. "Live every day as if it were your last, don't worry about what might have been or what could be. Cherish every moment as if it were precious, for when that moment is gone, it'll never come again." She urged as her horn glowed softly and her shadow rose back up and spun around Twilight. "Till next we meet, in another time, in another place." The mare stated with a smile as Twilight was consumed in darkness and pulled back to the waking world...
Twilight shot up with a gasp and quickly looked around. She was in her room, in her bed, in her library. None of that mattered, what did was the dream / test / illusion she'd just gone through. She'd give Faust one thing, for an illusion it'd been extraordinarily complex and intricate. Nothing had been out of place or... her mind stopped as she spotted something at the foot of her bed. It sat there defying any form of logic she had left by this point. Looking at it was bringing her an ever increasing sense of worry and urgency.
It was a simple silver helmet, a long slit at the top from the base of the horn to the top back portion of the head, a pair of holes for ears and folds of metal falling down the 'neck', and finally a crimson gem centered where the forehead would be directly beneath a horn. The helmet was old, it did not shine in the light nor reflect it, it just existed there. It sat there like it was a real object, but she knew that it couldn't really exist.
It was Nocturne's helmet.
"I'm still in the charm." Twilight assured herself, yet looked around worriedly and bit her lip. "I-I guess could check." She reminded herself and opened up her senses to magic once more. The rush she got was less than what she'd felt before, it scared her. When she opened her eyes she saw her room, it had magic true, but it was in colors and no sparks that formed charms were anywhere around her. Magic still existed around her but it looked different, she found the majority of it was coming from her, the rest from the tree she lived in. The only thing strange was that the helmet was glowing brightly.
"How is this possible!" Twilight demanded as she poked the helmet with a hoof. She turned around, circling the object as it continued to defy logic. She knew that it shouldn't exist, it shouldn't be sitting in front of her, it was part of an illusion. So how was it now resting before her? As she looked at it, she also noticed that it was giving a light pulse. She watched silently for a long while, and then moved away from it. The helmet broke into a silver mist that spiraled out and circled around her body, it twisted and turned and suddenly shrunk down.
The mist condensed and formed into a familiar pendent, only it was in silver. A circle with a black crescent surrounding it, a larger crescent around them with a small circle cut out of it. The same pendent she'd seen in the illusion, yet it was new, silver and positively pulsing with magic. Gravity soon came to the pendent and it landed on her bed with a sudden bounce and a soft plop. Twilight eyed the pendent for several moments. She lightly reached a hoof out to tap it, and frowned as it visibly shimmered with magic.
"What is this?" Twilight questioned and studied the shimmering magic that made up the metal of the pendent.
"Whatever it is, it sure is pretty!" The sudden appearance and voice of Pinkie Pie was so unexpected, Twilight had only one reaction.
"GAH!" She exclaimed and fell back. The result was Pinkie giggling like a mad mare and grinning at her friendly widely.
"Heya silly filly! What're you doing here? Faustie's party is starting soon!" Pinkie declared loudly with her hooves in the air. "So grab your pretty pendent," Pinkie cried as she grabbed the pendent and slipped it around the other mare's neck. "and lets get to the party!" The bubbly mare crowed while she grabbed her friend by her shoulders.
"Wait Pinkie!" The lavender unicorn shouted only for Pinkie to ignore her and zip off with her friend in tow.
A form trotted through the halls of the tower. Crystal shoes adorned black hooves of the slender figure who trotted through the tower. The soft clops of the figure passing echoed through the halls. A pair of slitted eyes glanced here and there. They lingered for but a moment on a room before moving to the next. Ebony wings shifted at the figures side, a restless pace was set. The figure approached a large pair of doors and vanished into a starry mist. The mist shot forward into a large room with dozens of strange objects and magical artifacts.
A slim smile graced the lips of the figure, a pair of fangs barely concealed behind them. The figure's star filled mane and tail shifted and twisted unnaturally as she began to search the room. She knew what it is she wanted from this place, a specific and special relic from ages long passed. A voice echoed in the depths of her mind, urging her ever onward. She grimaced and placed a crystal shod hoof to her head. She wished that the voice would fall silent, but it continued regardless. The voice was dark and terrible, more so than any she had ever heard before.
She knew she had never heard another voice before. Not a real one anyways. But the voice at the back of her head would not be silent. It echoed in the depths of her mind, it reminded her of how the sun annoyed her. That was one reason she was here now, searching for a relic to aid her in this endeavor. How she knew of it didn't matter, the shadowy voice in her head was her guide at this point. She looked over many objects, some big and some small, but none of them where what she wanted or needed.
When she came to a mirror, Nightmare Moon smirked darkly. She stopped and admired her own visage for a moment. A crystal shod hoof raised to her face. She felt a strange sense of pride in her appearance, she was quite beautiful in her own opinion. Though she supposed that she was a bit vane as well. Looking at herself she felt a brief moment of hesitation as she opened her mouth to see her sharpened canines. Her mind tried to tell her why a pony would have such dangerous teeth, but drew a blank.
The voice in her head soon spoke of stories about her, they had them all over Equestria. Stories of a dark mare who desired to devour the fillies and colts of Equestria unless given sweets. Honestly, the idea of eating fillies and colts disgusted her, she wasn't a Griffon after all. Sweets on the other hand, now those sounded appetizing. While she did not think the taste of fillies or colts would be enjoyable, the thought of scaring sweets out of them didn't sound horrible. She also felt a bit peckish at the moment and wished she had some sweets.
"Hmmm... we must remember to gather something sweet to slake our hunger after we dispatch the solar mare." Nightmare decided with a nod of her head. She then shook her head and reminded herself why she had searched for the mirror in the first place. She placed a crystal shod hoof upon it's reflective surface and smirked darkly. "Show us our enemy, she who moves the sun." She whispered into the mirror and it shimmered and gave a bright glow. Soon the glow gave way and showed the tower itself.
Nightmare raised a brow, confused by this turn of events, however silently watched on. The mirror shifted, the halls of the tower passed its gaze as it searched for Celestia. It soon found both Celestia and Luna still wandering through the tower. However, a sudden look of confusion passed Nightmare's features at the sight of the lunar diarch. Her eyes narrowed and she leaned forward to watch the two. She silently watched Luna until she finally saw the mark upon her flank. Her eyebrows raised in surprise and she frowned deeply.
"Yon mare also bears our mark. How can this be so?" She questioned and grimaced as a sudden pain stabbed at her temples. "Something is wrong..." She muttered quietly as the pain grow. She soon shook her head, eyes narrowed as she waved her hoof over the mirror once more. "We hath seen enough, the sun mare will fall. Who this moon mare is shall be revealed once we find them." She decided as the vision faded and winced once more. The deep dark voice echoed in the back of her mind, urging caution. She cared not for the voice and so shook her head to rid herself of it's incessant nagging.
The voice annoyed her, she knew not where it came from or what it wanted. It spoke of night eternal, and she felt like she wanted that too. Her teeth gritted and Nightmare felt her confusion mix with anxiety. She was scared of something, she felt cold and utterly alone. Why would that scare her? She was the night! Right? Her head ached and she forced the voice to the back of her mind. She looked at the mirror one last time and then turned to leave the room. Yet a heart shaped locket suddenly caught her eye as she passed.
The voice warned her, it urged her to hide the locket, destroy it, or crush it... she did nothing. She simply stared at the locket as her mind warred with the voice. Something about it worried the voice, but she felt strangely calm around it. "T'is but a mere trinket, we hath better things to do with our time than destroy trinkets." Nightmare decided and trotted out of the room. The voice growled and snarled, but she ignored it and snorted. She had to find Celestia, all else was secondary to her at this point. She marched through the halls of the tower in search of her quarry.
A shadow slipped off of Nightmare as she went, the voice in her mind grew silent, and the shadow slipped away, retreating back to the Golden Door...
Faust had discovered one thing that Pinkie shared with Surprise. Or really yet another thing that they shared. The both had pretty much the same style to their parties. Okay that wasn't exactly true, Pinkie's parties were a lot, louder. At the beginning of the party Pinkie had gone to the trouble of introducing her to several ponies. A few had been dull, till Time Turner's eyes bugged out of his skull. That got a laugh out of her and he'd been avoiding her ever since. She and Turner had a bit of a rocky history, but she'd rather not get into that.
Regardless the party was interesting, and now Faust wondered where Pinkie had run off too. "WOOHOO!" Said party pony was currently in a conga line. Faust shook her head with an amused smile. She was sitting at the back of the room watching the party from a safe distance. Much like the streets, a large majority of the ponies around the room had been avoiding her. Those who weren't avoiding her acted nervous around her.
Well, all but one unusual mare...
"Jeez, I tell you, this town may not be as big as Canterlot, but the parties are definitely way more fun." The other mare stated with a grin. She was a sandy colored Pegasus with brown eyes, a dark brown straight mane and tail, and a flaming wheel for a cutie-mark. The mare's name was Wildfire, she was a Canterlot Pegasus who's special talent was, oddly enough, setting wheels on fire. Though somehow she was a cartoonist, at least if Faust remembered correctly, and she had moved to Ponyville to get away from Canterlot for one reason or another.
"I wouldn't know, I've never been to a party in Canterlot." Faust replied from her seat. She had a warm smile on her face as she spoke with the other mare. Wildfire merely rolled her eyes and pointed a hoof at her.
"Believe me sister, you aren't missing out on anything." She stated with a nod of her head and brought a hoof down to the ground with a frown. "It's full of snobby ponies with a stick shoved so far up their..." Wildfire started only for Pinkie to pop out of nowhere and shove a hoof into her mouth. Both Wildfire and Faust looked at Pinkie in surprise, the pink party pony grinning nervously and glancing around. The Cutie Mark Crusaders passed by a moment later and Pinkie let out a relieved breath as they passed.
"Wildfire try and watch what you say! There are fillies and colts at this party too you know!" Pinkie stated and removed her hoof from the older mare's mouth. The pink party pony then looked to Faust with a grin. "Hiya Faustie! Glad you're making some friends! Bye now!" The party pony declared and seemed to duck under the table. Wildfire quickly checked under the table, only to sit back up with a hopelessly confused expression.
"How the buck does she disappear like that!" The mare demanded. Faust managed a giggle at her expense, a smirk crossing her lips as she lightly shoved the other mare.
"It's just Pinkie being Pinkie, don't let it get to you." Faust suggested and the pegasus snorted and rolled her eyes.
"Yeah yeah, I've heard that before." She muttered with a roll of her eyes and cracked her neck. "Anyways, like I was saying, you ain't missing out on much from Canterlot. Ponyville is way nicer in my opinion." Wildfire stated with a smile as she took a sip from a glass of punch.
"I guess so, it certainly has a rustic charm you don't find in most other places." Faust suggested while idly using her magic to bring a cup of punch her way. Wildfire watched the cup of magic float over in a crimson aura and pouted. She then raised a hoof and tapped at her forehead before heaving a sigh.
"Man I really wish I could do magic like that. I mean if for no other reason that because it'd sure make drawing a heck of a lot easier." The sandy coated mare noted aloud. Faust suppressed a giggle and smiled to Wildfire warmly, feeling more welcome now than she had for quite a while.
"Magic can be a real pain too, and besides that," Faust took a moment to sip of her punch, then continued. "you do well enough even though you don't have access to any unicorn magic." The off-white mare insisted. Wildfire scoffed and took a gulp of her punch with a frown.
"Yeah well it'd still be nice to have an extra hoof to work with." The sandy coated mare replied and took another sip of her punch. Faust gave the other mare that much and smiled warmly. Much as she didn't like the party, for her own reasons, she was enjoying her chat with Wildfire.
"Anyways, I gotta admit Ponyville is really nice, and since I moved here I've made a ton of friends." Wildfire admitted and looked to her side with a smile. Faust on the other hand smirked as a certain part of Wildfire's life was well known to her.
"So do you have a special some pony?" Faust inquired of the other mare with a smirk. Wildfire's response was to snort into her drink and cough as she nearly choked herself. The off-white mare snickered to herself as she patted the sandy mare on the back. Wildfire took a sudden gasping breath and glared at Faust heatedly.
"I might, but how does that matter to you!" Wildfire demanded with a bright blush on her face. Faust couldn't help but laugh at the younger mare's expense.
Nearby Twilight watched with a frown. She wasn't quite sure what she wanted to say to Faust yet. She had perhaps dozens of questions bouncing around her head, much the same way Pinkie was bouncing. She tapped the pendent around her neck and glanced at the happy mare with a frown. "Uncle Mort!" However Pinkie's sudden exclamation of sheer joy caused Twilight to look away from the off-white mare. Instead she saw Pinkie hugging a tall slender stallion in a long black tattered robe with dark armor over his legs.
"HELLO PINKIE, HOW HAVE YOU BEEN?" 'Mort' questioned while raising a forelimb to hug Pinkie back. The pink party pony grinned at her 'uncle' and stepped back from the grim galloper. Nearby, Twilight moved closer to Pinkie and the strange cloaked pony she was with.
"I'm fine Uncle Mort, just throwing the usual parties and making every pony smile." Pinkie replied while practically bouncing on her hooves. Mort silently took a look around at the party, noted a few ponies he would need to collect soon, and nodded his head.
"AH WELL THAT'S CERTAINLY GOOD NEWS," Mort replied with a nod of his head, then rubbed his chin. "BUT WOULD YOU BE A DEAR AND GATHER YOUR FRIENDS?" The grim galloper asked of the young pink pony and then scraped a hoof along the ground. "I NEED TO SPEAK WITH THEM ABOUT A MOST URGENT MATTER." The pale pony explained and Pinkie hummed for a moment.
"Well, I guess so, if it's really important." Pinkie replied.
"I ASSURE YOU THAT IT IS A VERY GRAVE SITUATION PINKIE." Mort replied honestly and spotted Twilight watching him.
"Well okay then, but you know how crowds react to you." Pinkie reminded the grim galloper seriously, then grinned widely. "So I'll meet you out back uncle Mort!" She declared while bouncing off to find her friends. Mort silently nodded his head and made his way out of the party. In the back of Sugarcube Corner, Faust frowned deeply as she saw Mort Leave. Faust then smiled to Wildfire and excused herself. The off-white mare quickly got up and rushed after the grim galloper, inwardly wondering what he was even doing in Ponyville.
Out back behind Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie Pie had quickly gathered her friends together. She now sat with a smile waiting for Mort to arrive. She had no idea what was going on, nor did she really care, her uncle Mort needed something and that was enough for her. Around the pink party pony, her friends look at her anxiously, Rainbow Dash the most antsy of the group. "Alright Pinks, what's so important you had to drag us all out here?" Rainbow demanded of her friend with a frown.
"I'm more curious about that stallion she was talking to." Twilight noted aloud while staring at her pink coated friend. Said pink party pony merely glanced her way and grinned.
"Well that was my Uncle Mort! He's not really my uncle by blood but he's an old friend of my family." Pinkie first replied to Twilight, then turned to Rainbow. "And it's important cause Uncle Mort said it's important." The pink party pony stated with a nod of her head and clicked her tongue. "I wonder what he wants to talk about," The pink coated mare questioned and a grin suddenly lit up her face. "Ooh! What if he got us all presents!" Pinkie considered and got flat looks from the majority of her friends.
"Pinkie, I really don't think you're uncle would randomly get presents for us." Rarity stated quite plainly. Even given how, err, unique Pinkie was she doubted that the rest of her family was that way. Especially since 'Mort' wasn't even a blood relative.
"Hmmm... I guess that makes sense." Pinkie admitted and then clicked her tongue.
"TRUTH BE TOLD, I'M AFRAID THAT I HAVE A BIT OF BAD NEWS." The voice of Mort echoed. Twilight was the first to spot the grim galloper, her eyes narrowed as he walked from the shadows like some kind of wraith. Rainbow Dash felt a sudden bout of fear and shivered. Rarity twitched ever so slightly, more from his tattered rag of a cloak and armor, than anything else. While Applejack shivered upon seeing the pale pony, briefly feeling like he was somehow familiar.
"What kind of bad news pardner?" Applejack questioned with a worried frown. Mort sighed tiredly and approached the six mares. He idly noticed that the closer her got to her, the more that Fluttershy tried to disappear into her mane.
"I'M AFRAID THAT PRINCESS CELESTIA AND PRINCESS LUNA HAVE BEEN KIDNAPPED BY DISCORD." Mort explained and waited for the mares reaction. 'Five, four, three, two...' The grim galloper internally counted. He then took a step back just as they six mares registered what he just told them.
"What!" Most of them demanded, although Pinkie and Fluttershy seemed more confused than anything.
"W-what, b-but Discord is my friend, w-why would he kidnap the princesses?" Fluttershy questioned desperately. The grim galloper sighed, he had not been looking forward to this discussion. Discord was technically in the wrong, but hadn't done anything too horrible. Grabbing Celestia and Luna and taking them to the tower, annoying sure, but it wasn't like he was actively trying to hurt some pony.
"I HONESTLY HAVE NO CLUE, BESIDES THAT HE MERELY TOOK THEM TO THE GRAND ARCHIVES AND WENT TO THE BAHAMARES. HE ALSO APPEARS TO BE MOVING THE SUN AND MOON, SO I HAVE NO EARTHLY IDEA WHAT HE IS UP TOO." Mort explained and then paced around.
"So wait, Discord is moving the sun and moon?" Rainbow questioned with a confused frown. The grim galloper silently nodded his head, idly watching the mare as she threw her hooves into the air. "Well why is he doing that then? Isn't he the one who likes to cause Chaos?" Rainbow questioned of the undead alicorn. Mort frowned, his mind worked overtime as he tried to come up with an answer for the pegasus. Truth be told he honestly didn't know what Discord was thinking either.
"Personally, I think we should concentrate on finding the Princesses and deal with Discord afterwards." Twilight suddenly suggested with a frown, drawing the attention of Mort and her friends. The Grim Galloper found his eyes drawn to the little lavender unicorn's new pendent and frowned. 'Now where did she get that I wonder?' Mort internally questioned and then hummed lightly.
"Umm, I d-don't think Discord meant to hurt any p-pony, maybe he had a good reason for what he did." Fluttershy suggested and got a flat look from Rainbow Dash.
"Seriously Flutters, Discord is crazy! I know you like him for some reason but there is no way that he's in the right here!" Rainow stated before she zipped over to Fluttershy. "He bucking kidnapped the princesses for Celestia's sake!" Rainbow reminded the butter yellow mare. Fluttershy demurely looked down and began to scratch her hooves on the ground.
"Look, I don' like Discord any more than the next Pony." Applejack stated and then frowned deeply. She really didn't want to admit this. "But for now Ah'm more interested in finding out why in the hay he's moving the sun and moon for the princesses." The apple-mare stated with a frown. Twilight nodded her head in agreement, and all six mares looked to Mort for an explanation.
"TO BE PERFECTLY HONEST, I HAVE NO CLUE WHAT HE'S DOING." The pale mony admitted with a shrug of his shoulders. "AND TO BE PERFECTLY HONEST I'M MORE CONCERNED ABOUT ALL THE DARK MAGIC THAT HAS STARTED SURROUNDING THE ARCHIVES." Mort stated gravely and turned his head at a mares approach. He found himself face to face with a very irritated Faust.
"Hi Faustie!" Pinkie declared with a wave to the mare and Mort groaned. Now things were finally starting to make some sense. Discord grabbing Celestia and Luna and dumping them in the tower, why he was moving the sun and moon, and most importantly, why that dark magic was loose around the tower. It was all because Faust had left the tower, clearly Discord panicked and dragged Celestia and Luna there. Once inside the curious alicorns had begun exploring and likely unleashed some ancient evil or another...
"WELL NOW, THIS CERTAINLY EXPLAINS WHY DISCORD TOOK CELESTIA AND LUNA." Mort grumbled with a shake of his head. 'It also explains quite a few other things that have been happening.' The pale pony noted to himself as he discretely glanced back to Twilight.
"Uh, Uncle Mort how does saying hi to Faustie explain anything?" Pinkie asked the grim galloper naively. The undead alicorn chuckled lightly and patted the pink mare on her head.
"LETS JUST SAY FAUST HAS A PART IN ALL THIS." He replied mysteriously and turned to the off-white mare. Seeing her in disguise was a very surreal feeling. She looked so normal right now that if he didn't know who she was he might actually confuse her with a normal mare.
"Alright Mort, what the buck is going on here, and what is going on in my tower?" Faust demanded of the grim galloper with a frown. Mort merely hummed for a moment and turned on his hoof. The Elements of Harmony were confused by the older mare. He could understand why, but right now was not the time for exposition. No, he had work to do and if not handled quickly there was no telling what could be loosed upon Equestria. Faust's presence outside of the tower presented a new danger, one that he had not considered before.
"I'LL EXPLAIN IN CANTERLOT, BUT FOR NOW WE MUST MAKE HASTE," The pale pony urged as he glanced to the distance. "THE HOUR IS LATE AND I FEAR THAT OUR TIME GROWS SHORT." Mort stated and with a sudden surge of power the elements of harmony, plus Faust and Mort, vanished in a swirl of dark magic and ebony feathers...
TBC...