//------------------------------// // First Contact // Story: Silent Ponyville: The Madness of Men // by Silverstreak //------------------------------// Luna stood alone in her room watching the music box that sat on her table move with an eerie silence. Luna knew that the music box didn't play any music, and if it did Luna wasn't sure that she would want to here it play, too much sadness lived in that box. The figure on top started to move in a circle around the gem in the center which started to glow a sapphire shade of blue. Luna watched with fear solidified in her stomach. The figure stopped moving to the left of the gem. It raised one of its arms parallel to the box. Luna followed it with her eyes, it pointed through the open balcony doors towards the horizon where Celestia's sun was begining to set, filling the sky with a beautiful mass of orange, pink, purple, and peach. On the very edge of the horizon one could barely make out the outline of a town in the middle of her sisters sun. Ponyville. Luna turned, her horn filled with magic ready to be released on the presence behind her. Nightmare Moon stood where Luna had just left, staring at the figure as it continued to move around the gem. "They could never stop moving. Even now they..." "What are you doing here Nightmare Moon." It wasn't a real question. Luna knew very well that Nightmare Moon would always be in her mind. Always waiting to take back control, but Nightmare Moon had never entered the bedroom before, she'd tried but never succeeded, until now. "Oh Luna, precious little Luna." "What are you doing here!" Nightmare Moon signed, "You know why." A cold wind blew through the night, like a cold shiver through the body, something was very wrong here. Luna couldn't place her hoof on it, but something was very wrong, except for Nightmare Moon being in her room....Thud...The bedroom doors shook...Thud...Nightmare Moon starting to laugh wildly and out of control. "It's here Luna! As I told you it would come!" Thud...Cracks started to form on the door. A sign that Luna's mental state was weakening...Thud...A tentacle blacker then the darkest night jammed itself in between the two doors. Black slime slugged off, expanding as they touched the ground. "Your time is up Luna!" Nightmare Moon started to dissolve into the black slime. "What will you choose!" Nightmare's voice echoed as she sank into the black goo that was quickly consuming everything in the room. The tentacle continued to advance towards Luna as she backed away onto the balcony, shooting what magic she could muster in her fear at the thing to little effect. Luna turned leaping off the balcony in a desperate escape. The tentacle wrapped around Luna's left rear hoof, and started dragging her back into the room. Luna attempted to break free from the grip, but it clung to her as if she would safe it's life. Luna dug her front hooves into the floor, using her magic to pull herself forward and throwing anything she could at it, but the blackness just swallowed whatever Luna threw at it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Luna forced her eyes opened as she was swallowed by the blackness. Canterlot was below her, the nights wind blowing just slightly. What was she doing up here, and how did she get up here. "Above You!" Luna heard Nightmare Moon yelling in the back of her head. Following her orders Luna turned facing the night sky looking for the...there coming right at her! A creature with green dots and lines flowing through it, flew right past Luna's head as she dived towards the city. It flew back up, getting ready to strike again. Luna flew up chasing it. "Be careful Luna, it's a fighter." Luna thought about just shutting out Nightmare Moon, when the creature smacked into her, Luna punched with her left hoof knocking the creature back, then charged up her horn for an attack. The creature dove right past Luna, speeding towards Canterlot with incredible speed. Luna dove after it, her horn at the ready. The creature flipped a 180 putting it's back towards the city, a small red light focused on Luna's head, bouncing around. Luna pulled her wings out letting her speed slow down. "Why did you stop!" "You know why." Luna could tell that Nightmare Moon wasn't happy with the answer, but they both knew they didn't stand a chance against a human. Not after all these years. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Night Wing hovered where the Princess told her to wait. Night Wing looked upon the night sky with anxiety, and excitement. Night Wing took the job as one of Luna's guards just to escape the caves, but she never thought she'd get to actually fight some pony! Well if Luna hadn't interfered. A blur rushed passed Night Wing, the wind following it forcing her back. Night Wing didn't waste a second, she dived towards the city feeling the wind rush pass her face as she chased the mysterious figure towards the other guards. Night Wing could see them all lined up waiting for the figure as it rushed towards them. The ultimate chicken game as Night Wing called it, as she followed the figure. A flash of light and Luna was flying up to meet the figure. It flatted itself against the wind just as Luna crashed into it. A blast of magic and a loud bang was all Night Wing heard before the other guards started yelling. Princess Luna, and the figure were falling towards Canterlot in a ball of fighting. Something flew right passed Night Wing, barely missing her head by inches. The figure broke off from Luna, gliding away from her as the others flew towards her, but Night Wing stayed on the figure still looking for her fight. The figure pulled it's hooves out wide, revealing green dots floating in between it's body and hooves. The figure guided itself towards one of the roof tops. Night Wing was almost on top of it, when the unicorns started shooting magic towards the figure. One beam shot through the dots causing them to ripple and disappear. The figure started to drop, twisting onto it side as if it had just suddenly became to heavy on it's left side. Night Wing crashed into the figure, immediately wrapping her hooves around the figure and attempting to take control of their flight, but something kept brushing against her face, and it felt like a spider web. Something grabbed Night Wing's back right hoof, and it scared her more then what she had experienced. What was grabbing her hoof wasn't a claw, rope, magic, or a hoof. It threw Night Wing clean off, as if she was some old clothes. As Night Wing corrected herself, a light flashed to her right, blinding her just long enough to crash into a wall, after a quick shake she was back in the air. They were in Canterlot, and now they had the upper hoof. Night Wing flew above the buildings, listen for the sounds of fighting or magic. There to her right. Night Wing took off heading for an ally that runs through all of Canterlot. When Night wing arrived the few unicorns that were here, were knocked out cold. A figure stood in the light, and Night Wing had her first taste of fear. The creature stood on two legs, crouched and spinning around to face her. A human, if Night Wing remembered correctly, but they were supose to be exticed. A wall of blackness appeared out of the humans hand as it continued to twist around. A look of pure shock was on it's face before the blackness consumed Night Wing. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Luna dove for her screaming guard hoping to save her before it was to late. As Luna landed in the ally way the sun burned on her back and the sound of fillies and foals laughing could be heard. Luna scanned the area to find herself in some sort of carnival. A quick use of her magic proved that Luna was in a dream, and that something else was too. Luna began her search for the other thing here. Lyra lifted up her newest comic to show Bon Bon. "The Human Ponies: The Everfree Castle?" "Yes! It's the newest edition out by Anony! He comics are ingenius!" Lyra gave a small squeak with her smile as she huged the comic book. Bon Bon couldn't help but laugh. "Lyra I really think you need to get a new hobby." "Well I'm not that good of a writer, or artist..." "No I mean something different from humans." Lyra magicaly rolled up the comic book and lightly tapped Bon Bon on the head. "Bad Bon Bon, you know better than to take me away from humans." Bon Bon got up off the bench and poked Lyra on the noise with her hoof. "Fine what's next?" Lyra yaked Bon Bon by the hoof all the way across the carnival. Swerving around ponies, carts, and barrels before entering a tent that held only two cages. The one on the left held a few humans well known to Equestria. They had brown hair, long arms, wide feet, and a huge jaw, The other cage held only one. It was different, tan skin, hair that was shaved off and it wore clothes, a green shirt, desert camo pants, and boots. Lyra let go of Bon Bon and moved toward the cage on the right. Bon Bon moved toward a sign that held infomation. Lyra looked at the human, having a sense of familiarity she scanned the pages of her comic book trying to find a match. There near the end of the book Rose's big brother walking towards the portal that Rose and her friends made. It was an exact look a like. Lyra looked back up at the human to find it had pushed the bars aside as if they were a curtain. It opened it's mouth and a hand jetted out and gripped Lyra's face. Lyra attempted to scream, but her jaw wasn't moving, nor was anything else. The hand started to pull Lyra into the human's mouth as it wided to shallow her whole, and it did leaving Lyra in a pit of darkness. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Luna awoke to the sound of a train and the wind flying past. Luna glanced around, she was on top of the train,she didn't need to use magic to tell this wasn't a dream, the air, the sound, the metal of the train was all to real, along with the human with her. It wasn't the same one she saw eairler, it was the one that killed that one, with the Lochaber in it's hands. It pointed the spear end of it towards Luna. "What have i done to you, or your people?" It yelled as the wind whipped past them. Luna stood face the human face on knowing full well the only move she could make. Luna jumped up, opening her wings to catch the wind, letting it carry her away from the train as it continued foward towards it's destination. Ponyville.