//------------------------------// // A warning... // Story: When Darkness Falls // by Venficus //------------------------------// Dear Queen Luna, Long has it been since I’ve had the pleasure and privilege of addressing you as such, and I wish that it was not so long since I had. How long has it been? Over a thousand years since I last heard your beautiful voice, and beheld your majesty up close and personal. For too long you have been away, and I must admit with shame that some doubted you would ever return, my Queen of the Night Sky. But I knew. I never lost faith in you, My Lady. Never did I once doubt that you would return to us, and lead us anew. However, while I may wish I could continue to praise my never ending faith in you, I realize that it is unbecoming of me to say that I was alone in my belief. Your followers hold faith in equal measures in this land. This land outside Equestria, where beasts roam freely and the Griffins harry us at every turn. Where the Manticore hunt, and the Zebra thunder. We have made this land our home, and we hold it still, creating out own paradise in your name. In your name we combat the wilderness that threatens to swallow us whole, and in your name we entrust our dreams and hopes. Long have we awaited your return, Our Queen and Mistress of the Night. Our numbers are great, or power greater. We have seen war, time and time again. With each breath, we grow stronger. With each battle, your grace and glory shines, spurring us on to greater heights. For Home and for Heart. For our Great Goddess. For She who has never abandoned us, even while imprisoned so far away. We are Strong, and we are Many. We have seen battle, and shed our blood in exchange for victory. We are Ready. We are Worthy. We are YOURS, My Queen. We are strong enough to topple the Tyrant of the Sun, even, My Queen. With your Blessing, we shall March into Canterlot and carry you to the Throne we swore to bring you to so long ago. Your fight can, and will end in victory, should you so desire. …That is what I wish I could say. But War is already upon us, My Lady. War which has taken its share of lives. The Shadow Guard is Strong. The Shadow Guard is Many. But the Shadow Guard fights many who seek our Destruction, and we cannot hold back all threats from this treacherous Land. An ancient evil has awoken, and we can hold it back no longer. The Evil is Nameless, and He has turned his eyes to Equestria. We have Delayed as long as we can. He comes now. Three days from now, War will reach the outskirts of Equestria, and it will move quickly. Intelligence shows that there are Three places in particular that the opposing army Intends to take , regardless of losses. Canterlot, the seat of Equestia’s Power. Ponyville, the Home of the Fabled Elements of Harmony. Cloudsdale, the unofficial capital of all Pegasi. The first two are obvious, and I have some ideas of why he wants Cloudsdale. None of those ideas are good for any of us. I have Dispatched several Battalions of the Shadow Guard to travel to these three locations, but they will not reach you before the attack hits, and nor can we guarantee any more than buying enough time to evacuate. I have also sent many of the Night Guard to secure our base of operations within Equestia’s Borders. Whatever happens, My Queen, YOU MUST STAY SAFE. We will extract as many as we can from Canterlot, but you are our priority. Equestria has grown soft in these peaceful times, but I trust that despite that, you have chosen competent guards. Go nowhere alone. Please be vigilant, for if you fall, the Battle is lost. Save the Tyrant if you so wish, for I am old and set in my ways, and not quick to forgive her for what she has done, but above all, do not allow yourself to be captured. Long Live the Queen! Your Most Loyal Follower, Lord Nightfire. Luna paced repeatedly as her sister of the sun read the note with a critical eye. “What does this mean, Sister? This letter just appeared this morning in a flash of purple fire. We do not know who this Nightfire is, but he intends to invade our borders, if nothing else!” The tone in her voice quivered slightly with a nervousness that mixed with unease, a cocktail of discomfort she did not often feel. Not in this manner. Not for these reason. “Hush now, Luna. It appears that he is under the impression that he is coming to save you from something, rather than invading.” Celestia attempted to calm her antsy sister with the motherly tone that always worked so well on her purple student, Twilight. Her eyes scanned the paper with practiced intensity, looking for any faults, any sort of clue as to the origin of this warning. No magic signature, which was more damning than any evidence than could easily be found. Magic sent messages sent during peace were always marked, always had an indicator of where it had been sent from. More than that, it always had a trace of the unicorn who sent it. The only exception was during war times...and the knowledge of how to do so while leaving no trace was tightly regulated. Whoever sent this CLEARLY wanted to underscore the importance of being taken seriously, or wanted to stay hidden that badly. Both were probable theories. The attempt to calm her sister failed as Luna became more agitated. “But that’s just it, Sister! That letter could be a ploy! A strategy to get us to lower our guard so he can strike while we are unprepared! We should-“ “Listen to the letter then, and prepare the guards for immediate action should hostile action be taken.” Celestia interrupted her sister, watching her carefully. “It is not like you to be so worried. What truly ails you, Luna? You haven’t been this excitable since you pulled that prank on me on April Fools Day with the “Molestia“ story. I do hope this isn’t a joke, for it is unlike you to do something in such poor taste…” Luna froze, her maniac energy seeming to vanish as she almost crumpled to the ground. Perhaps a reminder of that prank would have pulled a laugh from her some other day, but in the face of this unwanted reminder of her past, her humor was lacking it's usual strength. Something in the back of her mind niggled away, trying to inform her of something that she'd forgotten during those long years imprisoned on the moon. Nightfire. The name was familiar, and something made her think it should have been memorable, something important attached to it, some tidbit of information that would either relieve her or make her more panicked. Even so... “It calls us Queen, Sister. It calls us Queen, and you the Tyrant of the Sun. Whoever the Shadow Guard is, they are prepared to wage War on you. This is a bad omen, Sister, and we do not like it. Even if they are not of that time long since passed, this would be a good idea for an assassination attempt on us…” “Yet he clearly left you the choice to save me. If it is an assassination attempt, we must take care to be vigilant, and keep our guards up, just in case. Call your most loyal bodyguards, and keep one with you at all times. For even if this letter; this…warning…is true, our worry will only make us that much harder to defeat.” Luna sighed, taking a deep breath. “You are right as usual, Sister…perhaps that letter was vague on purpose. If we believe that the “help” coming may actually be more enemies, we will be more prepared for an attack. If so, we should send guards-“ “On high alert, and keep them ready to move at a moment’s notice. It may not be a prank from you, but it may still be a prank.” Celestia stated calmly, once more attempting to sooth her excitable sister. Luna always had been more emotional than Celestia, and Celestia was grateful for it if nothing more than it made her feel they both covered the essentials for ruling. No one knew better than Celestia that on occasion, she could get so caught up in the bigger picture that she sometimes forgot that the forest was made of individual trees. She missed the balance between the two of them, and when Luna returned, she had hoped to return to that familiar Harmony. Even now, there was something missing between the two of them, a distance that did not used to exist. That was a gap not so easily bridged. “But Sister, we could not trace the magic origin! That is not something easily done. This cannot be a prank with that kind of power and skill…” Luna's worry was almost palpable, and her pacing never ceased, only slowed. Perhaps her memory of the whys and hows of traceless communication were even more potent than Celestia's, if for no other reason than the fact that it was wartime before she was banished to the moon. Celestia smiled softly, walking to her sister and nuzzling her dark neck. “Calm yourself, Luna. We have been at war before, and I need your clear, strategic mind. Not this flustered, nervous one. We will face this together, as we always should.” With those parting words, Celestia left the private chambers, leaving her sister to calm and collect herself. “I hope you are right, Tia…I do not wish to be separated from you again, nor do I wish for a pony to take the fall for my past sins….”