Chapter 8: Under the Night Sky
A bright light flashed near the fountain in Ponyville Park. The ponies from town watched, ready for anything after the events from earlier.
However, when the light faded, five familiar ponies appeared. Pinkie Pie bounced over to them, a confused sort of relief on her face.
She embraced Twilight, jabbering all along about anything and everything on her mind. Twilight did not respond, but simply continued to sit on the ground, gazing into thin air.
“Twilight, are you okay?” Pinkie asked, shaking Twilight’s shoulder.
“No, Pinkie. I’m not alright.” Twilight snapped.
Rainbow Dash snorted, spread her wings and flew off, Solar Flare doing the same in the other direction. Elderberry remained quiet and sauntered off slowly, hanging his head.
“Come along, darling. I think Twilight needs some time alone. Why don’t you tell me all about what happened while we were gone, okay?” Rarity said gently, leading Pinkie Pie toward the boutique.
Twilight sniffed and stood up, turning toward the library and walking off. Slow as her body was moving, her mind was racing faster than ever. She spared a glance at the moon, somberly confirming what Nightmare Moon had said about Princess Luna.
She thought back to the palace. How Rainbow Dash and Solar Flare had turned on Hood, blamed him for what had happened. She wanted to blame him as well, to find somepony to blame for all this, but in her heart she knew it wasn’t his fault.
As she neared the library, Spike ran out frantically.
“Twilight! What happened? Did you get my letter? Why is the moon like that?!” Spike was talking at a mile a minute, but Twilight ignored him. Fluttershy was standing in the middle of the bottom floor, but Twilight ignored her too, quietly walking up the steps toward her bedroom. She pushed her way under the covers and lied down, shutting out the world as best she could.
-
Elderberry walked along the dirt road outside Ponyville toward his home. He could smell the berries from his vineyard, but they didn’t raise his spirits at all.
He pushed open the door with his nose and walked inside. Boysenberry and the foals must have still been in bed. He opened the trapdoor to his wine celler, gripped a bottle between his teeth and carried it upstairs. He uncorked it, held it up with his hoof and drank three huge gulps, the bitter liquid coating his dry mouth and warming his belly.
Elderberry sat the bottle on the table and waited, taking swigs at regular intervals. His tense nerves slowly numbed and his tumultuous mind went foggy.
A door opened and Boysenberry stepped out, rubbing her eyes. She gasped when she saw him and rushed to meet him.
He made no move to do the same. She stopped when she saw the bottle on the table.
“What… What are you doing?”
“Drinkin’.” He replied gruffly.
“Why? And when did you get here?”
“A few minutes ago. And what else is there to do?”
Boysenberry cocked her head to the side and pushed the bottle away. “Now, sugarcube, just take a deep breath and tell me what happened.”
Elderberry chewed the inside of his cheek for a moment before responding. He told his wife all about what had happened. About the trip, about what they found in the old lands, about the wendegos, about how Twilight Sparkle had received a letter and teleported them all back to Equestria, and finally what they had witnessed in Canterlot Castle.
Boysenberry did not interrupt him once, but her brow grew more and more furrowed as the story became more and more unbelievable.
“So she’s really back? That Pegasus wasn’t lying…” Boysenberry said quietly, more to herself. She pushed away a blind from a window with her magic and looked at the sky. Her face fell even more when she looked at the moon.
“Now there’s a sight I never thought I’d see again…”
When she turned back to look at Elderberry he had left the table and was looking in the foals’ room. Her heart went from aching to completely shattered.
“Where’s Raspberry?” He asked quietly, his voice slurred ever so slightly.
Boysenberry laid a hoof on his shoulder. “She’s in the hospital right now.”
Elderberry wheeled around and galloped out the door without another word. He ran and ran all the way to town, ignoring the looks he got from all the ponies. By the time he reached the hospital, he was soaked in sweat.
He shoved the door open roughly, paying no heed to the security pony who tried to get his attention. He approached the counter, where a surprised looking, plump pink nurse was sitting.
“Where’s Boysenberry’s room?” He panted.
“You can’t go in there right now, visit-“
Elderberry almost went over the counter. “If you don’t tell me where her room is right now…!”
The nurse stammered and directed him to room 115. He peeled away, slipping once on the freshly mopped floor. He only slowed when he saw the small sign on a door labeled “115, Pediatrics Ward.”
He nudged the door open gently. Two beds were inside. The one closest to the door was empty, but the other had a small bundle under the covers. The bundle rose and fell gently and a machine beeped nearby. Elderberry approached the bed as quietly as his heavy hooves would allow him to. As he neared, her could see Raspberry’s tangled red mane and pale coat. Her eyes were closed peacefully and her breathing was quiet. A pain ran through Elderberry’s chest.
The crew-cut security pony from before followed him inside.
“Sir, you can’t be here right now, you’ll need to-“
“I’m gonna give you about three seconds to get.” Elderberry said coldly, never taking his eyes off his daughter.
“You can’t just-“
“Get. Out.” Elderberry said, glaring at the security pony. The pony backed away slowly, obviously no match for the thick-bodied farmer. Elderberry took a seat by the window and watched Raspberry sleep.
A few hours passed. Elderberry looked at the clock. It was 8:04. The sun should have been up for two hours now, but the moon still hung in the sky, showing no signs of retreat.
Raspberry shifted and yawned, slowly opening her eyes. She looked out the window for a moment, then looked at Elderberry.
“Daddy?”
Elderberry stood up and nuzzled his daughters head. “Yeah, hon, it’s me. How you feelin’?”
“Not so good. What time is it?”
“Um, that’s not important. Why don’t you go back to sleep?”
“Okay, daddy. I’m happy to see you again.”
“I’m happy to see you too, hon.” Elderberry returned to his seat as Raspberry settled back into her bed, laying her head down on the pillow.
The door opened and Boysenberry walked in slowly.
“What did they have to say?” Elderberry asked without looking at her.
“Her condition took a bad turn.” Boysenberry said. She approached her husband and nuzzled his neck. He tried to ignore her, to stay strong, but his lip quivered.
Boysenberry’s eyes overflowed. Elderberry put a foreleg around her neck to comfort her, but his will broke. He sobbed loudly, his emotions getting the better of him once more. The two stayed locked like this for a while, crying into each other’s shoulders while the EKG continued to beep.
-
Hood appeared in his house, filling the room with the white light from his teleporting spell.
He dropped Rarity’s glasses, which shattered. He cursed under his breath and looked around, his vision once again blurring.
His mind was racing over all that had happened, but one thing remained at the forefront. It was what Solar Flare had said to him at the castle, in front of Nightmare Moon.
His friend had turned on him. Blamed him. Had Solar Flare been right? Was this all his fault?
Hood felt his way around with his hoof and lay down on his couch, magically removing his cloak and tossing it away. He closed his blurry eyes and tried to clear his mind.
This was, however, impossible.
An hour passed, then two. Hood looked out his window. He could see well enough to know that it was still dark. He could hear voices too, frantic, distraught, angry.
Somepony knocked on his door, but he ignored them. They knocked once more, but when Hood didn’t answer they moved on. He didn’t care who it was, nor what they wanted. He wanted to be alone right now.
Time drug on and on. Hood’s belly began to rumble, but he ignored this as well.
He used his magic to find the pieces of Rarity’s glasses and fit them back together as best he could. Small point magic wasn’t exactly his specialty, but he managed to get the pieces back to something that at least resembled what they once had. He carefully placed them on his snout, retrieved his cape and walked out the door.
The streets were packed with ponies of all kinds, frantically talking to one another. When he left his home, many turned to face him with angry looks. Hood could hear voices whispering, and he knew they were talking about him.
“Is he one of them?”
“I think so…”
“His coat isn’t black.”
“His cape is.”
Hood kept his head low and his hood up as he walked slowly along the streets toward a certain shop. Nopony tried to stop him, but he could feel their eyes on him.
He approached Carrousel Boutique and nudged the door open. Rarity was inside, talking to a small white unicorn filly. She cast him a sideways glance and excused herself from her sister.
“Oh, hello Hood. Something you need?” She asked nervously.
Hood levitated the glasses over to her.
“Broke them on my way back, sorry.” Hood said. His voice had no emotion in it.
“Oh, well that’s quite alright, darling. I suppose you’ll be needing a new pair?” Rarity asked, tossing the glasses into a trash can.
“Erm, yeah. Do you sell them here?”
“Of course. I have a whole line of designer glasses on sale.” Rarity perked up, putting on a salespony face.
She led Hood to a rack of glasses. Hood looked at several of them before settling on a pair of simple, black, rectangular ones.
He offered to pay Rarity, but she refused, claiming she never charged her close friends. Hood was grateful, despite everything that had happened. At least Rarity didn’t blame him for their predicament.
Hood walked back to his house and locked himself inside, doing his best to ignore the spiteful looks he was receiving from complete strangers. He couldn’t understand what all these ponies had against him. Did they know about his prediction? Had Applejack or Pinkie Pie told somepony?
The thought didn’t exactly sooth him.
He returned to his place on the couch and settled back into his old position. His forelegs crossed in front of him, his head resting on his hooves.
A thought passed through his mind. His prediction had been right. The Mare in the Moon was back. But what of the mysteriously missing Canterlot and damage to Ponyville? Hood allowed himself a moment of grim satisfaction at being right, but stomped the thought from his mind just as quickly.
-
Nightmare Moon stood in front of what had once been Celestia’s throne, looking down her nose at the dozens of guards assembled before her.
The white pegasi and grey unicorns looked at the ground, unsure and terrified of what fate might await them. Nightmare Moon said nothing for several minutes, thoroughly enjoying watching the guards squirm. Finally she spoke.
“As the royal guards, you have taken an oath to protect the ruler of Equestria at any cost. As such, from now on, you shall be made into my personal guards. I have no doubt that-“
“I would sooner die than serve you, monster!” One of the commanders shouted, spitting his words with hatred.
Nightmare Moon cackled cruelly. Beside her, Redstar took a step forward, spreading his imposing wings wide.
"You talk as if I’m going to give you a choice in the matter.” The ethereal mane atop Nightmare Moon’s head
split into dozens of tendrils, as it had at the ancient palace in the Everfree Forest. The tendrils seeped into the mouths and noses of the guards, who struggled to free themselves.
They balked and cried out, wings flapping and magic being thrown about in vain. The vastly superior power of the alicorn eventually won over, forcing the ponies to the ground. Black crawled from their faces downward, staining their groomed coats. The horns of the unicorns grew sharp, the spirals accentuating into cruel, twisted spikes. The feathers fell out of the pegasis’ wings, only to be replaced with a thin, leathery membrane.
The misty mane retracted. The dozens of ponies opened their eyes.
The pegasi now resembled Redstar, except that they were much smaller. All of their eyes glowed a grayish-white, the same color as the moon.
“Now, my little ponies, who is it that you serve?” Nightmare Moon cooed.
“The queen, Nightmare Moon.” The ponies replied in perfect unison. They seemed almost zombified.
“What now?” Redstar asked, polishing his hoof with the fur on his chest.
“Now I make my standing official. Have the night ponies fly out to the four corners of Equestria with all haste.”
Redstar nodded and spread his wings once more, preparing to fly from the room, but Nightmare Moon stopped him.
“Remember, diplomacy first. I’m not so much a foal as to not know how reliant on the sun the world has become. There are crops that need planted, magics to be weaved and all manner of new weather procedures to be learned.”
“Yes, of course your majesty.”
“Then go.”
Redstar leaped into the air and flapped out of a window. Nightmare Moon looked around at the castle. It was so bright, so vibrant. Everything she hated. Something would have to be done about it.
After instructing her new guards to explain the situation to the inhabitants of Canterlot, Nightmare Moon too took her leave, morphing into a cloud and floating back toward her palace in the Everfree Forest. There was much work to be done.
-
A small group of hooded ponies marched into Ponyville, accompanied by the ever-present Timber Wolf guards. The group split up, instructing every pony they could find to convene in town square.
Needless to say, Applejack was getting a bit tired of this. She had returned Applebloom to Sweet Apple Acres and made her way back, thoroughly exhausted.
The cloaked ponies finished rounding up most of the town’s populace before beginning another long winded speech. Applejack ignored them for the most part, until they mentioned something about crops.
Of course, apple trees could not grow without sunlight.
“Any farmers from the town will now accompany sister Duskwing, who will instruct you on proper growth and maintenance of the crops that we have perfected.” The lead pony, a burly earth pony, instructed, pointing to a smaller Pegasus. AJ recognized most of the ponies who followed, but did not do the same.
Another pony approached the podium, this one a unicorn. He instructed any unicorn with reasonable magic skill to follow him to where he would instruct them on imitating the sun’s warmth. AJ watched this group leave as well.
A flash of white caught her attention. She looked closer, focusing in the dim light.
It was Rarity. They must have returned at some point. Applejack had a strong urge to follow her friend but refused, continuing to listen to the hooded ponies rattle off instructions.
The overly formal way they spoke bugged her. They talked like Canterlot ponies, who she absolutely could not stand. She knew the consequences of defying them, however. Her brother knew them even better.
Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Twilight and Rainbow Dash were nowhere to be found. Once the ponies had all but dispersed, AJ joined the farmers, who were receiving a lecture about crops.
-
Spike tried for a third time to get Twilight out of her bed. Every time she had simply grumbled and pulled the blankets over her head.
Fluttershy had left a while before, looking for Rainbow Dash.
Spike huffed out a puff of smoke. His frustration was mounting. Whatever had happened to Twilight had pushed her completely out of character, and it was getting on his nerves.
Without explaining where he was going, he marched out of the library and toward Carrousel Boutique. The streets were more or less empty now, with groups of ponies huddle here and there, talking in hushed tones.
Spike pushed open the door to the dress shop and looked around. Rarity didn’t seem to be here, so he would simply wait. Rarity would at least tell him what was going on, plus he desperately wanted to see her.
-
Rainbow Dash and Solar flare sat across from one another in Rainbow’s cloud home outside Ponyville. Solar Flare had shown up an hour before, but the two had barely said a word to one another. They simply sat on their clouds and stewed, content to let their anger fester. Fluttershy had stopped by briefly, but had gone to check on Rarity.
Solar Flare finally broke the silence.
“What do we do now?”
“What is there left to do? The princesses are gone and Nightmare Moon has the Elements of Harmony. The only thing I can think to do is just learn to live with it.”
Solar Flare impatiently smoothed his mane, searching for something to say. Nothing came to mind.
Rainbow Dash huffed angrily.
“You know what I think?”
“What?”
“I think this is Hood’s fault.”
“You already said that.”
Rainbow ignored him. “Think about it. He just shows up in town one day, out of nowhere. The next day we all find ourselves gone, and what happens?”
Solar Flare chewed on his bottom lip.
“And who liked the night time? Hood.”
“Well-“
“Not to mention that he’s dressed the same way as the ponies Fluttershy was talking about. Black capes, black hoods. And the way he talks?”
“He’s from Trottingham.” Solar Flare pointed out.
“He said himself that he hasn’t been there in fifteen years. Dude. Hood was working with Nightmare Moon all along!” Rainbow Dash cried, her voice cracking.
Solar Flare mulled it over. There was a lot of evidence to support what she was saying.
“We should tell Twilight.” Solar Flare sighed. The two pegasi exited through a window, flying back towards town.
-
Twilight was roused from her pained stupor by the familiar sounds of Rainbow Dash crashing in through a window. However, he friend was not alone; Solar Flare had come with her.
Twilight huffed, but Rainbow ignored her.
“Twilight, we need to tell you something!”
“Go away.”
“It’s about Hood!” Solar Flare exclaimed.
“I don’t care.”
“But it was him that brought Nightmare Moon back! I can prove it!” Rainbow said. Twilight sat up now.
“No. It was not him. You’re just trying to find an excuse to blame somepony, and he’s a convenient target.” Twilight half-growled.
“Think about it, Twilight. He only comes out at night, he dresses in black all the time, who does that?”
“He does. Now go away.” Twilight snapped, pulling the blanket back over her head.
“She’s not gonna listen to us.” Solar Flare said dismissively.
“Then we’ll go talk to him.” Rainbow mused, spreading her wings. She tried to fly from the window, but Twilight grabbed her tail with magic, stopping her.
“You won’t say one more word to him! I don’t even want to imagine how much pain you two caused him when you turned on him earlier.”
“I didn’t see you defending him.” Solar Flare pointed out haughtily.
“I was upset! You can’t even know how much it hurt to see Princess Celestia just vanish like that!”
“We were right there!” Rainbow shouted.
“You havn’t spent most of your life as her student. Princess Celestia is almost like a mother to me!”
“Then I know exactly how you feel.” Solar Flare said. The two mares turned to face him. Anger burned in his eyes, and his cheeks were flushed. He said nothing more, but simply turned and flew out the window. Twilight released Rainbow, who followed him without a word.