When justice falls upon the earth,
I smile as they all run from her.
Their screams shall fill the air with noise
When justice falls to earth.
The stallion smiled as he gazed down through closed eyes at the world beneath him, watching from a comfortable seat in his room at the core of the Shaded Tower. He took a sip of tea as he flipped through a stack of withered scrolls, documents recovered from the first followers of the Night Mare many centuries ago.
I wonder how they would feel to know that their leader betrayed them? he mused, idly twirling a spoon in his teacup as he watched the marching soldiers far below him.
As the sun set far above the Heart of the Citadel, Twilight laid down on the couch, snuggling up with a pillow and listening to the faint murmur of the sweet music that flowed through the door outside. Starlight was already asleep, sprawled out on the couch opposite.
The melody lulled Twilight nearly into the welcoming arms of slumber...until another sound broke through the curtains.
Harsh and noisy hoofsteps clapped against the smooth road, muffled by distance yet echoing through the serene atmosphere. The all-consuming peace shuddered and retreated before them.
Twilight’s eyes shot wide open and she flopped off of the couch, leaping to her hooves and stumbling to the window. She yanked aside the curtains and the dim light rushed in. Her eyes widened as she stared out into the night, immobilized by fear.
“Wha…?” mumbled the other mare, yawning as she gazed at Twilight through bleary golden eyes. “Whatis goin on?”
Twilight immediately snapped out of her trance and slammed the curtains closed, practically sprinting to Starlight’s side. Taking a deep breath, she forced a surge of energy into her horn and violet light flooded the interior of the house. Starlight shrieked, covering her eyes and rapidly backpedaling from the brilliant light. With a burst of powerful magic...
…nothing happened. Echoes of hoofsteps now clearly revealed themselves, audible above the peace.
“What in the world was that?” yelled Starlight, standing once again to her hooves. Her eyes were locked firmly shut as white blobs danced before her vision.
“I...my teleportation spell isn’t working and I don’t know why! We’re locked in!” Twilight gulped, running back to the window. Her pupils dilated as she glanced back through the curtains one more time. “Oh no, oh no no no no no…”
“Why, what is it?” asked Starlight, her voice fringed with annoyance.
Twilight took a breath to respond, but before she could, the door to the house slammed open, smacking her across the face and sending her flying across the room. Her body collided with the wall in a sharp blast of noise that rung through the room. The stomping noise of hoofsteps came to a halt as seven guards marched into the house, and the last thing Twilight saw before blacking out was an armored stallion looking down on her with palpable fury.
“STAND RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE!” roared Moon Beam, his eyes emanating pure hatred as he glared down at Twilight’s unconscious body. “A Sunlover in our midst…inconceivable! And harbored by a member of the Guard, no less! This corruption shall not pass unpunished. STARLIGHT!” he barked, whirling to face the mare.
Still recovering from the earlier flash of light, she glared at the speaker and asked with a flat voice “Yes, sir?”
“WHY ARE YOU HARBORING SUNLOVERS IN THE HEART OF THE CITADEL?!” His voice thundered across the room but Starlight stood her ground.
“It was not I who let this Sunlover into the Citadel, Moon Beam. You know this,” she responded, refusing to blink as she stared up into his furious eyes.
Moon Beam paused, refusing to look away from the fiery golden eyes of his friend. “I do not know what you are talking about.”
“Shall I inform these other members of the Guard what has gone on while their backs were turned, then?” she shifted her gaze to the other guards, matching their steady glares. “Lord Silent has deceived you and all of the Council by harboring this Sunlover—and one more—in secret. The other is currently trapped in the Shadow Garden, and is no doubt conversing with Silent as we speak. I am not the source of the corruption, for-”
“LIES AND BLASPHEMY!” shouted Beam, also turning to face the guards. “This traitor has said far too much. Take her to the cell with the Sunlover, so that she can face justice at the hooves of the Nocturna Lorem.”
Starlight backed up as the seven advanced towards her, taking several deep breaths to steady her nerves and preparing for a final act of defiance. A bead of sweat rolled down her face as she watched them close in around her…and in the corner of her vision, she noticed Beam subtly avert his eyes.
Luna’s hoofsteps echoed through the silence as she stepped into the cavern, her wide eyes absorbing the motionless cavern surrounding her as she walked into the Garden of Shadows, trotting further and further into Silent’s web.
She stopped dead as she saw Applejack’s body lying still on the ground, with shadows dancing across the form. Luna rushed to the mare’s side, placing a hoof under her neck to feel for a pulse beneath the cold fur.
Nothing.
“What have you done to her?!” she shouted out, shattering the thickly-woven silence.
Dear, sweet Princess, do not fret over this simple mare. She could never understand our dream.
“I told you that I gave up that dream.”
I was not speaking to you.
Luna whirled around and her heart skipped a beat. She took in a shocked gasp of freezing air. A chill raced down her spine. She took one step back, and set her horn afire with indigo energy.
A pure-black coat shrouded its skin and every feature of its face, save the heavy makeup beneath its eyelids. A helmet cold as ice and gleaming with the light of a full moon hung over its face. It wore a chestpiece of the same deathly-blue battle steel, forged from death, marred with the symbol of the crescent moon.
The Nightmare opened its mouth, but no sound emerged…only silence.
Surprised to see me?
Without hesitation Luna let forth an explosion of blinding magical energy, nearly recoiling from the shock waves as it travelled through the empty air and incinerated everything in its path. She stared into the cloud of dust, not daring to blink as the dark fog cleared.
The Nightmare had not died. Instead, it split into three.
The swirling shadows halted in their mesmerizing patterns and all converged on one location behind the three, rising from the ground to form the body of the very same jet-black stallion that she had confronted not one hour ago. He walked leisurely towards her, through the three dark motionless forms and stopped midway between the Night Mares.
Dear, sweet Princess…I am so sorry for everything you have gone through. The light of day has blinded you to the passion you once held dearly. I now see that the real Princess Luna has died…but there is still one Nocturn within you. Not all hope is lost. You can be purified.
Luna glared straight through Silent’s eyes as he stepped backwards, not even glancing over his shoulder as the three figures one by one advanced past their master and marched straight for her. Shoving aside the empty air with her powerful wings, Luna rose up into the middle of the cavern, pushing energy into her horn which glowed with a powerful aura.
She fired down a bolt of lightning towards the first as it rose up towards her. The mare promptly rolled to the side to dodge it, responding with a mist of shadows that hissed as it spread through the air. Hastily Luna spun a cocoon of magic around her body, watching with fear pounding in her heart as the mist ate away at her shield. She flinched as one shadow broke through, sailing past her face, and took a deep breath before blasting the remaining mist away with a wave of pure force. Caught off guard by the force, the first shadow of her former self exploded into fragments of nothingness.
Silent remained motionless on the floor of the cavern, watching.
Anger rushed through Luna’s veins as she turned to the other two, who had risen to her level in the stale air of the cavern, watching her with unchanging expressions of raw hatred. Suddenly though…they paused, and in the corner of her eye Luna noticed Silent walking towards her.
Several of my little ponies, the little Nocturnes that live in my dream, wonder how I have attained such powerful magical abilities. They never say it to my face, of course, but I hear it nonetheless…
All of a sudden Luna heard a faint rumbling sound and whirled back to face the two mares, who had conjured a black cloud that sparked with electric fury. A beam of light flashed through the cavern and Luna careened towards the ground, feeling the numb sensation of a painless crash as she smashed headfirst into the unforgiving stone.
They all wish to know how I obtained such powers as these. And the answer, quite simply, lies directly in the corner of their minds, derived from the most powerful corrosive force within us all: Doubt.
I embody that Doubt, that darkest of evils within, and I take all of its power to enforce a system they will gladly follow. None of the purified souls within my Heart possess any Doubt, for I stole their worst fears…and they live proudly and happily within my eternal dream. In every way worth believing, I accomplished what you never could.
Luna rose unsteadily to her hooves, blinking rapidly to clear the hazy forms in her vision. She glanced to the side, and blanched as she noticed the suspicious lack of damage on her wing.
Master of dreams, I have transcended you.
The Princess’s shoulders suddenly fell at her sides, and hot shame washed over her body. Muttering aloud, she said, “Of course. I should have known…”
…that this was a dream? Of course you should have! I speak of dreams in both senses, for you must forsake reality to achieve any ideal worth fighting for.
Luna walked over to Silent’s form, waiting until she stood right in front of his still body to speak. Staring down into his eyes, looking for any traces of life, she then spoke directly into his face: “Liar.”
The dream faded into nothingness.
Princess Luna awoke to find herself in a cramped room, and her vision cleared to view a black crescent in the center of a pure-white door. She looked to her side and frowned, noticing the silhouette of another pony in the dust. “Applejack…?”
Too late, dear Princess. Yet again you find yourself in the unsolvable riddle of my dream…for it is MY dream now, betrayer.
Not bothering to reply, Luna leapt to her hooves and kicked the door open, flying out in a rush of cold wind.
The mare’s piercing screams still rang in Moon Beam’s ears as he soared alone through the darkness. Deafening silence pressing in on him from all sides. He kept his eyes firmly locked on the cave ceiling ahead, blinking rapidly to drive back the tears.
Dear Moon Beam, do not cry. You did what you had to for the soul behind your tears to survive…spoke a soothing voice, silent as the emptiness of the caves.
“No!” he shouted back at the inaudible voice, startling even himself. “I…I did not have to let them take her. I could have convinced her to leave the Sunlover behind. I could have brought her to see reason. I-”
Reason? I hope you do not seriously believe that reason is your ally.
“It is the ally of the Nocturna Lorem.”
Perhaps that is what allowed the Sunlover to slip through Duskfall’s hooves.
“No,” he repeated, his voice shaking. “That was your fault and yours alone.”
…says the pony who carried them to the Shaded Tower. Though I think it is time you stop arguing and concentrate on the task at hoof…after all, who knows what you may encounter here on the banks of the river…
Moon Beam’s ears perked up. As if on cue, the faint echoes of two young voices bounced across the face of the stone towards him. His eyebrows descended over the golden orbs, resolute in the necessity of his task.
“Spike? I think I hear something…” spoke the echoes of a high-pitched voice, the voice of a filly. Only a filly. A twinge of discomfort pinched Beam’s mind.
“What?” A second voice, slightly deeper and scratchier, again the voice of a child.
“I think I hear somethin’…”
Beam gritted his teeth as he pumped his wings faster, straining his muscles to reach them and finish the job as soon as possible. Squinting, he noticed two shapes within the darkness and descended to the ground in front of them, taking a deep breath and readying his commanding voice.
“STEP NO FURTHER.” A wave of relief washed over Beam as he heard the stern mask of his own voice.
The two forms recoiled as Beam gave each of them a once-over. On the left stood a filly with an adorable red bow in her mane—Focus, you fool—and a sun-bleached yellow coat, shivering from the cold. On the right stood a tiny dragon with a scroll clenched in his fist. Beam’s eyebrows furrowed, but nonetheless he advanced towards them.
“W-Who are you?” the dragon asked, his voice drowned by overtones of fear.
“You are trespassing on the territory of the Nocturnian Kingdom, Sunlovers. I...” his voice faltered, and the mask slipped as he continued with a quickened voice. “I will give you the chance to turn back now, and I shall forget that you ever came here.” Are you serious? That will never work…
The filly glared up at him with surprising resolve. “There is no way, no how that we are leaving before we find my sister.”
I told you so.
“If that is the case, I must c-capture you both and take you to the Citadel to be tried by the Nocturna Lorem.” A snake of nervousness crawled up his back. He had never stuttered before, not even when directly addressing the Council.
Both of their eyes widened with the terror of innocent children. Beam’s narrowed with the determination of a soldier. A moment of silence passed.
Suddenly the dragon took a deep breath and stepped forward, advancing, each stride slow yet resolute.
“STOP!”
Spike raised his head and stared into the stallion’s eyes, all fear lost in the shadows. “No. I won’t let you hurt any of my friends. Take me to them, now.”
Defiance. It must be-
“-rewarded,” whispered Beam at the empty silence. “Their ideals are stronger even than yours, in will and in purity.” Raising his head to the children, he sighed in defeat, letting the tension in his muscles fade into the cold stone beneath him. “Fine. I shall take you to your friends and assist you…on one condition.”
“What?”
“Before we rescue them, we must venture together to defeat their captor.” Moon Beam internally winced, but for the first time that evening, the silence gave way to serenity.