//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: The Light Side of the Moon // by Black sun and white mist //------------------------------// Dead leaves rustled as Cheese Sandwich's hooves came upon them. His dark poncho and hat made him sink into the night. Cheese lowered his head as he entered the famous Everfree forest. From the stories he had heard, it was the most quiet and secluded part of Equestria. The forest had magical properties. Nothing had wilted in it despite the lack of sunlight. That was great for Cheese; he loved nature and peace. Ever since the Nightmare Moon incident about a year ago, things weren't the same. After what he loved most was destroyed, Cheese spiraled into deep depression. Cheese tried everything he could to get rid of the sadness. His efforts were fruitless. Without parties, he couldn't be happy and he couldn't just get another Boneless. All party supplies had been seized and burned a few days after Nightmare Moon rose to power. Besides, no ordinary rubber chicken could take Boneless' place. The rubber chicken was a gift after all. A gift from a particular pink filly who helped him gain his cutiemark. It's not like his cutiemark was worth anything anymore. No more laughter or fun made his talent utterly useless. His Cheesy Sense was always off-the-charts. At first, it was painful but had slowly eased to an aching in his leg. Cheese limped into a clearing with a single stump in the middle. He sat down on the stump and put his hooves on his face to think. Deep thinking was bad for a depressed pony like he was. Sometimes, though, it felt good to think. He thought about how that single night in his life had changed him forever. The whirr of machinery whipped him out of his thoughts. Cheese looked around to find the source of the noise. He looked around the clearing with his eyes and ears. The sound seemed to be coming from under him. Suddenly, it popped open and Cheese fell into a hole. There was darkness. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cheese couldn't tell if his eyes were closed or if it just was plain dark. Suddenly, an image popped in front of him. It was the little pink filly he had met all those years ago. Cheese remembered how he developed his first crush on the mare even though he didn't know her. Cheese reached his forelegs out to hug the filly but every time he tried, she would poof farther from his reach. He cried out to her. Cheese broke into a sprint to try and catch up to her. When he tried, he fell into a black abyss. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cheese woke up in a cold sweat. The first thing that came into his mind was one question. 'What was that dream about?' He hadn't thought about that stuff in a while. Weird. The next thing he thought was 'Who the heck is this?' A stallion with electric blue hair, an eyepatch, and a shield cutiemark was right in his face. Cheese was in a steel room with a long window on one of the walls. He was tied in chains. Cheese started to sweat after the stallion wouldn't look away. "What!?" Cheese Sandwich finally exclaimed after a few uncomfortable minutes. "What do you mean 'what'?" a different stallion said as he walked into the room. "You know why you're here." "No," Cheese responded. "I don't." "Why you little..." the stallion growled. He then jumped over the table and grabbed the front of Cheese's shirt. "Cow Spots, stop!" the stallion with the blue mane told the other stallion. "Leave." Cow Spots turned and left with a humph! Cheese couldn't take it anymore. "Cow Spots?!" Cheese laughed. It hurt so much but it was worth it. He hadn't laughed in so long. The blue-maned stallion glared at Cheese with his one eye. Cheese immediately stopped. This stallion meant business. "State your name," the one-eyed stallion commanded. "Oh, um…" Cheese wondered because he forgot his name for a moment. "Cheese Sandwich!" "What kind of codename is that?" "It's not a codename." "You're lying." "No I'm not!" Cheese retorted. The one-eyed stallion motioned a nervous looking unicorn into the room. "Perform the spell," the stallion told the unicorn. Light flowed from the unicorn's horn. Cheese felt a spell being put over him. One that felt all too familiar. "Now, what's your name?" "Cheese Sandwich," Cheese blurted. "Were you sent by Nightmare Moon?" "No." "Do you know how you found us?" "No." The white stallion nodded toward the unicorn. The unicorn scampered out of the room. "My name is Shining Armor," the white stallion told Cheese. "Nice… to… meet…you?" Cheese responded questioningly. Shining Armor lit his horn, untied Cheese's chains, and motioned his hoof to the door. Cheese ran out to find a room filled with engravings of one thing: the sun. Shining Armor walked out from behind him. "Follow me," Shining Armor said. Cheese startled and followed the stallion. Shining Armor led him down a long hall (also filled with the sun images) and entered a large room. In the room were ponies running around doing their jobs. Cheese looked up to find a large mural of the sun on its dome-shaped roof. This room was… great! Cheese smiled. A smile was also something he hadn't done in a while. Shining Armor stood next to him with a quiet smile on his face. "Welcome to the Cult of the Sun," Shining remarked. Cheese turned towards Shining Armor. "What's the Cult of the Sun?" Cheese asked. "The Cult of the Sun is a rebellion… excuse me… organization that is devoted to bringing back the day and taking down Nightmare Moon," Shining told Cheese. "I'm its founding member." "Why'd you start it?" Cheese asked. "I began this organization because I lost two important things to me: my sister and my lover," Shining answered. Now Cheese didn't think his two things were important. Cheese didn't know how Shining Armor lost them but Cheese didn't push further. "I want to join," Cheese asked. "Are you positive?" Shining asked surprised. Surely this skinny stallion with a cheese accordion cutiemark didn't want to join a hardcore rebel group? "I want to join," Cheese demanded. "Okay," Shining shrugged. Shining picked up some papers and shuffled through them. "We have an opening as a nightmare hunter. We're running short." "What's a nightmare hunter?" Cheese asked. "You ask too many questions," Shining remarked. "A nightmare hunter is somepony who goes and catches Nightmare Moon's creatures and army members." "Oh." "Do you want the job?" "I guess so…" Cheese said digging his hoof into the ground. "Your training begins at 8 a.m. in the training room over there" Shining pointed to a door. "Don't be late." Shining walked out of the large room briskly. Cheese glanced at the clock. 8 a.m. was only five minutes away. "Oh no…" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pinkamena glared at the idiot pony who expected the Queen to let his wife out of jail. "I don't care about your wife," the Queen said firmly. "My word is final." "I know," the stallion reasoned, "but I need the love of my life back. Please!" The stallion looked around the room into the eyes of the Queen's advisors. It was obvious he was trying to get sympathy from them. Pinkamena let her eyes darken. When the stallion looked into her eyes, he took a step back. Pinkamena grinned. It was great to see the fear on his face. "MY WORD IS FINAL," the Queen shouted. "Get him out of my sight." The guards ran up and gripped his legs. The stallion struggled for a while but finally broke free. "Let my wife go!" he yelled. The stallion lunged at the Queen. Pinkamena stood up to stop him but the stallion was already caught in a purple aura. He was turned toward Nightmare Moon's chief advisor. "Should I dispose of him my Queen?" Twilight Sparkle asked. "No," Nightmare told Twilight. "He deserves something special." Nightmare Moon took the stallion in her magical aura and turned him so that he was looking into the turquoise slits of Nightmare's eyes. The nightmare laughed and threw him to the ground. The stallion was wheezing. "His wife gets five more years in jail," the Queen told the guards, "and take him to the Isolation Dungeons." Before the stallion left he yelled one thing. "You'll be sorry!" Pinkamena heard the Queen scoff. "That's what they all say," the Queen laughed. Pinkamena sat back down disappointed. She always wanted to be able to give out the punishments. Pinkamena couldn't deny her Queen though. "Is that the last one for today?" the air strike general, Rainbow Dash, asked in her most commanding voice. "Yes," the Queen replied simply. The Queen stood up and walked out of the room with political papers in her magic. Twilight Sparkle quickly followed. "Kiss-up," Pinkamena muttered. She hated working with that purple unicorn every night. "Like you don't, Butt-kisser," ground attack general, Applejack, replied. Pinkamena narrowed her slitted eyes. "It's called rising up in rank," Pinkamena growled. "Please," the countess, Rarity, told her. "You are hopelessly lost. That makes sense as you are the former Element of Laughter." Everypony laughed. Rarity had a smirk on her face. "I hate you," Pinkamena spat. "We hate you too," Rainbow Dash retorted. The ponies in the room laughed again and walked out. Pinkamena growled loudly. She hated them with the light of a thousand moons. Pinkamena hated it when they teased her about her former self. Why did her old self she have to be so peppy? She walked into the castle's hallway towards the hospital at the far end. Medic Fluttershy is what it said on the door in front of Pinkamena. She stepped in to find a yellow pegasus mare treating the Canterlot forces. "Good evening Pinkie!" Fluttershy smiled. Fluttershy was the only one who ever called Pinkamena by her old name and the only bearer who never went to political meetings. This outburst had unfortunately caused a chorus of laughter from the local army. Pinkamena glared at them and they instantly quieted. "Good evening Fluttershy," Pinkamena told her back. Fluttershy gave the dark pink pony a hug before flying off to the next patient. Fluttershy was the only one of the Queen's advisors that Pinkamena didn't hate. "What's been going on?" Fluttershy asked. "Oh you know," Pinkamena started, "same old, same old." "They were teasing you again weren't they?" Fluttershy asked with concern. "You know they were," Pinkamena told her. "I'm sorry Pinkie," Fluttershy apologized. "Don't apologize," Pinkamena snapped. "It's just tough love." Fluttershy shrank down to the floor. Pinkamena wanted to comfort her and tell her it was ok. She pushed that thought back. Pinkamena was supposed to be the general of the elite spy team for pete's sake! She needed to stay tough. The door slammed open. One of Pinkamena's scouts stood there. The scout's name was Ditzy Doo but her codename was 'Derpy Hooves'. Derpy was stationed in Ponyville to spy on the residents in case of a revolt. The scout seemed unsuspicious due to her strangely crossed eyes. She was the perfect spy. "Ma'am," Derpy said saluting to Pinkamena. "At ease," Pinkamena told Derpy. Derpy relaxed and pulled out an important looking letter. She hoofed it to Pinkamena for her to read. The letter was enthralling. It had all the information that Pinkamena was looking for. She gave a nod to Derpy. Derpy smiled and flew off into the night sky. "Interesting news, Pinkie?" Fluttershy asked looking over Pinkamena's shoulder. "Oh, it's something," Pinkamena grinned. The letter contained intel; apparently the Cult of the Sun's hideout had been found. Pinkamena wanted to take this mission for herself. She could leave in just a week to find them! Excitement flowed through her body. She finally could sate her thirst for justice. She would do her Queen proud.