Canterlot Castle: Several days before James's arrival in Equestria
The moon was glowing, shining bright in the sky and surrounded by an array of equally bright stars. Princess Luna smiled as she watched the moon take its place in the sky. Cancelling the spell that she used every night to raise the moon, the midnight blue Alicorn turned and stepped down from her towers lookout balcony, stepping back into her bedroom. Luna smiled taking in the all too familiar surroundings. Since her return from her 1000 year long banishment to the moon, albeit being transformed back from the demonic princess of Eternal-Night, Nightmare-Moon, her sister had spared no expense at integrating Luna back into society. The bedroom was circular, matching with the towers circular build, colored a midnight blue to match her coat and a large, plump bed in front of a massive fireplace, ideal for relaxing...with what little time she had to herself as a Princess. Luna was extremely lucky that her sister considered having a extremely comfortable bedroom as an absolute necessity for a comfortable return to society. Luna smiled to herself. In her sister's opinion, at least the opinion she'd confided with Luna, a comfortable bed and lots and lots of cake was the best way to relax. Settling in front of the large mirror above her writing desk, Luna sighed, eyeing the large pile of paperwork she'd have to work through before bed. With a sigh, the Princess picked up a quill, ready to write.
The Alicorn suddenly stiffened, her fur ruffling up in agitation. It had been brief but she had definitely felt it. It was like a ghost going through her, robbing her body of all warmth rather like somepony walking over her grave. The Princess sat there for a second, staring at the quill she was holding in her navy blue magic, dripping spots of ink onto a report about nighttime deliveries. The Alicorn looked up, staring at her reflection. Her turquoise eyes were slightly wide, her light blue mane standing on end in places. Her crown was tilted on her mane, close to falling off. Putting down the quill, the Princess stood and moved back to the window, staring up at the moon. The moon LOOKED the same. Still glowing with the same brightness. Still surrounded by the same array of stars. Although.... Luna concentrated, her horn lighting up with a navy blue aura. The surrounding area changed, blurring and fading out, the colors leeching out of her vision. After a few minutes, Luna turned, looking back at her writing desk. There she was, sitting there, picking up the quill and beginning to read through the reports. Luna was glad she knew this spell. In the event she forgot something, she could just cast the spell and recreate the surroundings. Granted the spell only lasted a few minutes, half an hour at best but it was still useful.
After a few minutes of watching her past self, Luna was convinced that she'd just made a mistake. She was on the verge of cancelling the spell and returning to her work, when it happened. There was a flash, glowing a bright purple, just at the field of Luna's vision. The flash of color was so vivid and so unexpected, such a massive contrast to the grey of her spell-vision that Luna was forced to close her eyes, shielding them against the vivid color. The flash was quick however, only lasting for a second. When Luna opened her eyes again, she found that the spell had faded, the normal blue of her bedroom had returned. Luna frowned. What had that flash been? Closing her eyes, Luna repeated the spell, this time turning towards the balcony. There it was! Luna had only been standing there, staring at the moon for a seconds when a pillar of what appeared to be purple energy flew into the sky, flying straight into the air, going higher and higher into the air until the pillar of purple energy struck the moon. A purplish cloud, as though someone had spilled purple dye in a bowl of water, spread over the moon, spreading faster and faster until it covered the whole moon. No longer glowing bright silver but instead a bright purple, covering the surrounding stars in a dark shroud.
Luna stared in horror at the moon, HER moon as it hung there, glowing like a giant amethyst. She could feel the malicious magic in that purple energy, filling up her moon. Luna felt her eyes sharpen as she used her magic again. Her eyesight changed again, focusing in on the moon. Another simple spell, attempting to scan the magic covering her moon. But the Alicorn recoiled almost instantly, the magic scanning spell cancelling. The Magic...Luna felt her eyes water. She hadn't seen anything like it. Such evil....such dark power. Luna stared, fixedly at the moon until the purple magic faded and the time warping spell faded. The Alicorn shivered. She'd never seen such dark magic. Not on that scale. And the fact that had the power had gone to the moon, in about a fraction of a minute, without her noticing such a large concentration of magic...Luna stood. She knew her sister would be awake. If Luna had felt that surge then she was sure that her sister had felt. The Alicorn whirled, sprinting towards the door. Celestia would hopefully know what to do. Because Luna had never seen the moon filled with that much evil. As she ran down the corridor, ignoring the surprised looks of the night-patrol, the Alicorn felt a horrible feeling of foreboding rising inside of her. What some sort of creature could hold that much malice? What could hold enough evil to fill a moon? .
Unknown Location: the Same day
The room was circular, made of white marble and very, very gloomy. It was a large, circular room, featureless, with several rows of pillars circling the room, though it was so gloomy that any ordinary person standing in the room would be unable to see the ceiling. Smack-dab in the middle of the room was a lowered area, circular like the rest of the room, except with what appeared to be a shallow pool of iridescent water, shimmering around a large stone seat, carved in the shape of a throne. The backrest,also made of white marble was high, stretching high into the gloom, towards the ceiling. A figure was slumped in the chair, one arm resting on the throne, supporting the head. The face was hidden in shadow as was most of the body, though the dark grey suit that the figure was dressed in didn't help as it covered the entirety of the figure's body in a grey haze.
"The Malice is coming." said a soft, male voice. A figure, hidden in shadow, moved closer to the pool of water, sitting down on the marble steps. "We must be prepared." The figure shifted, putting down the sword he'd been carrying. The blade was long with a thick end, tapering to a point more akin to a broadsword. The handle and cross-guard was decorated with several markings of silver bones and skeletons. "The moon is filling with Malice. But it is still not enough." The figure sighed, turning to look past the pillars. A small wedge had been left out of the circle of pillars revealing the star-speckled, black sky. And there, sitting the black expanse, was the planet. Equestria looked a lot like earth. Green countries, mixed with the blue of the seas. The figure chuckled. "I wonder if the other Quatre-Knights will like this view." He turned back to the figure and settled on the steps, ready to continue his vigil