Friendship is Magic Part 1
Our story starts in a small town on the outskirts of a large forest in the land of Equestria. The town is a quiet town with many pleasant residents (though some are a bit rough around the edges) named Ponyville. The sky was blue, the sun was shining with nary a cloud to be seen and in the streets where a market is we meet our protagonist;
Okay, look towards the stall selling apples, do you see the large red pillar of muscle and manliness? Well, that's Big Mackintosh, the stallion buying a sack of apples off of him is our protagonist. The stallion is a unicorn with a snow white coat with an ice blue mane and tail, oddly though: his eyes are blood red. He's wearing a black travelling cloak which ends just before his flank allowing his cutie mark to be seen, the cutie mark in question is a silver shield with a dark blue full moon within it. The name that this stallion goes by is Winter Shield, it is not his true name nor is his current look his true form but it is what the citizens of Ponyville recognize him by, so we will call him by that name for now.
After buying the apples, he put them in his saddlebags (which (like most saddlebags) are enchanted to be larger on the inside and all items put inside of them become weightless, preventing damage to a pony's back) and headed for home.
On his way there he came across a most unusual sight: a lavender unicorn mare with her dark purple mane covered in mud before being consumed in what appeared to be a rainbow coloured tornado.
"Oh dear, it seems Dash actually used that Rain-Blow-Dry thing she came up with. I'd better try and smooth thing over before Ms Rarity sees the results, Faust knows what she'll do to Dash..." he said before making his way over.
"... guess, you're Rainbow Dash" said the lavender mare.
"THE one and only, why? Ya heard of me?" replied a cyan mare with an untidy and slightly spiky rainbow mane
"She probably heard of your duty for the day, which you seem to be doing a WONDERFUL job of fulfilling by the way Dash" said Winter, adding his two cents into the conversation.
"Aw, ease up Winter, You know as well as I do that this sky can be cleared in ten seconds flat by yours truly. There's no need to be all grumpy about it though I sometimes wonder if that's your only setting" argued Rainbow, while dragging a cloud in and lying on it with her hooves behind her head. Winter let out an exasperated sigh.
"Only with you Dash, only with you. Anyway, where are my manners? I'm Winter Shield, I'm terribly sorry about Dash, she can get pretty excitable when she meets someone new, though not as excitable as some people in Ponyville just to warn you. Please allow me to help you with your mane Ms…?" Now that Winter was closer, he could identify a light purple and magenta stripe in her mane which looked to be natural and not dyed, he could also clearly see her Cutie Mark which was a magenta six pointed star surrounded by six smaller silver stars in between the points of the larger one.
"Sparkle, Twilight Sparkle. Don't worry about my mane, it is of little importance compared to what I have to get done today, checking on the preparations for the Summer Sun Festival and all; speaking of which, isn't Rainbow Dash SUPPOSED to be keeping the sky clear?!" said/asked the now named Twilight Sparkle.
"Yeah, yeah; I'll get it done later when I'm finished practicing for the Wonderbolts" responded Rainbow.
"Dash, I don't know if you've noticed, but you're sleeping and most definitely not practicing at the moment" interjected Winter, frowning at the cyan mare.
"Wait, "the Wonderbolts" as in THE Wonderbolts, most talented fliers in all of Equestria?" asked Twilight.
"Exactly, it's my dream to be a Wonderbolt and when they come to Ponyville for the Summer Sun Celebration I'm gonna show them my stuff and they'll just have to make me a member" said Rainbow while staring off into the distance "And shut up Winter, aren't you supposed to be blowing up that hut of yours or something?"
"Unlike you Dash, I got my job done this morning. And for the record, I make fireworks, I don't blow pony's houses up, give ponies a boost when flying or knit you lovely hats for the season I am named after" said Winter sarcastically but his smile gave away the amusement he felt at Rainbow's comment.
"Besides I doubt the Wonderbolts would accept a Pegasus that couldn't keep a small bit of sky clear for one measly day" added Twilight, turning around to hide her smirk.
"Oh really, because I bet I could clear this sky in ten seconds flat" replied Dash before simultaneously doing a series of fancy aerobatics that would likely impress even the best fliers due to their flawless execution at high velocities and clearing the sky of all clouds "See, Ten Seconds FLAT" she boasted. Twilight and her young dragon appeared to be so impressed that their jaws were virtually on the floor, Winter was just shaking his head while muttering about Rainbow being a show off.
"Haha, you should see the look on your face. You know what? You're cool and pretty funny Twilight; I think we'll hang out sometime" said Rainbow before flying off, leaving a rainbow coloured trail.
"Okay, now that the sky is clear, next on my list is… Oh, well it's you Winter Shield, let's see…magical fireworks?" said Twilight while looking at an unrolled piece of parchment which she had just pulled out of her saddlebags.
"Yep, I make magical fireworks. They're just like real fireworks but I can make more complex shapes and give them various other affects like changing colour, lasting longer and so on. I remember at the last Dragon Migration, I let a load of them off that formed colour changing dragons which escorted the dragons out before exploding, the townsponies loved it." replied Winter, with a faraway look in his eye as he remembered it "AH sorry, I'm digressing. Here, allow me to show you a small sample of my work" he said, pulling a cone shaped item out of his saddlebags before throwing it to the floor where it burst into multiple ice blue streamers that flew around Winter and Twilight before forming a "W" shape.
"Pretty impressive for such a small firework, I look forward to seeing more of them tonight; Now then… Next I have to see one Rarity at the Carousel Boutique about the decorations. Err, do you know where it is?" asked Twilight after checking her checklist.
"The Carousel Boutique? It's just at the end of the road from here, trust me when I say that you can't miss it, Ms Rarity made its design very… unique" answered Winter "Well, I have some delicate alchemy projects to finish for my fireworks, so I'll see you around Ms Sparkle" he said before turning and walking off.
Twilight looked after him, deep in thought 'Hmm, I wonder if this Winter Shield is the same Winter Shield that Lord Blood Cell ordered his fireworks from for the Gala last year, from what I saw from the Solar Rising Tower, they were something to see alright.'
"WHAT WAS THAT?!" a loud voice suddenly rang out, startling Twilight; she quickly turned and had a repulsion spell primed and ready for discharge from her horn, before realizing that it was only a certain rainbow maned pegasus.
"Oh, Rainbow Dash, it's just you. And what was what?" she said after releasing her hold on her magic.
"THAT! Do you know how long it took for me to get Winter to say more than a sentence to me?! OVER A MONTH! It's rare that he speaks to ponies that he doesn't know and never for as long as you two spoke for, so how did you do it? Do you two know each other or something?" answered Rainbow, flying all over the place in her confusion and slight jealousy.
"I honestly don't know what you're talking about Rainbow; I don't recall ever meeting Winter Shield before today, besides he was only showing me a sample of his fireworks then giving me directions, nothing major really."
"Oh, right, sorry. Still, he spoke with you longer than most ponies which is unusual for him, I'll ask him about it later; Anyway, I'll see you at the Summer Sun Celebration later, yeah?" she said before flying over to a cloud and dozing off.
After Twilight had gone to the Carousel Boutique to check on decorations and checked on the Fluttershy's bird choir that was to provide music, she had entered the Golden Oak Library to find a surprise party set up by a certain hyperactive pink Earth Pony and after drinking hot sauce, she decided to retire to her room for the night, lamenting the fact that she could not research the Elements of Harmony, when her baby dragon, Spike, walked in with a lampshade on his head.
"Hey Twilight" he said "Pinkie's starting "Pin the Tail on the Pony". Wanna play?"
"No!" she responded, frustrated "All the ponies in this town are crazy! Do you know what time it is?!"
Spike was about to respond when suddenly a they heard a shout that was loud enough to echo across the whole town:
"RAINBOW! I NEEDED THAT!"
"See what I mean Spike?" she asked rhetorically.
"It's the eve of the Summer Sun Celebration. Everypony has to stay up, or they'll miss the Princess raising the sun! You really should lighten up, Twilight. It's a party!" responded Spike before leaving.
After mockingly imitating Spike, Twilight sighed and turned onto her side, looking towards the window at the moon which had a shadow of the head of a horned equine on it.
"Ugh, here I thought I'd have time to learn about the Elements of Harmony but, silly me, all this ridiculous friend-making has kept me from it!" she spoke angrily before opening a book ""Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about everlasting night." I hope the Princess was right... I hope it really is just an old ponytale..."
"C'mon, Twilight, it's time to watch the sunrise!" said Spike excitedly as he re-entered the room (and for some reason, he STILL had the lampshade on his head).
After removing the lampshade from Spike's head, Twilight headed for the town hall to watch Princess Celestia raise the sun to begin a new day in Equestria when out of nowhere, Pinkie Pie appeared. (A/N: I swear that that mare has somehow unlocked the ability to use Chaos Control with how she appears in places so quickly and randomly)
"Isn't this exciting? Are you excited, 'cause I'm excited, I've never been so excited- well, except for the time that I saw you walking into town and I went [deep gasp] but I mean really, who can top that?" said Pinkie, talking like a rapid fire machine gun.
"I appreciate that you're excited Ms Pie, really I do, but can you please stop jumping so close to my firework cannon before you set the fuse off? That thing is delicate you know and I don't think our Solar Overlord would find 12 rockets flying at her face very funny." said Winter, walking up with Rainbow Dash in tow; Pinkie looked to her left and saw that there was indeed a cannon next to her, it was a sea green triple barrelled cannon that had four multi-coloured rockets in each barrel.
"Solar Overlord?" asked Twilight.
"It's Winter's nickname for Princess Celestia, he's kinda a history nut and when he discovered that Equestria is a diarchy but our Lunar Princess was not present for some reason, he started calling Princess Celestia the "Solar Overlord". It kinda stuck because he's been doing so ever since…" explained Rainbow before being cut off by Winter.
"… And will continue to do so until our Lunar Princess returns."
"But Winter" started Twilight "it is technically inaccurate to call Princess Celestia an overlord because of…"
"I HAVE SPOKEN!" shouted Winter, attempting to imitate a pompous noble by puffing himself up in a rather comical manner which only succeeded in making the three mares nearly fall over with laughter which he joined in soon after before being interrupted by a fanfare. (A/N: I recommend playing the Constructicon Fanfare from Starscream's Coronation in the 1986 Transformers movie here as the fanfare)
A spotlight moved around the front of the room and onto the stage of the town where an older looking mare with half-moon glasses perched on her nose was standing; when the spotlight stopped on her, she began a speech:
"Fillies and gentlecolts, as mayor of Ponyville, it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration."
A majority of the ponies in the town hall started cheering at her words while Rainbow amused Winter by doing mime impressions of Mayor Mare and Twilight just looked worried.
"In just a few moments, our town will witness the magic of the sunrise, and celebrate this, the longest day of the year! And now, it is my great honor to introduce to you the ruler of our land, the very pony who gives us the sun and the moon each and every day, the good, the wise, the bringer of harmony to all of Equestria..." she paused for dramatic emphasis, Winter looked to the balcony where Fluttershy could be seen talking to her birds and Twilight looked towards the moon where the shadow of the horned equine head had mysteriously vanished.
"Princess Celestia!" she finished as the fanfare concluded and Rarity pulled the curtains apart revealing… empty space much to everyone's confusion and Winter's annoyance.
"Really, I've heard of being fashionably late but this is ridiculous!" he whispered to Rainbow "Does our Solar Overlord not know how rude it is to not turn up to your own celebration?" he jokingly asked with a grin. Rainbow struggled to contain her laughter and remain quiet at the same time whereas Twilight (who it seemed had overheard them) turned to them and gave Winter the scariest Death Glare he had ever seen.
"This is NOT funny! This is bad. Very, VERY bad" she said ominously while Mayor Mare attempted to calm everypony in the hall before Rarity emerged from behind the curtains and announced that the Princess was nowhere to be seen. Pinkie seemed to think that the Princess was playing a game of some description if her comments were anything to go by:
"Ooh, ooh, I love guessing games! Is she hiding?" when the Princess was first found to be missing and "Oh, she's good" when Rarity confirmed the Princess' disappearance before shrieking as most of the ponies gasped when navy blue smoke speckled with silver shapes that looked suspiciously familiar to stars filled the balcony where the Solar Princess was supposed to be standing before parting like a cloud to reveal a midnight black alicorn clad in navy blue battle armour with the smoke as her mane. Twilight seemed to recognize her as did Winter.
"Oh no/scrap" they said in unison "Nightmare Moon" Winter narrowed his eyes as he looked around the room for something to distract her with long enough for the Royal Guard to capture her, his eyes fell on his cannon…
"Oh, my beloved subjects." Nightmare Moon began, looking down on the ponies assembled "It's been so long since I've seen your precious little sun-loving faces." Saying the last bit with venom, as if the words "sun loving" left a bad taste in her mouth.
"WHAT DID YOU DO WITH OUR PRINCESS?!" Rainbow demanded before attempting to fly at speed into Nightmare Moon but before she could, an orange Earth Pony mare grabbed her tail in her jaws, preventing her from moving any closer.
"Whoa there nelly" the mare, who was named Applejack said, her voice muffled by Rainbow's tail. Winter gave her a nod of thanks for stooping Rainbow from getting herself hurt which Applejack returned. Nightmare Moon chuckled mockingly at their antics before resuming her little speech.
"Why? Am I not royal enough for you? Don't you know who I am?" she asked, her voice becoming sharper at the end with anger.
"Ooh, ooh, more guessing games!" Pinkie cheerfully replied "Um, let's see, err… Hokey Smokey? How about... Queen Meanie? No! Black Snooty, Black Snooty…" before her little monologue became muffled due to Applejack shoving a cupcake in her mouth; despite the seriousness of the situation, Winter tried not to smile in amusement at the scene.
"Does my crown no longer count now that I have been imprisoned for a thousand years?" Nightmare moon asked while scaring off all of Fluttershy's birds and nearly scaring the shy pegasus herself out of the air "Did you not recall the legend? Did you not see the signs?" she demanded while scaring the other ponies.
"Wow, someone likes the sound of their own voice" said Winter, scowling at the black Alicorn "I wonder how long she'd talk if we left her alone in a room with cardboard cut-outs and a mirror" he wondered aloud to Rainbow, who tried not to chuckle. Meanwhile, Twilight gathered her courage and stepped up to confront Nightmare Moon
"I did. And I know who you are. You're the Mare in the Moon – Nightmare Moon!" she said, sounding a lot braver than she currently felt in the presence of the corrupted Lunar Diarch, resulting in most of the ponies gasping in shock and the black alicorn looking somewhat impressed by either her knowledge or courage, if not both.
"Well well well, somepony who remembers me. Then I presume you also know why I'm here."
"You're here to... to..." Twilight trailed off as she looked around and gulped, seemingly losing her nerve; The alicorn chuckled.
"Remember this day, little ponies, for it was your last. From this moment forth, the night will last forever!" Nightmare said before laughing maniacal laugh worth of Maleficent and her smoke-like mane formed a tornado above her, which caused a pseudo thunderstorm above her as the ponies quivered in fear.
"SEIZE HER!" Mayor Mare shouted "Only she knows where the princess is" The Royal Guard pegasi shot towards the black alicorn, closing in quickly.
"STAND BACK YOU FOALS!" Nightmare Moon bellowed, rearing while still laughing
"DASH, HIT THE MASTER FUSE ON THE CANNON!" yelled Winter, charging up an icy blast on his horn.
"GOT IT" Rainbow shouted back, generating a spark by dragging her hoof along the cannon which lit the fuse and cause all 12 rockets to be fired at Nightmare Moon, but the alicorn hit the ground with her forehooves causing a shockwave which detonated the rockets, threw the guards back and dispelled all magical spells in the area, which caused Winter's coat to momentarily change from snow white to dark black and his mane to change from ice blue to blood red, however the change reversed quickly, hence only Nightmare Moon and Winter Shield himself aw the change in colours.
Nightmare transformed into smoke and fled with Rainbow hot on her tail while Twilight shot out of the Town Hall towards the library as everypony inside began to panic while Winter headed off home, noting that the sun had indeed not risen as it should've about half an hour ago.
When he got home he gathered together food, water, climbing equipment and pre-prepared runes. He looked at his cloak, seeing smoke rising off of the internal lining.
"Drat, now I only have one cloak left and it is not easy to weave the Sustained Illusion runes into the fabric of the cloaks" Quickly he removed his cloak, changing it for another one; in between him removing his cloak and switching it for another, his coat and mane change colours again to black and blood red, the cloak also had previously concealed a pair of well developed wings. His Cutie Mark had changed from a silver shield with a dark blue full moon within it to a black shield with a dark purple outline and silver sun similar to Celestia's within it accompanied by a blood red sword next to the sun. Unknown to everyone but himself, this was Winter Shield's true form, the black alicorn guardian of the two diarchs, who was exiled by both himself and Celestia after the sealing of Nightmare Moon over a thousand years ago. His true name was Dark Saber.
Once Winter (A/N: I shall refer to Dark Saber as Winter Shield when he is in this form unless a majority of my readers wish otherwise) had replaced his cloak and the illusion was recast, there was a knock upon his door.
"Winter, we need your help" said Rainbow after Winter answered the door "Nightmare Moon has fled to the Everfree Forest and we're going after her, you know this forest better than anyone, could you please direct us to wherever Twilight needs to go in there?" Winter looked at Rainbow's companions, they were the unicorn Twilight Sparkle, the fashionista Rarity, the farmer Applejack, the animal tamer Fluttershy and the party pony Pinkie Pie; he raised an eyebrow but did not comment,
"You're lucky Dash, I was just about to pursue her myself; We can join forces and get more done" Winter answered before looking at Twilight "You're the unicorn that stood up to Nightmare Moon, aren't you?"
"Yes" she answered "But I don't see what that had to do with anything"
"That took courage Twilight, and you'll need that courage for what awaits us in that forest, I can only imagine what traps lie in wait for us, are you all ready for this? There is no shame in turning back if you are not." The six mares all looked at each other before nodding at him in unison.
"Very well then" he said "Let's roll out!" before running towards the Everfree Forest.