Storms On the Horizon

by Eeveexpert

13 - Breaking the Moon

For a farm pony, there is no better sensation than the feeling of freshly plowed earth beneath your hooves to let you know you're putting a in a hard day's work. Except maybe the hunger one gets when you skip breakfast to get started on that hard work. Big Macintosh was just finished plowing the sixth row for the soon to be carrot patch as his stomach gave one loud growl of protest. "Ah reckon it's gettin' t'be that time."

The big earth pony shrugged off the yoke for his plow and set his course for the farmhouse. Cooking was not quite his forte, so Big Macintosh gravitated towards the refrigerator, hoping to fins dome leftovers that would be suitable for breakfast. His eyes fell upon the rest of the pancakes that Fluttershy had prepared one day prior. Sure, they were cold, but the farm pony wasn't overly picky. Out came the plate of six, along with some apple butter and apple juice after a few trips to the table. Half of the pancakes were moved onto their own plates and set aside for the Cutie Mark Crusaders, one for each member.

Not a mere thirty seconds later, almost as if the mere gesture had summoned them, the three fillies came cantering into the kitchen, sleepy-eyed and yawning. "G'mornin', sleepyheads." the red earth pony said amiably.

"Mornin'..." Apple Bloom slowly replied, climbing up to the kitchen table. "Is AJ back from Canterlot yet?"

"Fraid not." her brother responded around a mouthful of breakfast.

Another small head popped up next to Apple Bloom's, this one white in color. "I wish Rarity would come back soon." Sweetie Belle sniffed. "It's boring without her here..."

"Ah wouldn't worry too much. Ah'm sure they'll be back real soon. They're probly-" Big Macintosh trailed off mid-sentence. "Hang on a tick... Y'all are one short..."

The two fillies traded glances, then began looking around.

"Scoot?"

"Scootaloo?"

All three heads turned at the sound of the front door slamming shut. Big Macintosh was the first to vacate his chair in curiosity. "What in tarnation..."

"Kreeeeeeh!"

That shrill cry put all hooves in motion.

"Scootaloo!"

The front door nearly popped from its hinges as the massive red earth pony shouldered it open. His fears were soon proved unfounded however. The orange pegasus filly in question was hardly in danger. In that case, where had that harsh cry come from?

That had come from up higher. Circling above the pegasus filly, another creature of similar color was looking for a somewhere to land and remain unharassed by her pursuer. Big Macintosh recognized the avian as described by Applejack. "Philomena?"

Upon hearing her name, the phoenix sensed a place where she would land undisturbed, and spiraled down to the stallion, landing upon his broad back.

Having never seen a phoenix before, one might (correctly) guess that the Cutie Mark Crusaders would be excited at the new guest. All three fillies crowded the earth pony, wanting a closer look at the fiery avian.

"She's so purty!"

"Her feathers are beautiful!"

"She looks so cool!"

"Steady on now, girls..." Big Macintosh warned. "She's wearin' some sorta harness. Looks like there's a message in it, too."

With some delicate maneuvering, Philomena popped open the letter case and presented the orange-maned earth pony with a scroll, which he promptly unrolled and began reading.

Odd..." he murmured to himself. "AJ tol' me the library went up in flames..."

Apple Bloom was the first Crusader to speak. "Big Macintosh... what's goin' on. What's wrong with Miss Twilight's library?"

"Ah'll explain on the way. Come with me, girls."

Big Macintosh had not yet seen the library since Applejack had told him about it, so he had no idea what to expect upon arriving. Truthfully however, nothing could have prepared him for the devastation waiting for him as he finally peered inside. "There's nothin' left..." he breathed.

Even the Cutie Mark Crusaders were at a loss for words. A single stunned utterance from Scootaloo accurately summed their feelings. "Whoa..."

The interior of the library was as much a desolate wasteland as it had been during Applejack's visit. Piles of ash littered shelves and every possible inch of floor space. "Alright girls, holler if y'all see any books lyin' around..."

"What kinda books are we lookin' fer?" the yellow, bow-wearing filly asked.

"Any ya can find. We ain't got the time to be real picky. Jus' start lookin'."

In order to be as thorough as possible, the four ponies checked every single pile of ash, both upstairs and downstairs, with nothing to show for their efforts but blackened hooves and snouts. The searching went on for a good hour or so, but ultimately proved fruitless.

With her white coat a dark grey from all of the ash, Sweetie Belle slumped heavily against the loose door. "We're never gonna find that dumb book!" Frustrated, the unicorn filly rapped her head against the door.

Finally fed up with the stress, the tired door broke free of its hinges, forcing Sweetie Belle to scramble for cover.

After the ensuing cloud of dust had eventually settled, and the party had stopped coughing, Big Macintosh noticed something behind the fallen door. One particular pile of ash was shaped oddly...almost like a book... A quick puff of air removed the ash, revealing...

"The Harmony of Magic..." he read slowly. "This is what we're lookin' fer... C'mon girls, back to the house."

No sooner had they stepped back outside than a shadow fell over the group. Philomena was still perched upon Big Macintosh's back, so the large pony grew uneasy.

"Charger! Look! Down there!"

Mere seconds after that female voice rang out from on high, a trio of pegasi dropped to earth several tail lengths from the red stallion.

The earth pony placed the book he was carrying on the ground and set one of his massive hooves upon it. "Stay b'hind me, girls..." he quickly whispered before calling out to the three winged ponies. "Y'all three look lost. Is there somethin' Ah can help ya find?"

"As a matter of fact, there is." Charger stepped forward and nodded to the book upon the ground. "That book under your hoof there. That's all we're looking for. Give it to us and we'll be on our way."

This book here? Ah'm mighty sorry, but a friend of mine asked for it first. Ah'm afraid y'all are jus' gonna have to look elsewhere."

"Listen, earth pony. I won't repeat myself a second time." In the blink of an eye the pegasus stallion's tone had done a complete about-face. "I told you to give me that book."

"And Ah told you 'NO.'"

"If you won't give me that book, then I'll take it from you!" The pegasi's wings became a blur as he exploded toward the red pony.

In his usual stoic manner, Big Macintosh didn't bat an eyelid. Rather, he lowered his head and widened his stance.

THUD!

Anypony with a lick of common sense could tell you who was going to come out on top in this confrontation. The massive red earth pony barely moved an inch from the impact. "Now you listen t'me. This here book is mine. I suggest y'all take yer friends an' fly back to wherever ya came from, otherwise things are about to get mighty ugly."

"They already have gotten ugly, earth pony!" Charger spat into his opponent's face.

Big Macintosh snorted, and a smile crossed his mouth. "In that case, Ah hope yer ready for a rodeo, partner." In one fluid motion, he took a step back, and as the still airborne pegasus lurched forward, the big red pony caught him by the scruff of the neck and with a twist of his own muscular neck, flung him into the side of the library,

As Big Macintosh had turned, so too had the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Unbeknownst to them, the two pegasus mares were silently drawing closer. Silently, at least until Sweetie Belle let out a wail of terror as she was plucked from the ground.

"Aaaaaah! Apple Bloom! Scootaloo! Somepony help me!

Big Macintosh spun like a top, his expression one of pure horror. The book held no value compared to the terrified filly being carried away through the air, and he immediately charged after her, with the remaining Crusaders hot on his heels.

Scootaloo chanced a look back at the abandoned book, just as the pegasus stallion was coming to. She glanced from the book to her trusty scooter, propped against the side of the library, and a mischievous grin appeared on her face.

"Unnnh..." Charger held a hoof to the side of his throbbing head. Everything was spinning, his ears were ringing up a storm, and it hurt to even think. Through his cloudy vision, he could barely make out the book lying unprotected upon the ground. Calling up some hidden reserve of strength, the stallion slowly began crawling for the tome. Just as he was about to lay his hoof upon it, an orange blur flashed by, and it was gone. "What!?" A taunting whistle from his right instantly got the pony's attention.

"C'mon, ole' floppy feathers." Scootaloo taunted from atop her scooter. "You want this book, right?" She nodded to the book held on her upturned hoof. "You can have it if you can catch me!"

Groggily, the pegasus stallion lunged at the orange filly, grabbing nothing but air as the scooter wheels spun to life, powered by their rider's quickly beating wings.

The two pegasus mares that had grabbed Sweetie Belle were cruelly teasing the now-sobbing young pony, taking turns dropping her, only to catch her a few frightening moments later, all while staying just out of reach of the earth pony below. Every time Sweetie Belle was dropped, Big Macintosh would run to catch her, only to outpaced time and again. The simple fact that he had no way to get to the terrified filly drove the stallion mad. While it was true that Big Macintosh was lacking in the wing area, there was one among them who was not. Philomena had had enough of seeing the Crusader tormented like this.

An angry screech cut through the clear morning air. The phoenix left Big Macintosh's back like an arrow, just as Sweetie Belle was dropped for the umpteenth time. She struck the pegasus waiting to catch the unicorn filly like a fiery lightning bolt, screaming like a banshee and razor-sharp talons out for blood.

Preoccupied with the whirlwind of flaming wings and raking claws spinning around her head, the pink-maned pegasus had no choice but to let Sweetie Belle drop past her, right into the waiting mouth of Apple Bloom's brother.

"It's all right, hun'... Ah've got ya..." he whispered after setting the young pony safely at his hooves. "You'll be safe now. Ah promise."

In the meantime, Scootaloo was leading Charger on a merry chase around the perimeter of Twilight's library. As she came around the back, her pursuer was drawing within range, and she was going to have to make a move quickly. Just as the pegasus stallion made another grab for her, Scootaloo lay her scooter down and shot right through Big Macintosh's legs, letting her pursuer run smack into his broad flank.

"Yer a stubborn one, Ah'll give ya that much." the red earth pony commented, turning a dark eye upon the pegasus. "Ah'll give ya one last chance to take yer friends an' leave."

After a moment of visual debate, Charger looked away. "Very well...earth pony..." the pegasus growled."But this will not be forgotten..."

"Good." Big Macintosh replied simply. "Maybe nex' time y'll think twice about picking' on lil' fillies. The stallion looked to the sky and gave a quick whistle, to which Philomena ceased her assault on the two pegasus mares, and returned to the earth pony's back. "Now git."

"N-now what do w-we do...?" Sweetie Bell stammered, still shaking, as she watched the three pegasi slowly fly away.

"We're goin' to Canterlot. It's not safe fer us to stay in Ponyville anymore. We've got some errands to run b'fore we leave. C'mon."

Arrangements were made to have the Cakes look in upon Opalescence and Fluttershy's animals before the four ponies finally returned to the farmhouse. "All right, girls, hurry an' git yer things; quickly now." Big Macintosh urged the three fillies up the stairs and into Apple Bloom's room. "Hurry, girls. We ought to git movin'. When you have yer things, meet me downstairs. With that, the earth pony turned and disappeared into his own room.

Even though his decision had been a quick one, Big Macintosh's return to the farmhouse had not gone without witness. In a cloud bank high above Sweet Apple Acres, three pegasi watched the farmhouse, sinister grins upon their faces.

"Game over, earth pony." Charger laughed. "Game over."

-------------------------

For a half of an instant, General Headwind was speechless. "Miss Zecora?" The pegasus general quickly shook off his surprise and was after the zebra just as fast. "Miss Zecora, what is the matter?"

"The news you have brought me is most dire indeed, so I bid you be silent, lest our flight you impede."

Headwind nodded. "I understand. Let me lead the way then."

Zecora returned the nod and slackened her pace slightly.

"General Headwind?"

The two ponies skidded to a halt at the hailing voice. "Princess Luna?" Headwind spun around to face the night blue alicorn. "Princess Luna, Your Majesty..." Respect made the white stallion take a knee in haste. "Forgive our rush, Your Highness, but I was on an errand by request of your sister."

"You were? I've been looking for her. Verily then! Lead on, General!"

Trips back from destinations always seem shorter for some reason, and it was no more than five minutes before the three ponies were back at the research wing. Zecora came barreling through the door like a striped tornado. In a rather impolite manner, she shoved Rarity, who was still admiring the sinkstone, to the side, causing her to stumble.

"Oof! Zecora dear, was that entirely necessary?"

Whether or not Zecora actually heard the other mare was impossible to tell. The striped pony made several laps around the glowing sinkstone, inspecting it from all sides.

New to the situation, Luna leaned close to her sister and whispered, "Is there something I've missed?"

"If I knew anything, I would be happy to tell you."

"Princess of the Sun, this stone I see; how long has it been glowing green?"

Celestia turned her eyes to the ceiling, recalling that particular bit of information. "About half an hour, if I recall correctly."

At hearing this, Zecora fell silent, muttering to herself at regular intervals. After a period of time, she turned to Celestia once more. "How many ponies live here? Is it many, as I fear?"

"All told?" the alicorn asked. "Airing on the conservative side, I would guess about five hundred, six hundred at the very most."

The striped pony nodded thoughtfully. "I am sorry, your Majesty, but I must take my leave. There are things I must attend to lest all of us are deceived."

Zecora barely made it three steps before a massive white wing blocked her path. "I respect your expertise, and I greatly appreciate your decision to help us, but I must insist that you fill the rest of us in. This problem has now been brought to my doorstep, and I want to know what exactly I am up against. Please."

"Very well, your Majesty, if it is the truth you request... As you can see, this stone here before you has woken from rest. The glow from its center; to me it has shown, that the gem is responding to one of its own."

"'Responding?'" Luna repeated. "That would mean that there is another sinkstone in the palace, right?"

"After seeing this stone that your sister has found, I would indeed say your logic is quite sound. These stones, they glow brighter the closer they sit to another stone with magic seeping from it."

"And what exactly does this glow represent? You seemed quite startled after I told you." Headwind added.

Zecora shook her head sadly. "The glow... The glow...that is what worries me. One of the ponies in the palace is not who they claim to be."

Celestia's eyes widened for an instant. "I knew that color looked familiar. That green color...it's the same color as changeling magic. That must be its basis."

"Indeed. Changeling study was the inspiration for this spell. And, just like the changeling, the difference is nigh impossible to tell."

"Pardon my interruption again." General Headwind spoke up. "But, Miss Zecora, you had a way to tell the difference. That bag of amethyst powder you own; it seemed to work perfectly. What about that method?"

Without saying a word, Zecora motioned for Luna to bend down. A quick flick of her hoof tossed a small amount of the aforementioned purple dust into the air. This wispy amethyst cloud wasted no time in gathering around the princess' horn.

"I see. A unicorn's inherent magic would interfere with the dust..."

"Thought the dust may fail as a foolproof test, there is one other way to separate the fake from the rest. There is one spell I know of to remove a disguise. Sad to say, the years have hidden it from many an eye."

"Of course..." Celestia snorted in tired disgust. "I suppose I should ask the archiver to begin browsing our spell records. Is there anything we can do in the meantime?" A shake of the zebra's head and the alicorn sighed. "Very well... Once again, we're stuck waiting for a book. Headwind, take Rarity with you and find Jet Stream. He will stand as Fluttershy's door guard until you are well rested. I also want you to inform those guarding the Elements of what we have learned here. If they see anything out of the ordinary, they are to report it to either Luna or myself at once. I also want two guards at each door until further notice. Oh, and Rarity?"

"Yes, your Highness?"

"If, at any time, you or your friends feel uncomfortable with their guards, ask them to fetch one of us and we will stand as your guard. If they should refuse, lock your door and stay put until Luna or I arrive in your room. Also, do not leave your room with anypony other than Luna or myself, and, even then, only if we call you by name. Let your friends know of this as well."

"Of course."

The sun goddess sighed again and glanced to the one pony she had not yet addressed. "Zecora, I hate to ask this of you, and you are completely free to refuse, but if you would be willing to help us look for any sort of information, I would be grateful beyond words."

"Your Majesty, you need not ask for my aid. I am happy to give it any time of day."

"You have my infinite thanks, Zecora."

This news that Zecora had given her worried Celestia greatly. I knew that Canterlot wasn't invincible, but first the changeling attack and now this...? She couldn't even look at her guards or palace staff without that doubt squirming in the back of her mind like a bad itch. She took a deep breath and ruffled her wings in an attempt to calm herself down.

"What's the matter, 'Tia? You look sick to your stomach." Luna said, concern ringing evident in her tone.

"I might as well be... I haven't eaten or slept in nearly two days...and in those two days, Twilight was taken from me, you were attacked, Nightmare Moon wants to return, and now I don't even know who I can trust anymore... Being sick to my stomach would only improve things right now..."

"If you think it would help, I still have some scones in my study left over from last night. They're obviously cold by now, but food is food."

"I appreciate the offer, Luna, but we don't have the time."

As an immediate reaction, the moon goddess snorted angrily. Her second response was a bit more forward however. Wings flared, she placed herself before Celestia, blocking her path.

"Luna! I just told you we don't have time for this!"

"'Tia, you and I have all the time in the world. Listen to me, because I'm not going to move until you do."

"Very well..." she relented.

"You need to make time, 'Tia. You need to eat something. I don't care if you have one of those scones or some of the grass from the palace garden, but it has to be something." Unbeknownst to the night princess, she sounded quite like a mother reprimanding her foal.

Even a being that has complete control over heavenly bodies can't eliminate their most basic of needs. All this thought of scones and food was relentlessly chewing away at Celestia's last thread of resistance. Finally, with one loud growl from the alicorn's stomach, the decision had been made. "Guess I don't have any say in this. Go ahead and get the scones."

Luna nodded approvingly. "I'll be right back." Her mane and tail flowed up around her, revolving faster and faster until disappearing altogether.

Zecora took up a spot next to the elder of Equestria's two rulers. "Your younger sister is remarkably wise. Many years of wisdom sparkle in her eyes."

Celestia nodded slowly and smiled. "That she is, Zecora. That she is."

-------------------------

No matter how many times she used it, Luna always found teleportation strange. It always left the user with an odd tingling sensation in the bottom of their hooves. In much the same fashion as her departure, Luna arrived in her chambers. Stardust left over from her appearance swirled and danced around her as she headed for her study. From amidst the scrolls and books littering her desk, the silver serving tray rose into the air, suspended by a blue glow. Three left... One for each of us, I suppose.

Once more, the alicorn called up the magic necessary for teleportation. Just before she went through with the jump, something stopped her. She dropped the spell and turned back to face her room. Something was calling her from within. Without remembering how or why, she found herself standing over the broken field of glass that used to be her mirror. After who knows how longs, Luna snapped from her trance, gasping for breath like a drowning pony. She knew she was the only pony in the room, yet the telltale chill of outside eyes upon her trickled down her spine.

"No... No, no, no..." The dark blue alicorn backed away from the mirror shards, shaking her head. "Nightmare Moon is gone. All the Elements are here in the palace; she doesn't have any of their power... She's gone..."

"Neverrrr..."

The ghostly, echoing voice actually stopped Luna's heart for a second. "No..." The princess screwed her eyes shut and continued backing away, stopping only when she hit the wall. "You're gone... You don't exist anymore..."

"How can you say that, when I'm right in front of you?"

Every thread of common sense told Luna to keep her eyes shut and yet, every thread went unheard. The sight that greeted her caused her to recoil, thus slipping and falling against the wall. Held together by some black magic, the broken mirror shards had assembled themselves into a jagged, misshapen whole. Within the broken reflection, Luna saw a hideous amalgam of her face combined with the sneering black visage of her former alter-ego.

"Hello, Princessss..." she hissed. "Did you miss me...?"

Praying that this nightmare would depart if she looked away, Luna again closed her eyes, shivering in fright. "Y-you don't exist anymore..." she repeated in self-affirmation. "This can't be happening again... It just can't..."

"Well, my dear... You look like you've finally remembered your place. In my shadow, where you should be..."

That was it. Luna was not about to pushed around like a frightened little filly any longer. A gale-force wind whipped itself up at the princess' command, spiraling around the bedchamber, picking up all manner of scrolls and books. The timidity in her cyan eyes faded away behind a ethereal white glow of pure energy as she rose to her hooves. "Hear us now, accursed demon..." Luna's voice resonated with the power of hundreds of thousands of stars, sending tremors through the ground beneath her. "Thou no longer holdeth any power over us. In the name of the stars, moon, and every pony that resideth under them, we, Princess Luna, sister of Celestia, mistress of the night, and daughter of the Creator herself...CAST THEE OUT!" One by one, five spheres, each burning with a brilliant starlight, appeared around the alicorn.

Now it was the reflection's turn to recoil in fear.

From each of the orbs, a beam of equal intensity lanced forth, merging into a sixth sphere before the alicorn. Luna let out one final cry that shook the very air itself. "BEGONE, VILE ONE!" Finally, the central sphere erupted in a beam of light that would have blinded a lesser pony instantly. This beam ripped through the mirror and wall behind it like wet tissue.

The book-carrying hurricane subsided as the white light left Luna's eyes. Her eyes remained hard and unblinking...until she looked at the ground before her.

The mirror shards, which should have been outright vaporized, remained scattered upon the floor, still in the same irregular pattern as when they had first been broken. They hadn't moved, and there was no evidence to suggest they had been a part of the mirror that Luna had just seen. A terrible feeling of nausea overcame the princess as she realized what had transpired. "A-all of that was...a hallucination...?" Her eyes drifted from the broken glass up to the gaping hole in the palace wall. "Wh-what have I done...?" Nightmare Moon never was here..." Luna slumped back against the wall and slid to the floor in stunned silence. Several moments went by like this before a single tear dropped to the floor, soon followed by many more. The mare collapsed to the floor in a heap, covering her eyes.

"What's wrong with m-me...? H-have I gone crazy?"

Feeling alone, scared, and very confused, Luna curled into a quivering ball and began brokenly sobbing.

Comments

[Lelouch Vi Britania]

Yay, an update!

[Midnight Sparkle]

Luna...;A; *huggles the poor alicorn*
I had my hunch throughout the story that Nightmare moon was behind all this - the way everyone kept having nightmares was a good hint! But Poor Luna!
And yeah, I woulda commented with that a few chapters earlier but I couldn't stop reading! This story is sooo good!! And the description and concept of it all is magnificent!
I can't wait for the next chapter!!

[Eeveexpert]

1358755

Give her a hug for me too, would you? Tell her I'm sorry for doing that, too.

Your praise is much appreciated, friend! Excellent work, picking up on the theme between the individual nightmares. To be able to put all of those together, it sounds like you read everything in one sitting. Color me impressed.

Here's to hoping I can keep it up and that you'll keep reading to see if I can!

[XDash]

This is fantastic! I can't wait for more!

[Uzume Tennouboshi]

Big Mac is best Earth Pony! And Scootaloo is best pegasus filly!

[Eeveexpert]

1559264
These are extremely acceptable statements.