Elements of Destiny

by MorningGlory

Chapter 1 - The World As We Know It Is Gone

Several pairs of eyes remained on Storm Runner despite the chaos below in the town. A cool wind picked up, swirling around the mares and the stallion, making each of them shiver in kind.

Twilight stammered a bit before finally speaking. "N-Nightmare Moon? That's not... no, that's not possible! We saved Princess Luna! She was Nightmare Moon!"

Storm Runner let out a bitter laugh, shaking his head. "No. She wasn't. Nightmare Moon isn't a pony. Nor is it just Nightmare Moon. It's just a nightmare. A darkness that possesses ponies and destroys everything happy and bright. It's an ancient thing that can't be truly destroyed."

Twilight frowned and shook her head. "I never read anything about that. That can't be true!"

"It wasn't put in any books. Celestia didn't deem it required knowledge," Storm said bitterly.

Morning Glory, finally speaking up, moved to Storm Runner's side. "How do ya know all of this, then?"

"Because I'm a member of Luna's guard."

The matter-of-fact tone the stallion used startled the mares. Rainbow Dash flew over and hovered above Storm, glowering at the stallion. "You don't look like the normal ponies in her guard. You don't have the weird ears or bat wings!" She pointed out.

"It's a long, long story. I'll explain it later. For now, we need to focus on the town." Storm pointed as the dark clouds dispersed, leaving the ruined town down below bathed in sunlight. "The damage is done. We need to focus on the town. Then, once that's done... We'll go to the Princesses and I'll explain everything."

"I hope you can, Storm," Morning murmured, turning her eyes to the town, her heart aching as she did. "I really, really hope you can..."

***
Hours had passed since the attack on Ponyville. Families were torn apart and left asunder. The losses were great but none worse than for the Elements of Harmony.

Twilight Sparkle lost her brother in the collapse of the stage. Cadence was in critical condition but there was a chance for her to survive.

Rarity lost Sweetie Belle in the fires as well as her boutique, which held everything she had to her name.

Fluttershy lost countless friends, though none of the animal friends were lost thanks to her cottage being outside of town.

Rainbow Dash lost Scootaloo, the filly who admired her greatly. She recovered the Cutie Mark Cruisaders' body amidst the rubble and sobbed pitifully for thirty minutes.

Pinkie Pie lost the Cakes and Sugar Cube Corner. All that she had left were the infants, left orphaned and scared.

Applejack and, by extension, Morning Glory suffered the largest compound loss. Apple Bloom perished with her friends, huddled in an attempt to survive the onslaught. Granny Smith also perished, trampled by the crowd. And perhaps the worst of all- they could not locate Big Macintosh. Like countless others, his body did not show up but he was presumed dead.

Twilight, despite her agony, quickly teleported them all to the castle to speak with Celestia and Luna. However, they were greeted with a disdainful sight.

The castle was devastatingly destroyed. Windows were shattered with glass shards littering the once beautiful carpet that was now singed with the after effects of fire, similar to that of the town. A few of the royal guard for both princesses limped around as they tried to restore a sense of order to the castle but their struggle was in vain. The nightmare that had destroyed much of Ponyville had also left shattered halls in the castle- a sign that even their great capitol wasn't safe.

Eventually, the small group of ponies made their way to the throne room. Once they slipped past the broken doors, their hearts shattered. The largest of the thrones- dawned with a bright sun emblem- was toppled over, the fabric ripped and burned, parts of the chair broken completely. Celestia was nowhere to be seen. However, a familiar navy alicorn was spotted looking just as shell-shocked as the rest of Ponyville when the clouds dispersed.

"Princess Luna?" Storm Runner's voice startled Morning out of her woe-some thoughts. She had forgotten he was right there at her side. Briefly she wondered why this strange pegasus was so protective but she assumed it was just because she had endured a tremendous loss and had no one to lean on.

The younger princess lifted her head and her eyes widened. "Storm Runner...? You've survived?"

The stallion nodded, stepping forward a half pace. "Princess... Nightmare has returned."

Luna's face fell and for a moment, she looked dark. Twilight and the rest bristled before Luna spoke. "I had assumed as much when the darkness came and took away my sister. I had heard about the attack on Ponyville. My sister and I were preparing to go there to help fight it but..." She trailed off, casting her gaze aside before she looked at the others. "We need to save my sister."

"But how? We don't even know what this Nightmare is!" Twilight scowled at the lack of information given before casting a pointed glare at Storm Runner.

Luna went to answer before the stallion raised a hoof. "I promised them answers. And I'll be the one to give them." Startled that the unknown stallion shushed the distraught princess, they all cast their eyes to him. Morning studied his face as he spoke. "A long time ago, before Princess Luna was banished to the moon, there was a rumored darkness spreading all over the world. Long time friends were fighting. Wars broke out. The king and queen of Equestria rallied the other kingdoms to fight the menace. The Gryphons, the dragons, the Crystal Empire... Everyone. Through the power of friendship, magic and kindness, it seemed that the darkness had finally been destroyed..."

Luna stepped forward as Storm trailed off. "But that was not true. It had only injured the darkness, leaving it to hide away in the hearts of those it had already infected, intending to burst forth at the appropriate time to bring even more darkness to the land. When I was but a filly, my father and mother fought the darkness. Little did I know that it had infected me. As the Princess of the Night, I had embraced all darkness as a friend, to use kindly and provide comfort to others. But Nightmare had seeped into my heart. Over the centuries, I grew more and more hateful to my sister for her offerings of the sun and having ponies sleep through my night. That is where my story begins that you are all too familiar with."

"So yer sayin' we didn't actually stop Nightmare Moon years ago?" Applejack scowled at that.

"You stopped the nightmare in me, yes. But not Nightmare itself," Luna clarified, a touch of sorrow to her tone.

Finally, Morning stepped forward to speak. "Then what can we do? So many ponies died today. We can't let any others get hurt or die..."

Luna's face was cast in shadow before she spoke. "You all need to travel across Equestria and the other lands and find allies to fight this horror. Reports have flown in that there have been other instances like this. Perhaps your travels and facing the darkness with the magic inside of you all will help you defeat it once and for all."

The Elements of Harmony nodded in unison as this was essentially their duty anyway. But Morning Glory looked down at her hooves. She had already lost her grandmother and little cousin. Would she also lose her best friend and the other friends she gained in the adventure?

A charcoal wing flicked her cheek and she looked up to Storm Runner. He just offered her a kind gaze before he turned to Luna. "Your Highness, I would like to accompany the girls to ensure their protection. They have all just had a trying day and could do with some assistance."

Luna hesitated a few seconds before her gaze fell to Morning Glory. She took a deep breath before spoke. "Young Morning... You are family of Applejack, correct?"

Startled, Morning nodded and the Princess continued. "With the current state of the world, and being in the same situation as well, I cannot allow the remains of family to go separately. If you can provide support for the Elements of Harmony and their tough trials ahead, and agree to listen to Storm Runner, I will allow you to accompany them."

The young mare inhaled in surprise before she looked to her cousin and the other girls. They all had the signs of previous tears on their faces. They all had suffered losses and weren't as strong as they could have been. Something wormed its way into her heart and she turned her green gaze on the alicorn before her. She held her head high even though her heart was just as broken as the others. "I will do whatever I can to help these girls. I ain't going to let them fight this alone. What kinda friend would I be if I did?"

A shrill squeal of delight spouted behind her and startled everyone before a pink blur pounced on her and hugged her tightly, nuzzling her neck. "Oh I knew you were a good pony at heart! I just knew it! You're as sweet as... As... As, well, sugar!" Pinkie Pie said cheerily.

Finally, a ripple of laughter escaped everyone, including a chuckle from the previously stoic stallion. Luna nodded approvingly. "Then as my right as Princess of the Night, I decree that the Elements of Harmony and young Morning Glory will set out in the morning to herald the safety of the world as we know it."

Royal guards then came forth at Luna's words to escort the girls out to some reserved quarters for them to stay for the night. Morning strayed behind as Twilight began her thoughts of a plan of how to begin this journey and the girls chatted as they each contributed ideas for it. But before she left the hall, she heard Storm speak to Luna behind her.

"Your Highness... Luna... The girls will be in danger if Nightmare catches wind what we're doing."

"You are correct. But they are going to endure a journey few should ever have to endure. I fear that this journey will change them in ways they aren't quite prepared for. But they are our only hope."

"Do you think we can do it?"

The door shut behind her and Morning wished strongly she could have heard Luna's reply.

Author's Note:

Sorry it took literal years to get this out! Things got hectic but I've returned!

Enjoy!

-MG