The Shadow of Madness

by Stormy Night

Secrets Brought to Light

Blinding light erupted from every flawless facet of the Crystal Heart as Princess Cadence captured the artifact in her magical grip. She flew past the spire of dark crystals on which Sombra, the dark king of the formerly lost Crystal Empire, stood, narrowly avoiding his lunge. Swooping over the crowd of gathered crystal ponies, she made certain that the Heart was clearly visible to all. Awed gasps filled the air. Before Sombra could recover and try to reclaim the Crystal Heart, she flew to the center of the crowd. The fake heart crumbled beneath her hooves as she held the genuine article aloft.

“The Crystal Heart has returned!” She shouted, instantly commanding the attention of the gathered Crystal ponies. “Use the light and love within your hearts to ensure that King Sombra does not!”

As if on its own, the Heart flew to the pedestal beneath the palace. Capture between the crystalline spires, it began to spin. One by one, the gathered ponies bowed. The streets of the Empire filled with light as they poured forth all of the positive emotions they could muster. The Heart's light grew as it began to spin faster, drawing in the light and love that the ponies offered. The glow was now far too intense to look at, and still growing more powerful. With one final burst, the light exploded outward in a colossal sphere of energy.

The wave of light shattered Sombra's dark crystals, throwing the King back as lines of brilliant luminescence appeared on his body. He howled in rage and agony, his too-long tongue lashing between his sharpened fangs. One final scream escaped his mouth as he was blasted away. Shards of dark armor flew through the air, along with the curved crimson length of his ruined horn. In the aftermath, the Crystal Empire, and its new Crystal Princess, glowed with a renewed light and vigor. The streets were filled with joy as the traditional festivities of the Crystal Faire resumed. Somewhere in the city, an impossibly terrible blast of Flugelhorn music echoed, before the instrument was confiscated and a painfully pink pony pouted pitifully. This is the story that everypony knows. Yet it is far from the entire tale. Nopony speaks of Luna and Celestia's visit to the Empire, or of what they traveled all that way to see. That, my friends, is the point of this tale. In the aftermath of Sombra's defeat we find the loose thread of a new story, a story of power and madness born of utter and complete devotion. A story of fanatical dedication to one's cause and the cruel and inevitable consequences.

The Royal Visit

Celestia and Luna landed in the center of the vast city. The glittering Crystal Palace rose above them, but its arcane beauty was overshadowed by the dark cause of their journey. Princess Cadence and Shining Armor met them at the base of the grand stairwell. The four ponies climbed the steep staircases into a cramped room near the very peak of the palace, with hardly a word passed between them. Finally, they stood outside a door locked with all manner of magical seals and alarms.

“We asked you to visit for a reason, Your Majesties.” Shining Armor began, as Cadence went to work disabling the locking spells. “And I'm afraid it isn't a happy one. We found something in the rubble after Sombra fell, and I think the two of you are the only ones who may be able to shed some light on the situation.”

As if on cue, the door swung open. Inside was a simple room, equipped only with a small bed and a set of medical monitors. The bed was occupied by a small form, laying still as an IV line fed nutrition to its clearly malnourished body. Shining Armor opened a window, allowing sunlight into the room and revealing the features of the motionless figure.

A charcoal gray pony was sleeping, or rather comatose, on the bed. His mane and tail were jet black, standing out against the clean white linens. His horn, or what remained of it, was a jagged stump. Despite his obvious unconsciousness, his eyes were wide open. Two crimson orbs stared without focus into the indeterminate distance.

The princesses blanched at the sight. Luna was the first to recover. She stepped up to the bed and looked at the comatose unicorn. She tenderly brushed a strand of his mane away from his face. Tears welled in her eyes as she turned away.

“Celestia,” She said, her voice wavering. “I need to do something. You won't like it, but you must trust me.” She met her sister's gaze evenly, only relaxing when her older sister nodded. “Thank you, sister.” She smiled.

The princess of the moon turned to look at the dark unicorn. Magic flickered along her horn as she sat, eyes closed and wings half-spread. Celestia, Shining Armor, and Cadence stepped back as the glow of magic changed. The light grew darker, thicker, and seemed to actively drain light from the room. Celestia swallowed nervously, but knew that her sister could be trusted.

“Child of Night,” Luna said, each word coming slowly and clearly. “Thy queen must confer with thee. Let thine eyes once again see the light of the Silver Moon.” For one brief instant Luna seemed transformed. Her coat seemed darker, her eyes brighter. Yet it was not the sinister Nightmare Moon that Celestia saw in her sister, but a dark and beautiful queen. A queen filled with compassion for her followers. Nightmare Moon as she could have been, perhaps, had things not gone so badly. The solar princess' train of thought was derailed by the awakening of the injured pony before them.

“My queen,” he said, his eyes focusing at once on Luna. “Thy face, it is changed.” He gave a weak smile, which faded when his eyes happened across Celestia. “The Solar Tyrant!” He exclaimed, coughing as he over exerted. “Stand back my queen, allow me to protect you from this vile usurper!” He struggled against the sheets, but to no avail. Even escaping from a hospital bed was beyond his abilities in his state.

“Solar Tyrant?” Celestia raised one eyebrow. “I sense a story there, sister dearest.” She smiled at Luna's flustered expression. “Don't worry Luna, I'm well aware of the propaganda. 'Down with the Solar Tyrant', 'Long Live the Lunar Republic', quite creative really.” She laughed, recalling some of the more over-the-top examples. Some of the best were still enshrined in Canterlot's museum.

“Nightshade, the war is long over.” Luna said, gently pushing the unicorn back to the center of the bed. “I have realized my error, how I allowed jealousy and hatred to corrupt me. My sister and I rule together once more.” She gave him a reassuring smile.

The injured unicorn allowed himself to be moved, his face unreadable as he processed this new information. As he did so, Luna thought back to the early days of the war. She recalled the ponies who had served her so loyally, who had given everything in service of her delusions. None more so than the infamous Children of Night.

The Children had been her most skilled and trusted servants, a group of uniquely gifted ponies specializing in the covert operations that had allowed the army of Nightmare Moon, Luna's army, to stand against Celestia's greater numbers. As she looked at Nightshade, she remembered the last time she had seen that gray coat.

Many, many years earlier

Nightmare Moon sat proudly upon her throne. Outside, the wildlife of the Everfree Forest was oddly silent. This was always the case around the castle she had once shared with her sister. Although still grand, the structure was showing some signs of neglect. Since the sisters had moved to the new palace in Canterlot their old home had been subject to the relentless forces of nature and time. Nightmare Moon's first task upon returning had been to dispatch a number of servants to clean and repair the ancient building. Already their hard work was showing benefits.

Six ponies sat before the throne, each clothed in a dark robe that shimmered faintly in the filtering moonlight. The robes were mundane, but woven into them was a material that Nightmare Moon called Lunar Thread. Resembling moonbeams made solid, it reinforced the material to turn blades and absorb magic. Even more useful, the threads absorbed the light of the moon and could use it to make the wearer blend into the darkness. The only Lunar Thread infused cloth in existence was used in the robes, which were only given to the queen's most trusted operatives. They were her children, the Children of Night. She gave the gathered ponies a smile, and began to speak.

“My beloved children,” She began, enjoying the loving looks the gave to her. “The time has come to strike at our enemy's heart. I have discovered the locations of a number of Celestia's high-ranking soldiers, each dispatched to guard a specific region.” She picked up five thick files from the table beside her throne. Each contained information on an important target in Celestia's army, along with photographs and maps detailing their last known locations. “These ponies must be eliminated, by any means necessary. You must not be seen.” The Children of Night nodded, stepping forward one by one to claim their assignment.

One by one, each pony took the file given to them and trotted over to wait for the rest. Nightmare Moon was overjoyed at the success of their training. Six covert operatives, each completely devoted to her and to each other. They were able to work flawlessly alone or as a team, and had yet to fail a single mission. Each had given up their old name and cutie mark in becoming a Child of Night, taking new identities as they accepted the brand of the moon. The pain of the branding was made as brief as possible, but a small part of Nightmare Moon felt sympathy for the pain they went through. They loved her as a mother, and she had come to grow strangely fond of them. In branding them, however, she extended her protection. They had to accept her mark, or they would never truly complete their training. This thought eased her discomfort with the entire situation. She would need to be able to stomach that and worse if she was to overthrow her sister, would have to be cold and cruel when necessary. Yet still, she could not extinguish her emotions toward these six ponies.

Finally, the sixth approached her throne. His hood was down, revealing his charcoal gray fur and jet black mane. His red eyes blazed with fierce adoration as he bowed before the mare he thought of not just as a queen, but as a mother. He rose, looking around uncertainly, and spoke.

“My queen, have you any tasks for me?” He asked, looking over to where the others, his brothers and sisters in the night, looked over their dossiers. “Surely there are more than five ponies who must be eliminated.” He flushed, barely visible under his dark coat, as he realized his error. “Forgive me for questioning your judgment, milady, I merely wish to prove my worth to you as a Child.”

“Rise, my dear Nightshade,” Nightmare Moon said, smiling at the flustered unicorn. “Your assignment is more important than Celestia's entire army. It is a mission that could win us the war without the need for further bloodshed.” He looked up, questioning, his expression confused. “There is a massive spell array in the far north, one that my sister uses to spread her magic over the whole of Equestria.” A map drifted out of the shadows, wrapped in the purple fog of Nightmare Moon's magic. The queen unrolled the map on the table and produced a quill and ink. With deft strokes, the marked a spot in the wilds of the Everfree. “This is the castle, as I'm sure you are aware.” She traced a line through the wilderness to a small frontier town on the forest borders. “This is your first destination, you are to infiltrate the trading post and find a train going North.” The line she drew followed the distinctive markings of a railway, ending far beyond the accepted northern borders. “One of the ponies to be eliminated will be getting on that train. You will be taking his place. I trust you can perform a simple disguise spell, and you will receive his documentation upon Moonsong's completion of her mission.” The trail of ink ended on a strange city. It was huge, larger than Celestia's capital by far, and the layout of the streets resonated with power, even on parchment. Nightshade took the map and went to join his partner.

Moonsong was hunched over her dossier, the normally vocal earth pony oddly silent in her concentration. She had a dark pink coat, her mane and tail golden blonde. Always smiling and singing, she hardly seemed like a covert agent, but when she was working she did so with deadly efficiency. He walked over to sit by her side, looking down at the photographs. The stallion he would be impersonating was a brown unicorn with a mane and tail of bright red. His blue eyes were large and bright, and his cutie mark was a wooden staff crossed with a sword.

“So,” He began, smiling as Moonsong jumped in surprise. “How are you going to handle him? Turn on the charm maybe, and drug his drink? Or maybe just drop in at his home and snap his neck?” Moonsong looked at him with an insulted expression. She shook her head violently from side to side.

“Why would I do that?” She asked. “Those are so boring. I thought maybe I'd drug him and set up an elaborate trap involving overly complex machines and make him torture himself while I threaten his loved ones and eventually make him take his own life just to escape the barrage of crippling psychological torment.” She grinned as she spoke, an expression far too innocent for one describing torture and murder in such disturbing detail. “Or maybe I'll tie him down and start grinding down his horn, after getting you to make me look like somepony he loves of course, and then when there's nothing left but a tiny little nub of exposed nerves I'll rub his head in some sand. Then I'll gut him alive.” She bounced with glee as she thought of ever more sadistic plans.

“Cut the act Moonsong.” Nightshade said, shaking his head slowly. “It's a little too convincing sometimes.”

“Awwww.” She pouted, giving the best “sad puppy” eyes she could manage. Although it was difficult, Nightshade managed to remain stern. Eventually she frowned, dropping the act. “Fine. You're no fun sometimes.” And just like that she was grinning again.

“We're working together on this one.” He said, sitting by her side. “After you take care of this guy I need to impersonate him and take his place on a trip north. That means I need to follow him for a while and get his mannerisms down.” The pony beside him bounced with glee.

“YAY!” Moonsong shouted, Practically vibrating with happiness. “Stakeout party!” She bounced up and down a few more times before realizing that every eye in the throne room was fixed on her. A sheepish grin crossed her face as she somehow managed to stop in mid-bounce and descend slowly to the ground. “Um, sorry 'bout that,” she said. “I got a little over-excited huh?” Every pony in the room nodded as one, but the smiles they wore took the edge off of the disapproval. Moonsong had always been like that, so they were all long used to her odd moments.

“Now, my Children of the Night,” The Queen began, instantly drawing the attention of the entire room. “I leave you to your missions. Go forth and make me proud.” She grinned at her Children, settling herself on the throne and closing her eyes.

“Come, Moonsong.” Nightshade said, tucking the map beneath his cloak. “We have a train to catch.” The pair wore matching smiles as they trotted out of the throne room to gather their supplies.