To Fill a Void

by Erebus

Everdark

The Everfree Forest...

This vast, foreboding, and deadly conglomeration of nightmares stood as a testament to the fact that Equestria was not always the shining gem that its inhabitants and neighboring countries thought it to be. Truthfully, the Everfree once covered much of the central region of the country in the times that pre-dated even Discord’s rule, and was far more unbridled than it even currently could be viewed. It wasn’t until after the Elements of Harmony were discovered within the underground cavern deep within the forest that the two current rulers decided to build a small colony within the wood’s confines in an attempt to lessen its dark influence over the land. While the forest’s size was significantly reduced during their time there, the ruins that now stood in place of the colony served only as a dark reminder of the Everfree’s unwillingness to be tamed or stamped out. Truly it could be said with little doubt…that the Everfree Forest held a will of its own.

A thought that served only to further increase Luna’s growing list of doubts.

Exactly half an hour had passed by since the Princess had discovered the source of the strange anomaly that had plagued her mind earlier, each minute having been spent pacing across the balcony, trying to piece together exactly what course of action she should take in the matter. Already she had ruled out simply allowing herself to ignore it and attempting to move on, as not only would the ensuing conflict within her mind drive her to complete paranoia, but also the situation itself could merit a yet unknown threat to Equestria that could not simply be ignored.

She had also been mulling over other possible ways that the situation could be handled, becoming increasingly frustrated as each dead end would slowly bring her inevitably closer to the one course of action she hoped to avoid at all costs. Despite her best efforts though, Luna inevitably began to realize that undoubtedly the best way for her to deal with the problem…was to confront it herself.

“Stars above, is it truly possible that this situation could become any more cryptic than it already was?” Luna was quickly becoming annoyed at her lack of immediate answers. “It is not as if we can keep good conscience at the prospect of trotting headfirst into that cursed forest, not without even knowing what manner of phantasm has summoned us there.”

“All the same…we cannot simply turn our back upon this; the potential threat level is far too high. For all we know, Nightmare Moon might have been able to find some way or another to physically incarnate herself.” A shiver ran down her spine at that thought. Contrary to popular belief, her “other” self was not simply some malicious personality that had been brought about out of spite, but had instead grown into an actual separate entity over the course of Luna’s long imprisonment. It was unknown to all but a few, but the dark being was more than capable of being brought back…under the correct circumstances.

Turning her mind from the past, Luna hesitantly turned and headed back towards her room. “If we are to do this however, it must be done completely on our own. Tia cannot be bothered with such an obscure matter, nor would she find marching into the Everfree a plausible course of action. Asking for assistance from the Element Bearers would undoubtedly warrant unwanted attention from my sister, and I myself feel less than comfortable sending them back into that castle. As for Discord…” Her mind wandered back to the last “errand” the chaos lord had agreed to help with. “Discord would naturally just send things into further disarray than needed.”

“This may also very well be an opportunity to show our citizens we have only their best interests in mind.” Gazing through one of her windows, she took a moment to look down at the empty streets of Canterlot. "If we are capable of circumventing a potential threat completely on our own, then they would surely be able to believe that we bear no animosity towards them."

Her mind reluctantly set, Luna slowly made her way across the room and opened the door to address the guards. “Nightshade…Overcast, we would like to inform you that will be setting off to fulfill our duties for the night.” The two stallions stared up at her intently. “There should be no real issues, however if we are not back by the morning, it is of the utmost importance that you inform our sister immediately…understood?”

The two of them quickly nodded in affirmation but otherwise kept deathly silent to the statement…this alone told Luna that they were in absolute compliance. “Very good, you are both relieved and free to enjoy the night as you see fit.”

The both of them nodded once more before bowing deeply and turning to walk towards the tower’s staircase.

“Stoic as ever, it is not as if they couldn’t stand to at least verbally answer every now and then. Still, I suppose they do take great pride in their rank and position…best not to chastise them over it.”

Shutting the door and walking back into her room, Luna quickly decided to gather her cloak from her wardrobe before heading out. Normally her cloak was merely a thing of sentimental value, and not something she would wear on most outings. However, with the uncertainties of the current situation, it might serve her in ways yet unknown.

Turning back towards the balcony, she proceeded to stare out at the Everfree, a look of grim determination set on her face. However, the forest’s only response to this was the howling of a timberwolf pack and an unsettling stillness.

“That place truly is unnatural.” She muttered under her breath.

Luna took a good moment to make sure there was nothing she was forgetting that might help her in the future…the last thing she wanted to be was unprepared. Finding that there was nothing immediate that she could think of, she made her way to the edge of the balcony. Letting out a few ragged breaths, the alicorn slowly flared her wings out to their full length, and stretching them for a brief moment, propelled herself off the railing’s edge. As the blackness of the night quickly seemed to swallow up her dark form, one thought began to rip and tear at the back of her mind.

“What exactly are we getting ourselves into?”

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

A somewhat uneventful half-hour had passed since Luna had reluctantly set off towards what she could only call a foal’s errand. A cool breeze had worked its way through the night air, so with her wing speed working to double the effect, the princess had been more than glad she had decided to bring her cloak. Over the course of the flight, she had attempted to keep her mind preoccupied from the stupidity of exactly what she was doing...to little avail. Finding no solace within her own mind, she simply decided to try her best at clearing her thoughts entirely, if only to keep herself from turning back. Before long however, she was brought back to her senses by the familiar smell of smoke, originating off to her left. Looking up, an all too familiar sight graced her as she found herself passing close to the edge of Ponyville.

Gazing off towards the small village, Luna couldn’t help but smile. While it held true that her first main visit to Ponyville hadn’t been met under the most pleasant of circumstances, and her first impression had been less than stellar, she still couldn’t help but hold a sense of affection towards the town and its citizens. She wasn’t quite sure as to exactly what it was, but whether she was visiting or simply passing over, there was always a form of tranquility and subtle peace that the village seemed to exude.

“Whilst we are in the immediate area, we suppose it would be counterproductive to not quickly gaze over the minds of our subjects.” She said, casting her thoughts out towards the town.

While she didn’t necessarily have the proper time to be thorough with her duty, Ponyville was quite far from the largest settlement in Equestria, meaning that she could sort through dreams much faster than if it had been most other places.

As she soon found, most of the population had already fallen asleep, with only a few still awake…not outstanding from these few being a certain lavender unicorn. Luna could only sigh at this. “Twilight Sparkle, for being one the most intelligent unicorns we have ever met…it is surprising you still lack the concept of a proper night’s sleep.”

This was nothing foreign to the princess however, as Celestia had informed her long ago of Twilight’s…tendencies. What did surprise her though, was the state of the other citizens, as from what Luna could glean, most of their dreams were…surprisingly peaceful.

Normally Luna found that on most nights she would come across a fair number of ponies that were suffering from some form of nightmare or another, yet finding a night where there was not so much as the slightest fear was almost unheard of for her.

After taking this into consideration however, she was all too pleasantly surprised at this turn of events. “While it is most certainly an odd occurrence, we cannot help but smile at a night that is devoid of nightmares.”

However, she was well aware that this small bit of relief was not about to last. As she proceeded to move further away from Ponyville and started over the familiar tree line of the Everfree, the small amount of solace she had found was quickly torn to pieces by the feeling of dread that the forest seemed to naturally exude. Glancing downwards, the princess found that she could make out nothing through the dense foliage that covered the ground, and even still…she could feel the hungry eyes of hundreds of different beings glaring up at her. All the while, the old and gnarled trees seemed to grab and reach out for her, as if wishing only to drag her towards whatever creatures lay below.

Forcibly pushing her doubts to the back of her mind and her eyes forward, she pressed her wings even harder than before, if only to be done with this as quickly as possible.

Even still, Luna was well aware that the forest itself was merely the prelude to what she must do, as she soon found herself staring down at an all too familiar landmark that morbidly towered over the tree line. Pumping her wings a few times, she slowly began to descend towards the broken structure, her eyes locked forward onto the aged stone.

Imposing as it may have been during its prime, the ruins now held an even deeper sense of dread to any that may have the misfortune to pass beneath it. The stone walls were coated with thick foliage that had slowly eaten away and decayed them, the windows that dotted the remaining tower were darkened and seemed to cast unseen eyes upon any below, and the full moon that hung in the sky cast an eerie glow that granted the grounds an otherworldly feel. In short, it was the one place no sane being would prefer to find themselves in the shadow of.

“Far too soon…This wretched place brings us no happy memories to speak of…not even for all the warm moments we had once spent within its walls. Those days may yet linger deep within us, however this ruin serves only as a foul reminder of that unspeakable night and the days that led towards it.”

Luna placed a hoof to her cheek as she felt a single drop of moisture roll downwards, stinging as it fell. She huffed angrily upon noticing this; it was bad enough that she could not conform to the current age, but that she could not simply let go of the past…was truly unacceptable.

She faltered briefly, but soon managed to somewhat regain her composure, a dark look still set upon her face. “No matter what we may find ourselves facing we must overcome it, this ruin is simply another enemy to defeat. We may yet be unaware of what has called us forth to this place, but it has provided us a challenge that must be surmounted. It can be our only hope that once we have discovered the truth behind all this…that we may yet walk away from these walls with a clear conscience.”

Though clearly shaken by her past, Luna forced herself to slowly but steadily push her way towards the steps of the darkened building, her hooves solemnly echoing against the stone. It didn’t take her long to make her way into what had once been the main entrance hall…a sight that only made her cringe. The moon gently shone down upon her through the destroyed ceiling, tattered banners that adorned the walls quietly flapped in the slight breeze, and a few old suits of full body armor stood grimly with their backs to the wall at full attention.

Luna hung her head. “This place has truly fallen far from the grace it once upheld.”

Stepping into the center of the room, she closed her eyes and began to once again track the residual echoes…all of which were now pulsing with much greater strength than they had before. While she realized that she was almost directly on top of whomever…or whatever had reached out to her, Luna could yet feel the energy tugging at her mind, directing her towards the tower that stood across from the ruined castle.

Luna grimaced for second as she realized exactly where the energy would be leading her, but she quickly stamped her fear back as her horn lit up with magic. “We have come this far in already, to simply turn back and leave at a point such as this would be pointless and unacceptable.”

No sooner had those words left her mouth than she had disappeared into a blinding flash, leaving nothing behind save for the cracked stone floor. Not but a few moments later, in another part of the castle, a similar flash made its way into existence, the light shortly illuminating the walls of the last room the princess wished to be. Yet the alicorn needed no light to recognize where she now stood, the dark remnants of her former self were still strewn about the floor. This place was the very spot of her exile and return…the castle throne room.

Pushing back her desire to turn and leave this place as quickly as possible, she forcibly calmed her mind and focused on the energy once again. She quickly noticed that the intensity here was immense, with the echoes pulsing to an almost lifelike pattern. A subtle scan of the surrounding area however yielded no presence whatsoever, much to her annoyance.

Hastily conjuring up the few detection spells she had memorized, she proceeded to redouble her efforts, taking it upon herself to search the room as diligently as possible. Minute after minute passed by, her horn glowed intensely and her eyes scanned vigorously, all in a desperate attempt to locate anything that may yield her a clue. Yet no matter where she searched, what spells she cast, or what course of action she took, there was absolutely no evidence to point out any being besides herself in the room, nor any other leads directing her elsewhere. The energy simply stopped on one point.

The platform where she had been purged of Nightmare Moon.

In that single moment, the princess realized that she had been led back towards the one place in Equestria that caused her the most pain, simply to find no answers as to why. The echoes, the voice, her mind could only put them out to be an elaborate ruse by some unseen force, a lure to bring her in…and watch her fall. This was the only conclusion the princess could bring to bear as she stood alone.

The wall of emotion that slammed into Luna was quick to attempt to overwhelm her, playing at her basest fears and nightmares, forcing her to relive every moment of her past. Everything up until this point she had been capable of suppressing, but this had finally left its mark upon her…it was the breaking point.

The princess hung her head low as tears slowly began to leak down her face, choked sobs soon finding their way past her lips. “Why…why are we cursed to forever relive the one true mistake that we made in our life? Was it…was everything we experienced…truly not enough? Are we doomed to be driven into madness…to have this cruel mockery play out before our eyes as punishment?!”

A barely subdued rage flooded through Luna’s being as she glared at the scraps of armor that littered the floor beneath her. Her horn began to gather energy at its very tip as she simultaneously charged her spell and gathered the pieces into a bunch. “To whatever damnable force stands idly watching our pain…we say no more! We will NOT allow our past to haunt us ANY longer! For all it’s worth, this piece of our past can simply BURN AWAY!” Her shouts resonated throughout the building as she let loose a torrent of magical energy directly at Nightmare Moon’s remains, the pieces quickly disintegrating into a black vapor under the tremendous output.

Much to her disdain however, the black fog soon began to slip down and phase through the floor. Noticing this, the princess let out an enraged cry as she violently slammed her hooves against the stone floor, desperately trying to destroy the demon that haunted her past with an unrelenting number of blows. The attempts soon proved futile however, as each hit began to weaken and grow softer. It wasn't long before she soon exhausted herself and collapsed onto the cold stone floor, fresh tears still flowing from her eyes.

“Damn it…Damn that infernal thing to the lowest pits of Tartarus.” She choked out.

Minutes began to creep by as the pain remained fresh within Luna’s mind. After a short amount of time she attempted to slow her breath and calm herself, wiping the tears from her face as she took in some deep ragged breaths. Despite being clearly shaken by past she had been forced to replay, her better judgment told her to overcome her emotions. “We will give our search one final effort, simply to be sure we are not mistaken.” She was just about to rise to her hooves when suddenly a sickening sound shattered the silence.

It was the cracking of stone…

“What in the name of…”

Whipping her head down, Luna had no more than three seconds to process what was happening before the floor beneath her all too suddenly burst apart into an endless black abyss that stretched ever downwards. Slapping her mind out of its sorrow induced state, Luna hastily attempted to get her wings working as she began falling towards the gaping maw.

Gazing up she noticed the small cascade of stone that had been dislodged behind her, and immediately attempted to push herself away from the approaching hazard...only to have her left wing struck by a piece of debris that had followed her down. Thinking quickly, the alicorn gathered up her strength to teleport back to the surface before she fell too far. She was proven too slow however, as another block of stone proceeded to strike her, before disappearing into the void below.

“AUGH!” A strangled cry escaped her lips as a sharp pain in the side of her head threw her senses into a jumbled disarray, dragging her away from consciousness.

The pain that followed her soon subsided into a dull throbbing, her vision beginning to blur and darken. Despite her best efforts to stay conscious, Luna knew that this was a battle she had already lost…and she had played a hoof in her own defeat. As she slowly succumbed to the darkness that pulled her down, she felt something prodding against her mind. Time began to slow around her, and something vast and obscure seemed to work its way into her rapidly fading awareness.

“Young one…you delude yourself.”

“No being can destroy the past they alone forged…”

Comments

[LosZetas]

4982840 so like what kind of circumstances? ;) I'd pick a ponie everyday doggie style bro!

[Erebus]

4984591
Trust me...

In a world like this, there are too many circumstances to count up.

But like I said, I believe in a happy medium.

[Erebus]

4984598

Glad to see that you're enjoying it so far.

[csabijoo]

i dont like those you know good that its not :#

[Erebus]

4985987
Hmm,

The way I was trying to potray her was more on the "wit's end" side of annoyed.
Even though I don't physically show it, I try to imply that Luna's kinda been "less than interested" for the entire meeting. Her dozing off just kinda peeved Celestia more than anything else.
But anyway, I'll see if I can work on that in later portrayals of her.

[miraak]

This is what i like to see a good story i applaude you good sir. P.S is the human a human :3

[Erebus]

4987639

I'm glad to see that you enjoy it, Oh Ancient Dragonborn.

As for your question...come next chapter, I think you'll be able to make a pretty accurate assumption as to how human he is.

[Guilty King]

I like this mysterious entity...