The Nyxing Hour

by Nagel Navari

Chapter 23

The castle hadn’t been much repaired since the last time Nightfall had seen it. Apparently the pony guards she’d seen making camp here had left the ruins as they found them.

That meant it was easy for the Children of Nightmare to put things back to the way they’d been, raising huge purple banners from the walls and even covering over the hole in the ceiling with more deep violet cloth. The castle had been brightly lit with many candles, making it seem almost as though it was still lived in. Almost.

Nightfall felt herself tense a little as they passed each new cultist, searching the outlines ahead of them for Midnight. Would they have her in one of those creepy robes with the moon masks? But no, not so far. No sight of Sapphire Breeze, either. So if they’d done the same magic to her, she couldn’t find her.

But there was no missing the ritual circle, tucked away near the cracked thrones that had once sat the two sisters. The ground was already covered with bright white markings, and at least a dozen unicorns swarmed over the circle, making sure everything was perfect.

All this is for us, Nightfall. What is one pony who pretends to love you compared to the adoration of all Equestria? We will really have it this time. The ponies won’t make the same mistake twice, not when their survival is at stake.

“All present, say your welcomes to our Queen.” At once, all activity in the hall stopped. Nightfall saw ponies all bow, lowering their heads towards her wherever they were.

Except for an unusually large pony, in some overly large robes near the back of the circle. That was Midnight, and she was still resisting. Losing, from the look of it, but… It didn’t take much last time. Maybe we can escape together. No magic was perfect—even the strongest spells could be broken.

“She remains incomplete, as you can all see,” Spell Nexus said. “But that will not remain so for much longer. Midnight approaches, and the ritual will be much easier the second time. We’ve taken measures to assure we will not have any uninvited guests.” There was a little weak laughter from around the room.

Mostly, all eyes were still on Nightfall. Almost a hundred ponies, all looking at her the way the palace ponies had looked at Celestia. No, this is even worse. These ponies don’t love me. They’re being forced. Their eyes were glazed, their motions stiff. They bowed because they didn’t have a choice. She couldn’t enjoy love like that.

“Perhaps you have some words for your ponies,” said Spell Nexus from beside her. “We’ve been waiting for you for a very long time. Fought for you… brought you back. Is there anything you’d wish to say before your glory is finally realized?” Then he lowered his voice, obviously just for her. “I’m personally curious about why you were so hard to find, when we had dozens of our most loyal ponies swarming over the place you arrived. But no doubt you had a wise purpose, one I would not dare to question.”

An earth pony with a large block hurried over, gesturing to Nightfall. It was obvious what they wanted—she was supposed to give a speech. Don’t worry about it, Nightfall. We know what to say. Just listen to the words I tell you.

She didn’t want to. But with so many wearing robes, so many watching her as though they cared about what she had to say—it was overwhelming. I have to keep pretending until there’s a chance to escape. It isn’t here quite yet.

Nightfall stepped up onto the block, whimpering quietly to herself at the sight of so many ponies watching her expectantly. She couldn’t disappoint them, not without revealing she wasn’t willing, and probably throwing away her chance to escape.

“My… loyal subjects…” she began, voice quavering. It sounded so pathetic, echoing off the huge stone interior. “It has been…” But then she found the words coming. The voice provided them to her, flowing straight from her mind to her mouth. Maybe she should’ve fought it—but she’d already been fighting so much tonight. She only had so much energy left. “Your… queen is pleased with how much you have done for her. The terrible injustice of so long ago will be rectified tonight. Once I have recovered myself, and my powers, I will strike down the pretenders, and ensure there can be no further challenges to the throne. Now I know the sort of pony my sister is. She will not oppress you any longer. All those who have been dragged down for the cause of my kingdom will be remembered, and those trapped in dark places will be free. Equestria will rise in a night that lasts forever!”

By the end, Nightfall hardly even felt her own lips moving as she spoke. The tiny voice in the back of her mind was doing all the work, and she was only a passenger. Is that what it feels like for Midnight? Is that what happened to all of these ponies? No sooner did she think it than she felt nauseated. Her speech was probably making it harder to fight. Midnight Storm in the back of the room wasn’t shaking anymore.

I’m helping evil magic. I can’t keep going like this.

She had to find a way to end this, and fast. Through the windows, she could see that midnight was only a few minutes from now. Once it arrived, and the magic well and truly began… she had a feeling that the little voice would be the one in charge, and Nightfall would become a tiny, insignificant presence in the back of her head.

But she didn’t run away, even though she wanted to. She didn’t cry. Just stepped down from the block and let the cultists surround her, smiled as they praised a pony that she didn’t want to be.

And so the wave of activity washed over her and passed her by, as ponies returned to preparing the ritual. Nightfall was just fine with that, fading into the background as much as she could. At least there she wouldn’t have to do any more terrible things.

Spell Nexus led her along to the front of the ritual circle, as ponies arrived with carts of supplies to integrate into the spell. She watched Midnight Storm wheel one of those carts along, apparently unmoved by the ritual about to take place. Had she run out of strength to resist?

Nightfall kept her eyes open for any chance to escape—she started by pulling off her coat, hiding the enchanted headband that was her disguise deep in a pocket where it wouldn’t be found. Hopefully. Seeing her as an alicorn, even a young and pitiful one, seemed to be what these ponies wanted.

But we won’t be pitiful for much longer. Feel the power welling up from beyond, Nightfall. It will be ours. We will bring a nightmare back to Equestria. Together.

Nightfall could feel it. Even with the spell barely begun, even with midnight not yet arrived, she could feel power there. Like the strange diagram wasn’t just shapes on the floor—it was an opening into somewhere strange. Somewhere she never wanted to see again, somewhere buried in the parts of her memory that went deeper than her time in Equestria.

“What does this spell do?” Nightfall found herself asking, before she could stop herself.

Spell Nexus’s eyes widened a little, but he didn’t seem to be seeing through her ruse. “What does… why, it restores your power, of course. It accomplishes the task we’ve wished to do for some time. You won’t have to hide from Celestia once your strength is restored. We have already taken measures to ensure that the Elements of Harmony will not stop you this time. Miss Twilight Sparkle is with us tonight, as part of the ritual. And when it is finished… she won’t have the energy to turn a page, let alone resist you. Without her, the other Elements are useless.”

That isn’t what I asked, Nightfall thought. But she didn’t want to argue—her question had already attracted his attention. So she said it differently. “When I look at your spell, I see a door. A door into somewhere I don’t want to go. We aren’t going to slip through it by accident, are we? Or… let something in from the other side by mistake?”

“It’s… the Void isn’t a place, Queen. It’s a state of existence. It is the magical neutral, oblivion. The limbo between one state and the next. Nothing can travel there, or exist there. Think of it…”

But even as he said it, she knew he was wrong. Nightfall had memories of that place, even earlier than her time in Equestria. Even earlier than her betrayal by Celestia, or the rage she’d felt and eventually tried to bring against the ponies who richly deserved it.

There were terrible things on the other side of that door, monsters worse than Nightmare Moon. Worse than her.

I have to stop this. No matter what it takes. Maybe she could force the spell to activate, slip through to the Void on the other side. At least that way Equestria would be safe—somehow, she could tell that she was the only reason it could open. Half of her was on the other side… and half of her was here. Once the two sides were reunited, stability would return.

Give me something, anything! There has to be a way!

“It’s almost midnight,” said Spell Nexus, quietly but firm enough that several of the nearby cultists focused on him. “Bring the unicorn, and make sure the guards understand that we aren’t to be interrupted. They should not fear to lay down their lives if necessary to protect our queen. We will not have another chance to restore her.

Cultists saluted and ran off, and he gestured down towards the diagram. “Please, My Queen. Stand in the center as we begin. You’ll know what to do when the time comes.”

Nightfall glanced at the indicated place, and she could practically see the floor fuzzing away to mist. Tendrils of something glowing were pressed against it from the other side, ready to pry their way into the world and devour everything. They would start with her, but that would only be the beginning.

Nightfall did know what to do. She needed to run. Right now!

She abandoned any act, and blocked out the voice with every bit of determination she had. It screamed out in vain for her to stop, but this time it couldn’t steal her strength. Before the cultists even knew what had happened, she’d shoved her way through the circle and was climbing the steps to one of the castle’s towers.

“Queen, wait! We don’t have much time! The ritual will be weaker if we don’t begin at the right moment!”

It was like before, when she followed her instinct. This was somewhere safe, if only she could get to the top. “Everypony, after her! The ponies must’ve brainwashed her! We can’t let them rob her of her rulership even now!”

There were so many hoofsteps behind her—hundreds. Nightfall didn’t think, she just ran. Ran even though the tower shook with the weight of so many ponies passing through it. She ran so fast she started chipping the dark blue mosaics beneath her hooves.

Then she reached a landing, and a massive wooden door that had fallen out of rusty hinges and collapsed onto the ground. She could vaguely make out the half-moon shape on its other side.

She passed into an ancient room, untouched save by dust on every surface and the smell of mildew. A cloud of it rose as her hooves passed inside, and she searched for shelter, any shelter.

But there was nothing here—just a bright blue bed, and ancient tapestries hung on the walls. In the light of a cracked window, she could make out the shapes depicted there.

This was Luna’s bedroom—her bedroom. Nightfall found herself completely frozen under the massive portrait hanging from the walls—a portrait of a teenage Luna, dressed in some incredibly froofy gown, and grinning as wide as a house out at the painter. At her, through time.

There was only one window, one high up on the ceiling. It looked like a wooden walkway had probably gone all the way up there, but it had rotted away to little stubs and planks by now. There was no way up. No way out.

Another second later, and a flood of cultists poured in through the door behind her.

She screamed in terror, blasting out at them with all the magic her little body could muster. But it wasn’t enough. Even as a few of the ponies went scattering, a dozen more brought her down to the ground. They didn’t care if she hurt them—they held her down until she could barely breathe. Held her down until she’d given up, lowering her head with a whimper of defeat.

That’s right, Nightfall. All your pain will be gone soon. It’s time for me to take the throne.

Author's Note:

Written by Starscribe as a reward on Patreon

Comments

[Asolem2]

All this is for us, Nightfall. What is one pony who pretends to love you compared to the adoration of all Equestria? We will really have it this time. The ponies won’t make the same mistake twice, not when their survival is at stake.

Then it won't be adoration, it will be fear