Changing moons

by Jeweled Pen

Chapter 5

Luna couldn't understand. She stood in a stone hallway much like the ones in the palace, but every window and door was blocked off. She knew she was asleep and this was a dream but she couldn't move anything. Even using the traditional royal canterlot voice had failed to move the barricades blocking her way and that had never failed her in even her wildest dreams, literally.

Occasionally the princess of the night could see bits of the outside world through the barricades, small bits of whites and grey moving by the windows so fast she couldn't identify what they were and an ever present darkness. The most confusing thing about this dream however was how quiet it was.

No matter how hard she listened she couldn't hear a single dream or wish. When she had first come back to take over the night her own dreams had been flooded with the wishes and dreams of other ponies. At first it had been so loud and overwelming she could barely keep from waking up, now after hearing them every night since her return it felt strange and alien to not have them echoing around her.

But the worst thing wasn't the silence or her lack of control. It was how... Boring this dream was. A long linear hallway with blocked off doors and windows. She'd been through the dreams of all kinds of ponies, from the wild ones like Pinkie Pie's(She swore she would never go near them again without a spork, sword, stepladder, sextant and attack koala), to the collected ones like Twilight's. But even the most boring dreams had something going on. She couldn't even feel a sense of suspense or dread, something that in her dream viewing experience often accompanied long hallway dreams.

However after what felt like hours, and knowing the way time passed in dreams it likely was, the hallway turned to stairs leading down. Still every door and window she passed was blocked off, but as she traveled a small purple mist started to swirl around her hoofs. As she walked down the stairs the mist continued to get higher and higher though it was so thin she could easily see where she was going, giving the stairs an odd purple tint. Finally she came to a large white door with the oddest crater marks across it's face, the mist now up to her neck. With a gentle push, she swung the door open.

The room was covered in a white and silver dust, a single pile of rusty metal pieces tossed in the middle of the floor. The mist seemed to be almost devouring the metal pieces and it was so decayed she couldn't even tell what it was at first.

And as she realized what it was she let out a scream as the mist devoured the last remains of it before sinking into the ground.

******

"I never made you!" Luna shrieked as she sat up in the bed. Her movements were so sudden she accidently headbutted her servant, Gemini. The princess stared at her servant in confusion at the unexpected string of profanities leaving the mares mouth. "Your glowing." The alicorn said abruptly as she noticed a green glow surrounding the mare.

"Ofcourse I'm glowing you little..." Gemini sighed and took a deep breath before standing up straight. "I was hoping you would stay asleep a little longer. But I should have enough." Gemini's eyes turned green and her pupils stretched. A black spiral horn grew from her head as her body began to stretch and grow, the mares wings and body turning black as night. Even her clothing shifted and changed, forming into blue armor around her head and neck. Her mane turned to a cloudy version of the night sky, stars twinkling and blinking in it. Luna's eyes caught a glimpse of her own mane, now a light blue color, with solid hairs much like when she had first been released from the very presence that now stood in front of her.

She couldn't help it. She screamed even as the alicorns green magical glow encircled her, the world once again fading to darkness.

******

Celestia woke with a cry, her eyes going wide as she looked around frantically. Her room was dark and empty. She got to her hooves and began to walk around her room quickly, shaking her head as she tried to shake the groggy disorientation. Something was wrong. Something was horribly wrong and whatever it was had woken her up.

She barely had time to bring up her shield as the windows to her room shattered in green light and the pieces of glass slashed at her, harmlessly bouncing off her shield. Moments later a green beam of light pierced what remained of the windows, it slammed into her shield with such power it forced her to stagger back into the wall opposite the window. The princess of the sun could see the outline of a tall pony as it moved across the sky. The alicorns horn lit up as she grabbed her bed with magic, and hurtled it through the wall with the ease her student would have tossed a small pebble.

The pony outside the window reacted quickly as another beam of green energy slammed into the bed, obliterating it. But Celestia was already moving. By the time the mattress was little more than a few floating pieces of burnt feathers the ruler of the daytime was already on the balcony, staring up at her assaulter. "Nightmare Moon... Oh Luna... How could you?" She felt a soft stab of pain in her heart as she gazed at the alicorn before her. "I thought I had finally freed you of your anger and rage."

"You'll find you cannot destroy emotions so easily sister!" The dark alicorn snapped as her horn glowed once again before sending another green beam at the location of the princess. Celestia was to fast however and took to the air before the blast could strike her, leaving the balcony to take the blow. Stone and mortar fell from the tower where the green magic had struck it as Celestia flew through the air, sending her own magical blasts to strike the attacker. The two danced through the air as their blasts momentarily lighted up the sky as they fought, slowly awakening and drawing the attention of those in the castle.

Two purple eyes watched from a balcony in the palace guest quarters, soon joined by five other pairs. "What is that?" Rarity asked as she stared up at the scene, her hair still in curlers and wearing a green face mask. "All these loud noises are ruining my beauty sleep. Not to mention-"

"It's Nightmare Moon." The fake Twilight told her, staring up at the engagement. General Fang couldn't suppress his glee for long. Soon all this would be done and equestria would be theirs! "Come on, we need to go get the elements and help her!"

"We can't. The princess has to unseal the chamber for us to get to them." Rainbow told her as she stared at the scene. "If we had them we could send Nightmare Moon packing back where she came from in a heartbeat."

Unseal the chamber? They have to do that? Did they last time? Think think think! General Fang thought to himself, until the light clicked. "Rarity, Rainbow. You two go wait by the chamber. The rest of us will get to Princess Celestia and get her to unlock the chamber. Then you two grab the elements and join us. We can try and stall Nightmare Moon until then."

"Huh? Wait, if anyone's going to be fighting Nightmare Moon it should be me! I'm-" But Rainbow was quickly interrupted.

"No. We don't have time to argue. Rainbow just do it!" As she ran off leaving her friends behind, confused.

"I... I guess we should do what she says. Come on Rainbow Dash." Rarity said as she headed out the door, tossing her curlers to the side and wiping off her sleeping mask, while Rainbow followed sullenly behind her.

The other three followed, running after Twilight. Soon the three caught up to the purple unicorn standing besides Shining Armor and princess Cadence in the main courtyard, standing under one of the stone archways. Many of the servants and soldiers had gathered and were watching the fight overhead as powerful magical beams shot through the air, hiding under the stone archways of the castle to avoid anything from falling on them.

The crowd gasped as Nightmare Moon crashed to the ground, wrapped in a green sphere of magic. Golden light struck against the spherical shield before wrapping tightly around it, pinning the dark alicorn to the ground. "You've lost Nightmare Moon. Sister..." Celestia said as she landed on the ground, her body scorched and burnt, but her horn glowing so brightly it hurt to look at.

"Princess Celestia!" The fake Twilight called out, stepping forward. "You need to unlock the elements of harmony so we can use them."

"Twilight? Oh, yes, ofcourse." As she glanced back at the castle for a moment.

Nightmare Moon let out a feral growl as her shield began to writhe against the light holding it. "Yes dear sister. Use the elements on me again." She growled as her magic searched for a weak point. "Banish me back to the moon. That is what you want, isn't it? That way you can be everyponys favorite again. And I can be the thing they hide under their beds from!" She growled.

"No. Never sister. I only want to help you. To release this corruption..."

"YOUR A LIAR!" She screamed. Hatred and anger fueled her as the dark alicorn's magic pushed out, shattering the light surrounding her. "You only bound me up so you could rule alone! So you could be everyponys favorite! It's just like it's always been, you have to have the day so everypony can see all your things even when you don't work half as hard as I do!" Torrents of green magic shot from her horn, forcing Celestia to bring up her own shield. "You can't hide behind that forever Celestia! I won't let you push me aside so you can have all the glory to yourself!" Her eyes moved around, as a cruel grin formed on her lips. "And I won't let your precious elements stop me." Her horn began to glow brighter, as the stone archways above the gathered ponies began to crumble.

"NO!" Celestia screamed as her magic reached out, supporting the rubble as the ponies dashed away from the wreckage. However with her attention momentarily diverted, she was unable to properly shield herself as green magic pierced through her defenses, cutting into her body and leaving a small hole through her side. Moments later more and more beams of green magic pierced her body, as she tried futilly to deflect the barage but soon pain overtook her, and she crumbled to the ground, her breathing ragged. One last blast of magical energy slammed into her horn, stealing the rest of her consciousness and ending the fight as quickly as it had begun.

"It... It worked." Nightmare Moon said as she stared at the fallen alicorn in glee. "This is the third time you have fallen to me. Sister. And now... For you." Her eyes turned to Shining Armor, Cadence, Pinkie, and the three disguised changelings. "As the last threat to my rule, it is time for you to join your princess!" As another blast of green magic shot from her horn at the group.

"Never!" Shining Armor said as a sphere of magic surrounded them. "Twily, you and your friends need to get out of here. I'll try to hold her off, but you need to grab the elements! Your our only-" He was cut off as Twilight's back hoofs connected with his head, jarring his head to the side and sending him scooting backwards in pain, confusion, and disorientation. His thoughts were silenced as green magic enveloped him.

"Twilight? What are you- AYIEEE!" Cadence shrieked in pain as the green light enveloped her next.

"Twilight what are you doing?" Pinkie said as she backed up slightly, between Fluttershy and Applejack. "It must be a spell! Queen meany must have-EEK!" She fell over as horns formed on Fluttershy's and Applejack's heads, green goop slamming into and imprisoning the excitable pink mare.

"Twilight we got the elements, we-" Rainbow yelled as she and Rarity came barreling through the door, each carrying two of the elements of harmony and wearing their own. She stopped and stared in confusion, Twilight standing over her downed brother, Pinkie encased in a green goop, Fluttershy and Applejack both with horns sprouted from their foreheads. A shadow loomed over the two late arrivals for a moment, as the two were lifted into the air, stripped of the elements, and then held high for all to see trapped in a green glowing prison.

"Princess Celestia has fallen. Shining Armor has joined her. Your precious elements are now mine, and will be scattered to the far corners of equestria and beyond." Nightmare Moon grinned as her body began to shift and alter, the facade melting away as her hair shifted and changed to long jagged strands of dark purple, holes forming across her horn and near her hoofs. Her eyes remained green and slitted, but the color of her body changed from black to a dark grey. Her wings remained large and feathery, though they became clear and almost see through. A purple mist seemed to spill forth from the holes in her legs, swirling around her as she gazed on the frightened expressions of the ponies before her. "Remember this day little ponies. For it was your last." Her wings spread out as the purple mist flowed around the courtyard. The moon above began to move across the sky as a loud buzzing began to fill the air. "From this moment forth. The night. Will last. Forever!"

Comments

[plainoasis]

So this is the true beginning? Keep up the good work!

[Jeweled Pen]

997754 Yup. There's still one more chapter to the beginning before the main portion of the story will take place. It was originally only going to be 4 chapters, but it ended up becoming 6 chapters and a prologue. >.> Once I finish the next chapter I will be redoing the summary, but for now I don't want to spoil it until the full beginning portion of the story is finished. Thanks for the comments and the views, it really means a lot to me to know people enjoy the story ^^