Of Chaos and Harmony: The Shadow of Doubt

by Moonsire & Stormy

Chapter 9 - Midnight Rainbow

Midnight Rainbow

A trapdoor under the castle throne room quietly creaked open. Luna peered out into the unpleasant sensation of cold rain. The night had begun, but the sky was a black void. Only the stars dotted the night sky. Though it was her responsibility to raise the moon, if she did, Doubt would kill her. While it pained her to leave her ponies in a lightless night, she was their last hope. If Doubt could be stopped, Equestria would need her alive.

She walked down the city, or what was left of it. The castle was blown to pieces, the city leveled, and the entire kingdom was completely abandoned. The rain had doused the flames, but the destruction had already taken its toll. Suddenly, the princess caught a glimpse of somepony walking alone in the city.

Without a second thought, she sprang to her hooves and yelled, “Halt! Who goes there?!“ She stopped as the pony came closer into view.

“Princess Luna?”

Looking towards the voice, she found a familiar cyan pegasus, lifting her head and looking back at her.

“Rainbow Dash.” she said flatly, “What purpose doth thee have here?”

“Seriously,” Dash said, “You can drop the whole ‘ Royal Canterlot Voice.’ It kinda gets on my nerves.”

Luna was taken aback by her rudeness, but saw her drooping wings, heavy breathing and red-rimmed eyes. She decided to drop the subject.

“… What are you doing here?”

“I came here looking for Princess Celestia’s help. But…” She looked around. “I guess it’s too late for that.”

They stood in silence. Tears fell to the ground, though neither let loose a sob. Time seemed to move slowly. The cold rain falling onto their backs. Thin streams of smoke rose lazily from the crumbling city. The only sound was the pitter-patter of the rain.

Outside all was still, but within Luna’s heart was a maelstrom of emotion. She swept wildly from one sensation to the next, to quickly to react. After an eternity of chaos, she finally decided on a course of release: exacting her revenge.

Turning to Rainbow Dash, she ordered, “Come with me Rainbow Dash. There is something I must show you.”

*****

The two walked through the throne room, the rain falling through the non-existent roof. Luna kept her gaze forward, while Rainbow looked all around. The pillars had been smashed, broken, and some had even been knocked over. All of the stain glass windows had been shattered. And the throne no longer sat at the back of the room, but instead in a pile of splintering wood near the doors.

“For centuries,” Luna began, keeping her eyes forward. “My sister and I have ruled over Equestria. Every morning she would raise the sun, and every night I would raise the moon. Thus maintaining balance and harmony in the land.”

Rainbow Dash sighed. “I already know this. Why did we have to come in here?”

Luna nodded her head. “Yes of course. Everypony knows this story.” She looked at Rainbow through the corner of her eye. “But there is more to this story that you do not know.”

Rainbow looked up at Luna, confused and impatient. Luna continued. “In order to keep the land free of fear, my sister and I have kept a secret. Not even the royal guards know about this place.”

They arrived at the top of the staircase where the throne used to be. The princess’ horn glowed and an aura of dark purple encased a dangling piece of cloth. She pulled down on the blue cloth. A symphony of clicks and clatters rang from the wall as it slowly lifted upward to reveal another stairway leading down. Rainbow looked hesitant to set hoof in there, but Luna reassured her by leading the way.

“You of all ponies should know that Equestria is not immune to the forces of darkness.” She started, her voice echoing down the dank hallway. “Both myself and Discord were brought to justice thanks to you and your friends.”

“Yes princess. I know this.”

“But before you and your friends were born, the fate Equestria fell to Celestia and me.”

They reached the end of the staircase. The room was so dark, they couldn’t make out a thing. Rainbow Dash squinted her eyes, wondering why Luna had dragged her down here. Then, Luna magically lit torches down every row of the long room. The room they had entered was an underground hallway of sorts. All along the walls were stain glass windows. But unlike the ones in the throne room that were glorious and magnificent, these were dark and discomforting.

“Many a centuries have passed that my sister and I have had to face a new threat.”

The two walked down the hallway, stopping at the first mirror on the left. “The spirit of deceit.” A dark green portrait of a snake rested before them. Rainbow Dash gulped as Luna continued.

“His powers were great, but no match for the Elements of Harmony. Unfortunately, he was merely the first.”

They passed a window featuring a great black dragon. “The spirit of greed.”

A hydra. “The spirit of destruction.”

The two then passed by a familiar face in a window, a draconequus. “And Discord… the spirit of chaos and disharmony. Each and every one fell to the Elements of Harmony.”

The two reached the end of the hallway, greeted by one last window. “But there was one spirit that almost won.”

Rainbow Dash looked at Luna quickly, a worrisome look on her face. She didn’t know what to say to that. The elements had almost failed against one. And she had a pretty good idea who it was.

“Long ago, my sister and I ruled side-by-side, sustaining the peace of Equestria as we were meant to. But there was one spirit who didn’t like the way things were. His name was Doubt. And one day, something terrible happened. He became jealous of my sister’s power, and mine and wanted Equestria for himself. Doubt took the form of an alicorn like us, but he was far from our grace. When he tried to win over the ponies of Equestria, they shunned and rejected him.”

The illustrations of the window showed his powerful alicorn form with two sets of wings and armor, just as Rainbow had seen just a few minutes ago.

“But…” Luna continued. “What he did next… was unforgivable. He decided that if nopony would respect him, then they would fear him instead. In one night, he caused more destruction than we ever expected: tsunamis, earthquakes, tornados, one disaster after another, the world began to crumble under his hoof. So many ponies lost their lives to his rage.”

Luna began to tear up, remembering this painful past. “Celestia and I tried to use the elements against him, but he hid them away before we could use them. I tried to stand up to him alone, but he had caused so much doubt all over the world, that his power was too strong for me. If my sister hadn’t been there… I would have died.”

“How did you beat him?” Rainbow desperately demanded, turning from the window to the princess.

“My sister battled Doubt. The fight lasted for hours, neither one letting up. I’m ashamed to say that at one point, I began to think that Celestia would lose. But then, she used a powerful spell against Doubt, taking all of his negative energy and turning it against him. He was banished to the spirit world for eternity, never again to return to our world.”

Silence. The two stood there for a long time, neither knowing what to say. “Though I was able to abandon my feelings of jealousy and hatred after returning, Doubt… or as he calls himself now, Devil-Ish, will never forsake his rage. He will keep destroying… and there is only one way we can stop him.”

“And exactly what is that?!” she yelled, turning away from Luna. “ HE KILLED CELESTIA! Are you stronger than her?!”

“No Rainbow Dash. But the Elements of Harmony are. He is not yet at full power. Devil-Ish does not know how powerful the elements are.”

“But we only have five of them!”

Luna gasped. “You mean…”

“He’s already… killed Rarity.” She struggled to say. “And he’s on his way back to Ponyville now. He may be there already.”

“What kind of talk is that!? Are you not the element of loyalty!?”

“I…!” Rainbow quit her thought. Her ears and wings drooped and she looked at the ground. Luna was right. “I wasn’t able to save Rarity or spike, but I’m not going to give up on my other friends. We have to save them. We have to hurry back to Ponyville.”

“There’s no way we’ll beat him there.”

“Actually, his pride might give us a chance. He wanted to show off his wings, and it’ll take a while for him to fly there. Can you teleport us both?”

“Maybe… but it’s not safe to go straight to Ponyville if he’s there already.”

“Just get us close.”

“But... teleporting two ponies is extremely unpredictable. You could be incinerated!”

“You have to try.”

“But, I…”

“For your sister.”

Luna took a deep breath. “Very well. Come here, Rainbow Dash. It’s easier with contact.”

As Dash set her hoof on the goddess’ shoulder, she felt her whole being thrum with magic.

“A friendly warning,” Luna said. “This may hurt.”

A crackle of lightning, a rush of air, and they disappeared in a flash of light. The dust settled back into the crater, leaving the castle desolate once again.

Comments

[Festus]

So... is it confirmed that the disappeared ponies all died? If it is...

Things aren't looking so good, is it? And to think, this all started so heart warming and joyful with Twilight learning a new spell. At least we know one thing: Doubt will be defeated. Only question is... how long would it take?