To Fight Against Light

by Yosh Yoshington

Hey, Whats Up With That Alicorn Over There?

Chapter 1: Hey, What’s Up With That Alicorn Over There?

Long ago, Equestria was nothing but wild lands where mustangs ran wild. Those were chaotic times, and the ponies of that time were known as savages. Equestria was a land that sorely needed order.

That order came in the form of two alicorns who flew down from space: Luxa, Mare of Light, and Netro, Stallion of Darkness. Those two became the King and Queen of Equestria, and they transformed the land into the peaceful country it is today. Seeing how much good they had brought, the alicorns wished to rule Equestria forever. But something was standing in their way: their daughters, Celestia and Luna.

For several millennia, the princesses waited patiently until they could take the throne. But then, they realized that their parents — namely Luxa — had no intentions of stepping down. Netro was willing to give their daughters a chance, but Luxa vehemently refused each time. You see, her desire to rule eternally had consumed her, and she had gone insane.

When Celestia and Luna confronted their mother about their desire to rule Equestria, Luxa attacked them, aiming to kill them and eliminate the threats to her throne. Fortunately for the solar and lunar princesses, their father burst out of the shadows and struck his wife down. Celestia and Luna immediately cast a spell which banish Luxa deep into space, in the confines of a white hole. But with the last remaining shreds of her strength, Luxa cursed Luna, her younger daughter so that the same thing that had happened to Luxa would happen to Luna. This would prove true, as Luna’s jealousy transformed her into Nightmare Moon later on. But the two sisters had no knowledge of this.

Netro had never posed a threat to his daughters, but nopony trusted him. Many thought that he had just attacked Luxa so he could be the sole ruler of Equestria, and was planning to kill Celestia and Luna later. And so the two mares were forced to send Netro to space, where he was imprisoned in a black hole.

And then, Discord took over, seeing an oppurtunity. But the two princesses used the Elements of Harmony to defeat him. Now, Celestia and Luna had gotten what they wanted. But victory was bittersweet, as they had cast their parents out — one of which was insane — into space. They had every right to be named queens, but in their parents’ memory, they kept their titles as ‘Princess’.

Now, Luxa and Netro remain in space, but the bonds that hold them are slowly but steadily weakening. And it seems the rulers of Equestria may have forgotten about them . . .

---

“Weird story,” I commented, using magic to fling the book aside.

“Hey! Watch where you’re throwing that book!” someone yelled. I turned and saw a certain small purple dragon, the book I had thrown inches away from him.

I smiled wryly. “Sorry, Spike. Now if you excuse me, I have to get back to the train. A lot of ponies are probably waiting . . . hey, what’s that?” A piece of parchment had drifted out of the book and was now lying on the floor. Looking over at it, I saw that it was a picture of two alicorns. The first one was female and was a yellowish-white color. Her mane was pink and blue, and she emitted a bright white glow. The second alicorn was male and had a black coat with a gray flank. His mane was dark teal. He reminded me of Nightmare Moon, as he was drawn with darkness around him and he had blue eyes with slit-pupils. Actually, the white alicorn had the same eyes. Under them, someone had written some runes.

“Hey, what does that say?” I asked, pointing with my horn.

Spike came over and looked at the old paper. “I don’t know . . .” He took the paper and rolled it up. “I’ll show this to Twilight, and maybe she can study it.”

“Okay,” I said. “Now, I really have to get going. I don’t want the train to Canterlot to be delayed.”

“All right. Bye, Sparky!”

I replied with a nod and walked out of the library, heading for Ponyville’s train station. Equestria has one looped train line with which goes through all major cities. Except Cloudsdale. How are you supposed to get a train up there, anyways? But it doesn’t matter. Most pegasi prefer to fly.

The newest model of train introduced is pretty awesome, though, and not just because I drive it. Instead of running on coal, steam, or electricity, it runs on magic. All I have to do is stand in the engine car and direct my magic into a valve that leads to the engine.

When I reached the station, a cream-colored pegasus named Flash Fire flew up to me. Oh, and he happened to be my best friend. “Hey, Sparky!” he called. “What took you so long?”

“I was at the library reading a weird story about psycho alicorns,” I replied. “Did you get all the tickets from everypony who’s boarding the train?”

“Uh . . . no! I’m doing that right now!” Flash Fire zoomed off into the nearest train car.

I rolled my eyes and headed for the engine car. “That pegasus is not engineer material,” I said to myself. Of course, he wasn’t a unicorn, so he couldn’t drive the train, anyways. Flash would have to settle for being the conductor. I sat down in front of the control panel, impatiently waiting for Flash Fire to return.

When I heard wingbeats in the car, I said, “Everyone accounted for?”

“Yeah.”

I magically pressed a button, turning on the speaker system. “This is Sparky Flourish, your railroad engineer,” I said. “Here at Equestria Rail, safety is our number one concern. So, please keep your hooves — and all other parts of your body — in the car at all times. Thank you.”

Turning to the valve, I sat and focused all my magic into it. The train started to move, slowly at first, but then picking up speed. Looking to one side at the clock, I noticed we were a few minutes late. I hated being late, especially if the train was going to the capital of Equestria. So I leaned forward and stuck my horn in the valve, increasing the flow of energy. Behind me, Flash Fire snickered.

“Oh, you’re so mature,” I muttered to him.

The pegasus slapped a hoof over his mouth. “Sorry, Sparky,” he said, “it’s just that —”

“I don’t care!” I yelled. “What I care about is getting to Canterlot on time, and if I have to stick my horn in the valve, then I’m sticking my horn in the valve!”

Flash opened his mouth to say something, but I never got to hear it. At that moment, all the passengers started screaming. I jerked my horn out of the valve, cutting the engine’s magic supply. “Trouble!” I exclaimed. “Come on, Flash, get ready to fight!”

I charged out of the doors, head down and horn out. Flash flew after me. Outside, I looked around. It looked calm, but everypony inside the train screaming told me otherwise.

“Well, the train’s not being attacked from outside,” Flash said, flying over the train to look over at the other side. When he came back, he said, “Then the problem’s inside one of the cars! Come on!” The cream pegasus took the lead, ducking into the first passenger car. I galloped after him, looking around. There was nothing dangerous in the car. So why did ponies keep screaming?

“What’s wrong?” I asked the first pony I saw, a blue earth pony.

“N-Nightmare Moon is here!” she stammered.

I was taken aback. How did Luna turn back into Nightmare Moon? I thought she and Celestia were all good now! “What?!” I exclaimed. “Princess Luna is —”

“— possibly threatening the passengers!” Flash finished for me. “Maybe the passengers are wrong, but still, something’s scaring them. Come on! Where’s Nightmare Moon?” he asked the earth pony.

“In the back of the train!”

“Thanks!” I said, galloping towards the doors that led to the next car. As we made our way to the back, ponies stopped panicking and let us through. The last car was no different from the other cars. Everypony was panicking . . . except for the black alicorn wearing neon orange shutter shades and an indigo vest in the back. The alicorn was similar to Nightmare Moon because it was the same color and had the same eyes, but it looked like the alicorn was larger that her from what I could remember. And the alicorn was a male. Unlike everyone else, he sat calmly in his seat, talking to himself.

“Curses,” he was saying. “I disguise myself and even learn the modern language, but everypony still quakes in fear upon seeing me! And I am often accused of being somepony named Nightmare Moon . . .” He swung his head towards us. “You two don’t seem to be afraid of me. Who is this ‘Nightmare Moon’?”

“What?!” I screeched without even thinking. “How do you not know who Nightmare Moon is? You’ve had to be away from Equestria for thousands of years!”

“I have been,” the alicorn replied grimly.

“Nightmare Moon is Princess Luna turned evil,” Flash replied. I was actually surprised Flash was helpful. He was usually always so absent-minded. “She overthrew her older sister Celestia and tried to make the night last forever. But she’s not evil any more. The Elements of Harmony —”

“He wanted to know who she was, not her entire life story,” I interrupted before Flash could go off and start blabbing like he was The Complete History of Nightmare Moon or something.

Looking up, I noticed that the alicorn looked sad. “Luna . . .” he said. “She’s all right now? And Celestia, too?”

“Yeah,” I replied. “As far as I know, Their Majesties are in good health. Why do you ask?” It sounds crazy, but the alicorn we were talking to looked a lot like that one alicorn in the book I had been reading in the library. What was he . . . The Stallion of Darkness or something?

“I ask because those two are my daughters,” he said quietly. However, Flash’s and my reactions weren’t so quiet.

“WHAT?!” we screamed at near-the same time.

“You’re Celestia’s and Luna’s father?” Flash asked incredulously. “That means — that means you’re the king of Equestria!”

I frowned, remembering the book. “I thought you were stuck in a black hole! How did you get out?” Well, maybe it didn’t matter. In the book, he was the good guy, after all. I think.

Flash tapped me on the shoulder with one hoof. “Hey Sparky, I think everyone’s calmed down. They must have heard or seen us talking with Not-Nightmare Moon and figured he’s not dangerous.”

“So we can get going now?” I asked. “But then . . . We’re going to be late to get to Canterlot! Gah! What if they fire me? What are we going to do, Flash? I don’t have enough magic to get us there on time!”

“Excuse me,” the alicorn said. “If you need magic, I would be happy to assist you. I need to get to Canterlot without any delay. I have to warn everypony!”

“About what?” Flash asked. I was curious about that too, but that alicorn seemed sort of tight-lipped. I guess spending tens of thousands of years stuck in a black hole with nobody else around wouldn’t make you the most talkative pony.

Just like I predicted, the alicorn didn’t reply. So I decided to ask him an easier question. “What’s your name again? I read it in a book, but I forgot.”

“Ah . . . My name is Netro. King Netro.”

When we reached the engine car, Netro looked around in surprise. “This is . . . What am I supposed to do to power this . . . ?”

“Train,” Flash said.

The black alicorn nodded. “Thank you. What am I supposed to do to power this train?”

“You stick your horn in this valve” — I tapped the valve — “and channel all of your magic down it.” Hearing a certain pegasus snicker behind me, I added, “Shut up, Flash.”

“All right. What are your names?” Netro asked. “I’ve been away for so long, and I would at least like to know the names of two of my subjects.”

“I’m Sparky Flourish,” I said. “And this immature moron here is —”

“Excuse me,” Flash interrupted. “The ‘immature moron’ can introduce himself. I’m Flash Fire.” He spread his wings out dramatically and started hovering in the air.

“It is truly a pleasure to meet you two,” the king replied. “Now, I think we’ve dawdled long enough. He stuck his head out and placed his horn in the valve.

The train started up and moved forwards at an impossible speed. I didn’t even know it could go that fast! Anyways, I tumbled into the back wall of the train. A crash and yell above me indicated that Flash had landed somewhere near the door leading to the next car. He slid down the wall and landed next to me.

“Holy crap . . .” he croaked. “Ugh . . . We’re going way too fast!”

My head throbbed pretty bad, and my neck was sore. But I couldn’t move, as the train didn’t show any signs of slowing down. I couldn’t see anything except blurs through the windshield. How was I supposed to spot Canterlot’s train station? It was big and made of white marble, but I wouldn’t be able to see it at the speed we were going at!

I thought I saw something white coming up. In fact, I was sure it was the station. “Stop, Netro! We’re at the station! Stop using magic!”

“What did you say?” Netro turned his head to look at me, effectively stopping the train. Abruptly. I was thrown forward into the control panel, hitting my head on something metal. Flash smashed into the windshield. Imagining him stuck on the windshield like a bug would had at least made me smirk some, but my head was hurting too hard.

“I was saying that you should stop the train,” I groaned, “but it seems like you’ve already done that.”

“My apologies,” he replied, noticing Flash stuck to the glass in front of him.

“Can’t . . . move . . .” the orange-maned pegasus groaned. Netro quickly levitated him onto the floor.

“You okay?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he said, getting up. “I’m not a wimp!” Suddenly, Flash’s legs gave out from under him. “It’s just . . . I had a muscle spasm! Yeah, that’s why I fell!”

“Whatever you say,” I replied. “Now, are we at the station, or was I just being stupid? If I find out that I was smashed into walls for nothing, I swear I’m going to —”

“I believe those modern runes on the white building read ‘Canterlot Train Station’,” the black alicorn said, looking out a side window.

“Really?” I got up and darted to the window with surprising speed. I managed to get up off my front hooves and look through the window (yes, I am pretty short). Like Netro had said, we were at the station. And then I felt all the pain from smashing into the control panel. I fell back, hitting my head for the third time that day. “Ow.” I got up. “Now, we can have a break.”

“Finally!” Flash exclaimed, practically zipping out of the engine car.

“Jeez!” I looked out the open door. “And you were the pony falling on the floor a second ago!”

“Actually, that was you,” Netro replied.

“Shut u —” I started to say. Then, I remembered it was the King of Equestria I was talking to. “I mean, you’re right, Your Majesty.” I put a hoof on the control panel, pressing the button that opened all the doors on the train. “I’m taking a look at the schedule. What are you going to do? If I were you, I wouldn’t go marching through the city like you own it — uh, actually, you might. But that’s not the point! Everypony in Canterlot might think you’re Nightmare Moon and then —”

“I’m going to see my daughters,” the alicorn said simply. “And then, I have to warn everypony before it’s too late . . .”

Again with that ‘I have to warn everybody’ business. What was the problem? Equestria seemed safe. There was nopony (or draconequs) like Nightmare Moon or Discord around, and the monsters in Everfree Forest weren’t rampaging around. Maybe Netro was behind the times, like Luna had been. Well, at least he wasn’t using the Royal Canterlot Voice.

I stepped out of the car and looked at the schedule posted on the station wall. “Train’s leaving for Manehattan in two-and-a-half hours. I guess I’ll stick around when you warn everypony about . . . whatever you’re warning them about.”

“What’s up?” someone asked. I jumped and almost stabbed Flash Fire with my horn.

“Don’t do that!” I snapped. “I swear, one of these days I’m gonna kill you . . .”

Flash looked down at me like I was a madmare. “Well . . . You didn’t answer my question? What’s up?”

“His Majesty over here’s going to warn everypony about whatever he said he was warning everypony about. And he’s going to meet with his daughters after . . . a really long time.”

“Yes, there’s so much I want to talk with them about . . .” Netro looked up at the sky. “And so little time. We must make haste to Canterlot Castle!”

Galloping after an extremely large alicorn with extremely long legs was not fun. And Flash didn’t have any problem keeping up with him, since he could fly. As for me . . . I was making a foal of myself. So I decided to screw getting exercise and teleported myself to the castle.

When I got there, I felt like throwing up. I wasn’t used to teleporting, as I only used my magic for smaller things like driving the train. Tough it out, I told myself, shaking my head. I was surprised to see Netro and Flash coming up towards me. “Look who finally decided to come!” the cream pegasus called out once he saw me.

“Shut up!” I hissed in annoyance. “I got here before you did!”

“Because you used magic,” Flash said. “And —”

A unicorn guard levitated a spear towards us. “State your name and business.” We must have looked like assassins to him, with us flying or galloping or teleporting in and all. And I wondered, what did he make of the alicorn?

“We are here to see the princesses,” Netro said in a commanding tone.

“I’m sorry, but they are not open for audiences now,” the guard replied. “You’ll have to come back later.”

Netro glared down at him through his orange shutter shades. A black vortex began to swirl under his hooves. “Under my authority, you will let me speak to the princesses.” He reared up on his back legs, spread his wings, and bellowed, “FOR WE ARE THE KING OF EQUESTRIA!”

Now I knew where Luna had gotten her melodramatic nature from.

The doors to the throne room burst open, and Celestia and Luna walked into the great hall.

“What is going on here?” Celestia asked, staring at us with confusion.

Luna, meanwhile, looked at Netro and gasped. She nudged her sister with one wing. “Tia, is that . . .”

Celestia swung her head towards Netro. I couldn’t tell exactly, but she looked like she was tearing up. “Father?” she asked.

Using his magic, Netro took of his shades so we could see his face. He put them on Flash, who immediately looked at his reflection in the polished marble floor. “I look awesome!” he cried.

Everyone ignored him.

“Yes,” Netro said softly. “I have returned, my dears.” He galloped over to them, and the three alicorns wrapped their wings around each other. Everypony in the room couldn’t help but cry a little. I looked over at Flash and saw that tears were running from under his new shades.

“You crying too?” I asked with a smirk.

“No!” he snapped defensively. “There’s no way this sappy stuff could make me cry! I just . . . these shades hurt my eyes! I have no idea how Netro wears them!” The pegasus scoffed, flicking his orange tail in annoyance.

“I’m sorry I forgot to release you from the black hole,” Celestia was saying. “It’s just . . . After you were banished, Discord, spirit of chaos took over Equestria, and we were hard-pressed to defeat him . . . and after that, we just forgot.”

“Please forgive us!” Luna said. “And forgive me for what I’m going to tell you . . . I felt jealous that everypony loved Celestia’s day and ignored my night, and then I —”

“— Became Nightmare Moon, right?” Netro guessed.

Luna was startled by that. “Yes! How did you figure that out?”

Netro turned to me and Flash. “Those ponies told me about what happened.”

In an instant, all three alicorns were looking at me. I didn’t like the feeling that washed over me. It felt like I was being scrutinized. “Uh . . . yeah, we did,” Flash, who didn’t seem so nervous, said. “A lot of ponies thought your father was Nightmare Moon and he didn’t know who that was, so we told him about her.”

“Ah,” Luna said. But she still didn’t look so steady. “I see. Thank you for informing my father. But do you forgive me for it?” she asked, turning to Netro.

“Well, did Celestia forgive you for it? You must have hurt her badly when you turned against her,” the black alicorn replied.

“I did,” Celestia replied.

“Then, I see no reason why I shouldn’t forgive you,” Netro replied.

Luna collapsed against her father’s neck. “Oh, Father . . . thank you!”

Netro let her cry for a few seconds until he gently pushed her off with his wings. “I think I have wasted too much time . . . We have to warn everypony!” He turned to the guards. “Gather everypony in Canterlot in the courtyard outside the castle. I have an important announcement to make.”

“About what?” Luna asked. “You seem uneasy.”

“I’ll tell you later. There’s no time to waste!” Netro galloped out of the hall, heading to the courtyard. Luna and Celestia shared an uncertain look before following him.

“. . . What just happened?” Flash asked.

“Netro’s going to explain what he’s warning everypony about,” I replied. “You wanted to hear it, so I guess we better get going to the courtyard.” Glancing down at my watch, I added, “We’ve got time.”

---

We were standing in the courtyard. Everypony had been gathered, and Netro was about to begin. To do this, he spread his wings.

“Now, I don’t think many ponies know who I am,” he said. “And so I will begin by introducing myself. I am Netro, Stallion of Darkness. In addition, I am the father of Celestia and Luna, which makes me the king of Equestria.” He paused, letting everypony in the audience gasp. When they settled down, he resumed. “Now, let me tell you a story. I used to rule Equestria along with my wife Luxa, Mare of Light. When Celestia and Luna were of age, we were supposed to step down and let them rule. To be truthful, my wife and I did not want to step down because of all the good we had done when we were king and queen. I saw sense after a while, but Luxa did not. She wanted nothing more but to rule Equestria forever.

“I tried to convince her to step down, but to no avail. Luxa . . . she had gone insane. And for some strange reason, her appearance had changed, as well. At any rate, it matched her change in disposition.

“One day, I decided it would be more convincing if Celestia and Luna personally asked her for the throne. How wrong I was. They had barely gotten a word in when Luxa struck them with magical bolts of lightning. Her intent was to kill them so nopony could challenge her for the throne. Fortunately, I had been expecting something like that. So I had hidden in the throne room, disguised as a shadow. I leaped out and stabbed Luxa in the side before she could do anything else to our daughters. The attack surprised her, and she fell to the floor, incapacitated.

“Seeing an opening, the princesses quickly cast a spell that banished her to a white hole. All was well . . . for a few minutes.

“Soon after, ponies clamored for me to be banished, as well. Many believed that I wanted to be the sole ruler and was helping my daughters only so Luxa would be eliminated. Eventually, riots started up, and Celestia and Luna had no choice but to agree to my banishment. Beforehand, they promised me I would be freed a few thousand years after, when everything had blown over. And then they banished me to a black hole, binding me with a seal weaker than the seal they had used on Luxa.

“And so, we come to what happened today. Due to their focus on their duties as regents, Celestia and Luna had forgotten to free me. I am here today because I escaped from the black hole. The bonds were weakened, but nonetheless, it was a difficult task. Black holes suck in and crush all matter in the vicinity, and nothing, not even light, can escape from it. But I was magically bound to the black hole, which meant I was actually a part of it. However, the black hole sapped my strength — namely, my magical energy, which is why it took me so long to escape.

“Of course, conversely, white holes give strength. And I have reason to believe that on the other side of the black hole I was imprisoned in was the white hole Luxa was imprisoned in. So, that meant my magical energy was being given to her. Combined with her already existing vast amounts of magical energy . . . Even though the bonds holding her to the white hole are stronger, her power must be sufficient enough for her to break out.

“That is what I am here to warn you about. Luxa will come back soon, and we all have to be wary. I’m warning you, the good citizens of Canterlot first because I know that Luxa will come here first to take the throne and exact her revenge. But I request that some pegasi fly out and warn all the other cities in Equestria. I will go out and try to stop her, but all of you must be vigilant. That is all.”

Everything was silent. A few courier ponies went inside the castle. They were probably preparing to get the word out. Meanwhile, Netro looked displeased as he stared out at us. What did he expect? Cheering? He had just stated that a madmare was coming to kill us all!

“We’ll help,” Luna said. “You said yourself that Luxa’s gotten more powerful.” I was surprised she didn’t call Luxa “Mother”, but then I thought a mare like that didn’t deserve the title.

“You’ll fare better with assistance,” Celestia added. “No matter how strong she is, she won’t be able to stand up to the combined magic of three alicorns.”

“No,” Netro replied firmly. “This is my fight, and my fight alone. Besides . . . I don’t want you to die. She’ll surely try to kill you two again. My mind has been made up. Please do not ask me again.” Turning to the crowd, he said, “You have been dispersed!”

As we walked back to the station, Flash Fire asked, “So, what do you think?”

I stared down at my watch. “I think that it’s time to get back to the train. We’re going to Manehattan in half an hour, and I really don’t want to be late.”

Suddenly, there was a loud crashing sound as a building a few blocks off burst into flames.

Comments

[Yosh Yoshington]

Okay . . . I am taking a lot of artistic liberties when portraying black/white holes here . . .