Day & Night

by Reminisce

Darkness Bends not to the Light

Author's Note:

Been sitting on this since 2017 or so, watched the show again reminiscing with my fiancé after inadvertently getting him hooked on a show about colorful ponies and remembered this just buried in my docs completed for forever now. He told me to post it and now here we are.

Peace✌

One thousand years ago, Equestria was fostered by two powerful sisters that ended the age of chaos. They brought the three ponies races out of destruction allowing large cities to flourish, such as Canterlot or Cloudsdale; even Earth Ponies managed to erect the foundation of what would one day become Manehatten with their own bare hooves. With the sun and moon under the sister's control, Equestria rose to become one of the most powerful nations within the known world. However, no pony could have expected the war to come, the younger of the two sisters would soon feel neglected by their subjects after so many years of irrelevance. The pain was left untreated for far too long, causing the younger sister to lash out and eclipse the sun with her moon. She even took a more frightful and terrible form to intimidate the likes of her older sister. Everypony within the great land began to panic, even her older sister did not know how to handle the situation peacefully.

After hours of failed negotiations, fighting broke out between the two and in the end the results were devastating. Their castle sat in ruins, many ponies laid dead, and the fight still solved nothing. Despite wounds and exhaustion raking both sisters' bodies, they stood fast, yielding not an inch to each other. Still the oldest could not allow the land to fall into conflict, in a last ditch effort, she attempted to wield all six elemental jewels herself. Yet ultimately failed as the darkness that consumed her younger sister was powerful enough to rip three of the elements away from her long before a desperate attack could be launched. With Magic, Kindness, and Generosity pitted against Loyalty, Honesty, and Laughter… The fighting lasted for thirty more moons before both sisters struck each other with seemingly fatal blows, however the older sister managed to cheat death one last time at a great cost of losing the physical manifestation of her three jewels. The younger sister attempted the same. but wasn’t as lucky, the elemental jewels rejected her corrupted form as she lay still and broken. The magic slowly drained from her from her body right before her devastated sister, leaving a ghostly smoke in its wake.

In the end, the older sister fled the cursed land where she and her younger sibling ruled together, opting to relocate to the Unicorn highlands of Canterlot. The rebuilding process was long and tedious for the tired and wounded, international bonds had to be reformed, treaties resigned. Equestria was. Slowly reclaiming its former power, still the older sister wondered why the moon rose and set despite her younger sister being no more. There were very little explanations and the curse that lingered in the forest was far too volatile at the time for any exploration, no sane pony dared to go near. That was until over the years many ponies who had been resigned to exile or conflict would flee to the cursed Lands to seek death, for they very well might have found it; anypony that entered was never to be heard from again. That was until two hundred years later, when ponies in jet black armor marched out of the cursed forest, claiming the name, Children of the Night, they marched unimpeded all the way to Canterlot. But they could go no further, for the city was protected by a great magic, and that great magic was possessed by the first individual bear of Magic, Focus Light.

Celestia had unwittingly freed the elements from her control, effectively allowing the magic to choose individuals who were personally fit to claim the title of an Element bearer. Still her efforts were matched by the forces of the Night for they possessed bearers of their own, yet their three elements were directly bonded to their wielders with cursed tattoos that could only be forged by mysterious means, the likes of which contradicted everything known of the Elements of Harmony. Again Equestria found themselves in another compromising position, this time however the older sister was not willing to let history repeat itself. In a great gesture of humility, the older sister lowered her sun in favor of the night for thirty moons, showing respect for her lost sister and those who marched in her name.

The gesture was clear enough for the Children of the Night to lower their arms and break the siege, however no communication was exchanged. They simply marched back into the dark forest to never be seen again, as long as the older sister continued to allow a month of moonlight. How those terms were forged without a single word spoken, nopony knows. Eight hundred years later Equestria still stands, ponies still live in fear of the Everfree, and the moonlit month continues as a tradition of solemn remembrance. Now, it’s been a full millennium since the sisters tragic fight, and my name is Twilight Sparkle, current Element of Magic, and quite possibly the first bearer to ever step foot into the cursed Everfree since their fateful fight.

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The lavender Unicorn closed her journal, and sat her feather to the side before gazing around her tent to see everything in perfect order. Her sleeping bag was placed parallel to her makeshift nightstand which was adjacent to the wood stump she’s currently using as a table, it was all tailored to efficiency. That was until an unannounced intrusion peeked his head into the tent, startling the Unicorn into a jump.

“Sorry Ms. Sparkle, but we must be moving soon if we’re to march into the forest.” The guard spoke as he scratched the back of his light blue mane, looking a bit apprehensive about the whole thing.

“Oh yes, I didn’t forget, I was just simply finishing up my writing, thank you for checking on me… I guess I should start packing then.” Twilight responses, sharing a bit of his apprehension, still her curiosity was getting the better of her, she was ready for discovery.

Feeling satisfied, the pegasus guard popped his head out of her tent, leaving the Unicorn to her own devices. Using her magic, she bathed everything within the tent with her purple glow causing them all to slide to the center of the room before shrinking to a fraction of their former size. She proceeded to organize them all in a compartment within her saddlebags, giving a nod, she looked around the now empty tent, seeing nothing left she exited the shell to be greeted by the warmth of the sun. The other three guards had already packed up their tents and supplies, two Pegasi guards were loading the contents of their supplies back in the cart while the Earth pony guard was hitching himself to it as well, preparing himself for a bumpy ride into the forest. Twilight herself wasn’t so sure that the cart would make it to the center of the forest, but the Princess insisted on one being provided for her. Which at that point, all she could really do was graciously agree, after all she guessed if it did really work to their advantage, they wouldn’t have to sleep in the rain or scrounge for food. Hopefully their little expedition doesn’t last that long though.

With those thoughts banished momentarily, she proceeded to do the same thing to her tent she did to her supplies inside. Effectively folding it and shrinking it, she placed it into the same compartment she used for her other things. Turning to her guards, she waved, signifying that she was ready to go. They all gave a swift salute before moving out, Twilight stayed close to the cart, as the other two armored Pegasi flew alongside of the cart, watching the flanks. Twilight couldn’t honestly say she knew all of their names, still she did know Flash Sentry to a degree. But their conversations were limited to the weather and other mundane things, just to cut through the awkwardness of the long trip. They had to keep the party small and avoid the cities to not alert the press to what was happening, otherwise there'd be a fiasco within Canterlot. The nobles have had enough of the Moonlit Month, demanding the Princess to discontinue the tribute. It has been many generations since a Child of the Night was recorded to be seen. Their existence is now on the cusp of being debated by many scholars and skeptics alike. That's why they are there now, with the hopes of breaking the thousand years of silence, and proving their existence to possibly appease the stress of the coming times. Twilight herself had no doubt of their existence, she on the other hoof firmly believes the Lunar elements succumbed to corruption ages ago. Taking the stance that they are more so bound to the cursed forest than just simply residing in it. Her theory has yet to be proven, and the Princess didn’t enjoy entertaining it either. Twilight did understand, it was a sensitive subject for their ruler after all. But the facts can’t be ignored at the end of the day, and hopefully she’ll come out of the forest with a treasure trove of information to build her theory with.

They traveled about two more hours to the south west of Canterlot to find a more secluded area of the forest to enter. The size of the forest was astonishing, truly it would be a task to make an accurate map of the area. Hopefully one day she’d be called for that task as well, she could only wish. She began examining the strange trees around the area, documenting the creatures that dared to lurk near the edges of the forest. There were so many different things just on the outer rims, who knew what lay deeper inside. Yet before she could ponder anything else, the guards stopped abruptly in their tracks, not sure what was happening, Twilight looked frantically around to see pony-like eyes watching them from the darkness of the entrance of the forest. The eyes were big and blue, they possessed an eerie focus to them, as if they were sizing up their souls. Twilight looked to her guards, to see the Pegasi gripping their spears, while the carted guard waited just like Twilight. The eyes blinked once from the darkness, before focusing solely on Twilight.

The small Unicorn had no idea how to react, but if that was actually a pony watching them from the darkness, that could only mean one thing.

“H-h-Hello, My name is Twilight Sparkle, I’m the Bearer of Magic and one of three apprentices to Princess Celestia…” Twilight then gestured to the guards that flanked her, “These ponies are my guards and they mean you no harm, we do not come with the intent to spread ill will.”

The blue eyes showed little reaction to her voice, however they could hear hoofsteps approaching them. All three of the guards gulped down their fears as the pony made themselves visible. Twilight was shocked by what she saw, the pony was a dull pink Earth Pony with a darker pink straight flowing mane that sat to one side and tail that hung just about a hooves length from the ground. But wasn’t what shocked the young Unicorn the most, it was almost the fluid tattoo that she possessed, it extended from her right hoof all the way to up her neck. From what she could tell, its jagged edges held no consistency to what it formed, but it clearly marked her as an Element bearer if her studies served her right. Which made the moment something truly worth noting considering there hasn’t been a meeting between the Lunar elements and the Solar elements since the siege of eight hundred years ago, and it was a long shot to really call it a meeting. Because all it was only a few glances from across the barrier that separated the besieging army. This could actually turn into the first civil conversation ever, and Twilight would be the first to have it.

The Unicorn smiled ear to ear, despite her guards doing otherwise, and whoever the pink mare was, she started to smile slightly as well, although her mouth remained closed. Stopping a few feet away, the pink mare planted herself in front of the apprehensive guards, and the equally apprehensive and somehow excited Unicorn. All Twilight was waiting for was for the pink mare to say something, anything really, she wanted to know everything. Like which element was she, what was her name, how do they survive in the forest, and why don’t they openly communicate with other ponies outside of it. Luckily, Twilight was about to get her wish when the pink Earth Pony opened her mouth.

“Why are you smiling?” That was all she said, her voice seemed to be a bit forced, as if she was suppressing what she truly sounded like. Then there were her teeth, they were very different. She had sharp and more pronounced canines, along with other ones that were a bit more jagged than regular ponies. It gave her a dark predatory look, a whole new layer of intimidation, and added to her own theories about the forest.

“Wha, oh, I’m smiling because this is a historic moment right here! I-I didn’t actually calculate any results before we even entered the forest, this is amazing…” Twilight took a few steps closer, despite the guards grumbling. “May I ask your name?”

With an increasing smile that caused her fangs to be a bit more pronounced, the pink mare responded. “My name is Pinkie Pie.”

Her response was enough to shock the guard further into a defensive stance. To this Twilight was generally surprised by her guards' response, it was disrespectful, to the point of where Pinkie Pie’s smile faded just slightly.

“Lower your arms, you three are compromising a promising situation.” Twilight growled.

“Haven’t you heard the stories, that is the same name of the dream walker. Invading ponies dreams, and spying on them! I didn’t think it actually existed, I thought the stories were just foal tales.” The pegasus guard Flash Sentry responded, with a bit of an edge to his voice.

Twilight eyes grew to the size of dinner plates as it hit her. She managed to overlook the mare’s name because of the situation, but now she can clearly remember all the talk of strange instances of dreams being invaded and warped by a dream walker. But she would have never expected the tales of the pink nightmare to be traced back to an Earth Pony, however she is an element of harmony, or a corrupted one… She might have initiated something that she can’t back out of, but that’s implying that she wanted to, there's an explanation for everything, and she’s about to get one.

“What stories did foals tell?” The sitting mare asked curiously, not letting her smile completely fall. Yet there was a sinister outline to it that Twilight couldn’t place a hoof on.

None of the guards peeped a word, all looked far too dumbfounded to answer the direct question. Twilight on the other hoof couldn’t think of any instances of young colts or fillies truly waking up with frightening tales of a Pinkie Pie, but for some reason she always did appear in nightmares from what she heard. Which is conflicting at best, but in the end though, she can’t say she’s heard any first hoof accounts from any foals herself. It was just the concerned parents and citizens that told of children waking up with tales of a pink mare named Pinkie.

Twilight took the hold of the conversation again, attempting to steer it away from the accusation slinging. “I’m sorry, I can’t answer that question, and I will not judge on something I have little knowledge of… So, umm, I’ll take your word for it, you give me no reason to believe otherwise.” the small Unicorn hoped she played that properly, she’s never been the best at social etiquette. That’s always been Rarity's territory, but if the pink mare’s simple expression told anything, it was that it seemed like she wasn’t really expecting a real answer in the first place.

Twilight, taking a deep breath, decided to press forward. Hoping to get something out of the historic meeting. “Pinkie Pie, if I’m not intruding, may I ask a few questions?”

“Ok, I’m all ears… Figuratively.” She responded with a casual tone and a flick of the ear, as if none of this is a surprise or important to her.

“Well then, I can’t help but notice the tattoo you have there. It’s been explained to me that only Lunar element bearers can possess them, is that true?”

Twilight’s question didn’t really give any pause to the pink mare, “Yes, I’m the bearer of Laughter.”

The lavender Unicorn was extremely surprised to the point that it was instantly etched into her face, she hadn’t expected her to be Laughter. There wasn’t really anything funny about her, at least on the surface there wasn’t. Bringing herself back to the conversation, she asked her second question while regaining her composure. “Well, I don’t know if you're here to intercept us, but we are here to research the area and convey a message if possible. Princess Celestia is very interested in ending whatever myths still remain within the Everfree Forest. So since you're here, we would like to request passage to discuss the details.”

That question, that was the question that coaxed a reaction out of the stoic pink mare, the small smile she had been maintaining broke into a face splitting smile as soon as the words finished rolling out of Twilight’s muzzle. Not only that, it seemed as though the pink mare couldn’t even hold in her giggling, she even snorted a few times in between the giggle fit. Neither Twilight or her guards knew what was so funny about the request to cause the mare to take a sudden shift in demeanor. But whatever it was, she recovered quickly, brushing her long pink mane out of her face. She got up and trotted slowly towards the other ponies. The guards were rearing back into a defensive stance despite Twilight's orders. At that point, the Unicorn didn’t complain, instead she took a step back as well. For the pink mare’s face once again became unreadable.

Pinkie kept taking steps towards the party as they were frozen in place, as if possessed by a frightful spirit. Laughter got within a mere hooves length in front of them before stopping, her big blue eyes were cold and searching as she stood there. The silence was thick, not even the birds in the sky dared to make a noise.

“If your plan was to trot into the forest for research, you would have surely died… The Everfree isn’t really fond of tourists, so I really do question your Princess as far as judgment is concerned. That is unless she is truly willing to risk your life just for a mere chance at diplomacy.” Pinkie finished, before turning completely around to begin trotting back towards the forest entrance. “Or she has a lousy way of playing a prank on you?”

“I- Wait!” Twilight shouted, causing the mare to glance back with a quizzical interest. “Like I said before, we mean no ill will… But please, take this scroll, I haven’t read it and it’s still sealed by the Princess herself!”

The Pink mare made a full turn, “Faith.”

“Faith?” Twilight echoed skeptically while levitating the sealed scroll out of her saddlebags. Pinkie’s dialogue was nonsensical at best, leaving her mentally stumbling at each exchange.

“Yes, I don’t know how all you Solar ponies hold so much faith in your ruler, in the powers that be. The world is a dangerous place, a lot of ponies never get a chance to smile or see their happy ending, but you're offering me a secret document. Me, a mare you don’t know, I could just walk away with it, toss it to the bushes, or maybe I’d tear it to shreds right in front of your face.”

“That changes nothing, I’ll still offer it to you, I can only do what's within my power.” Twilight hesitantly responded.

“Open the scroll and read it out loud.” Pinkie’s voice still sounded forced, but this time there was something else to it, something that made Twilight want to comply despite all her senses telling her otherwise.

“Ms. Sparkle, you don’t ha-”

Twilight cut the guard off instantly by tearing the seal and opening the scroll in front of her.

“To whomever this message reaches.

I, Princess Celestia, write this in a plea for peace between the Children of the Night and the rest of Equestria. We have lived a thousand years in separation, due to an age-old mistake, and now I’m in need of the ponies I’ve failed so long ago more than ever. Equestria will soon face a threat far worse than anything I could have ever calculated, I know of the Everfree’s strength, and the ponies that reside within it.

Next month will be Moonlit like it has been for countless years, but this time I ask for council. I call out to you Children of the Night. This is all I ask, one meeting, at least one more time for me to attempt a fostering of understanding. I extend this as an invitation to whomever resides within, there shall be no hostilities. You may bring as many ponies as you like, we Equestrians will open our gates to you on the twenty sixth day of fall, three days before the Moonlit month.

If the response is favorable to the meeting, please do give any sign, I trust we will receive it well. Even if none is given, we in Canterlot will still be prepared on the twenty sixth day out of respect.

Princess Celestia.”

“Faith, it’s a funny thing isn’t it, just makes you wanna giggle?” Pinkie quipped before turning again back to the forest to trot away.

“...” Twilight couldn’t say anything, she was shell-shocked by the scroll she just read off, she didn’t have any intentions of doing such a thing. It was a direct order from the Princess to not read the contents, however she just did it as if it wasn’t a second thought, and she didn’t know why.

Cutting off her magic, she let the scroll fall to the grass as she watched the Bearer of Laughter chuckle her way back into the forest without another word to them. Eventually she faded back into the strange darkness, her now maniacal laughter was the only thing the four ponies could hear from where they were planted.

“Damn it all, we should have never done this!” Flash Sentry shouted, while jabbing his spear to the ground in frustration, “She was just toying with us the whole time…”

“Yea, it was almost like she had no interest in anything that Twilight said.” The Earth Pony guard recalled as well.

“Le-Let's go back home, I have no intention of taking a step closer to the forest for now, and I believe the Princess would appreciate a report on our findings as soon as possible.” Twilight said, as if scripted by fear.

Getting the message, the three guards got quiet and nodded in confirmation. The trip back was going to be a long and silent one.