Chapter I: The New World (Edited and Revised)

View Online

“No! Luna, don’t do this! There will be dire consequences!” cried out a desperate Twilight Sparkle, clutching her broken front hoof.

The Princess of the Night did nothing but laugh at the broken unicorn. “What couldst thou do? Thy precious Princess Celestia hath finally repaid her debts for banishing us in the first place. The Elements hold no power over us, weakling! Only we possess the knowledge of where they lie!”

“You’re lying! You’ve hidden them somewhere in the Everfree Forest, haven’t you?” Twilight’s eyes began to water as she looked over to her fallen friends, scattered around the room, “Why are you doing this, Luna? You were… happy. Celestia loved you, and you betrayed her! Why?”

Princess Luna looked curtly at the purple Element of Magic, her frown turning into a smirk. “She hath finally crossed the line. We may have been many things, Twilight Sparkle, but happy was not one of them. Canst thou not see? Or art thou a fool, like thy mentor? Nightmare Moon was our redemption! Our reprieve from the mockings of the ponyfolk of Equestria. And now it is time for thy Princess Celestia’s final bow.”

She looked around at her surroundings, taking it all in. “When Equestria was first created, there was no sun. No light. Only darkness. And then thy precious sun rose from the ashes, and it brought forth light unto Equestria. Now it is time for the opposite. The moon shall rise! Exit light, enter night.” She laughed mockingly, but her expression changed from a triumphant smile to a saddened frown upon looking at the anger on Twilight’s face. The princess relaxed her stature, no longer standing straight and tall. She leaned towards Twilight, letting the unicorn see her saddened expression as she said, “Are we so wrong to wish that thou wouldst see things as we do? Are we so wrong to think that thou might love us too? Why shouldn’t they adore us, is it not within our right? We will not be overshadowed! Ours is not the lesser light! We’ve waited long enough now, for thee all to come around, and although thy Sun might plead and threaten, the Moon will stand her ground!”

A black mist, one that coursed through her veins, began circling around her and effectively engulfing her in lightning as dark as the mist itself. “And thou wilt know the wonders of our dark and jeweled sky, when all the world is wrapped in our eternal lullaby!” Her voice boomed across the wrecked Canterlot Castle, bringing Twilight to her knees.

Luna was now changing, the lightning transforming her body completely, increasing her height and turning her dark blue coat into one of pure black. Even her voice changed, becoming a little deeper as she yelled retribution, “So say goodnight to this, the final setting of the Sun! Tomorrow dawneth in darkness, the nighttime hath… BEGUN!” The newly transformed Luna looked down at Twilight, charging her horn with her dark magic. She focused her power of the six ponies in front of her, five of which lay comatose on the floor. She could hear Twilight scream as she conjured up more of the black mist and surrounded the ponies with it. A little more concentration and her assailants were gone, cast out of the Castle as well as Equestria, forever.

~~~~~~

“Sunset, what the buck have you done?!” the shocked Night Guard yelled at me as his jaw hung in disbelief.

“I know, I know, I’m sorry,” I replied, sounding as genuine as I possibly could in front of this blaring idiot. If he knew anything, he would know this was completely for science, even if I happened to blow up the queen’s carriage storage room.

“What am I going to tell the queen? You were just fooling around with spells that were supposed to be off-limits to you?”

I glared at him, dropping the innocent schoolmare act. “Then tell her the truth! It was for science. Some old Starswirl the Bearded spells were found, I had to make sure they were safe to use!”

The guard snorted, then looked at me with a frown, saying, “Apparently they weren’t.”

I sighed. “Okay, okay, what do you want me to say? Should I just walk up to her and say, ‘Hey, lady! I blew up your fancy-ass carriages! You mad brah?’ Because I can do that.”

The Night Guard looked like he wanted to blow a fuse, his face starting to turn red underneath his gray coat. He lifted his spear and struck the ground with it. Menacingly, he responded, “Don’t use that language with me, young mare. Now, I’ll take care of this one, but the next time you mess up like this, you’ll get what’s coming to you. Jail time. And fines, too.”

“Okay. Thanks,” I replied, turning my head away. “So… bye?”

“Goodbye, Sunset Shimmer,” he said curtly, then turned away, signaling it was time for me to leave.

I did as was directed, leaving behind the grumbling work ponies desperately trying to fix the storage room before the queen found out. The night sky was particularly nice today, almost a full moon. She definitely outdid herself tonight.

Well, she did every night.

It almost made me not miss daytime as much.

Well, I guess it’s not up to me. At least I got to see the sun once in my life. Foals who are born now don’t even know what a sunset is. I literally get asked by little grade school foals what my name means. It makes me feel bad for them, never knowing what the sun looks like. They will never feel the sun’s bright rays that would bring them a comforting warmth.

It’s been ten years since Nightmare Moon took over, and the night still remains eternal.

Sometimes I wish I could reverse this. Maybe if I had stayed in Equestria instead of going through the portal to Earth, it would’ve been different.

Twilight Sparkle would never have been the Element of Magic. Maybe that title would’ve been given to me.

I shook the thought out of my head and trekked through Canterlot, ponies brushing up against me as they went to do their nightly chores and whatever else they pleased. My hooves started to pick up into a steady trot, making ponies move aside to give me sufficient room to move.

I suppose I’m well known, being a highest level unicorn and a top advisor to Cloud Crest, the Royal Commander of the Night Guard. But I doubt this “accident” of mine will slide. It’s not a good thing to destroy the queen’s personal property, so I might even get discharged from the Guard. This wasn’t a big problem, it was something that could be easily fixed, so I doubted my punishment would be something drastic like execution.

But there was always a shot that I would get hurt, or thrown in jail. I let the thought linger at the back of my mind and frowned. What if the queen wasn’t as merciful as I thought she was? I had never met her personally, but I hadn’t heard a lot of bad things about her recently. Although the Night Guard had told me he would fix it for me, so that shouldn’t present too much of a problem... Right?

Suddenly, I heard a familiar snicker followed by hoofsteps towards me and immediately, I halted. The worries seemed to slide away as I turned my attention towards the sounds. My ears cocked and I listened closely for the voice again, and a smile crept up on my face.

“Oh, I wonder who it is,” I said in a sing-song voice, turning my head around. “Could it be the peculiar pony I see around a lot? By the name of… Scootaloo?”

All of a sudden, the orange pegasus jumped on me, effectively knocking me to the ground as quick as lightning. After she noticed that I wasn't fighting back, she stood over me with her wings unfurled. Her purple mane swept over her eyes as a triumphant smile played across her lips. Scootaloo was my best friend for ten years, ever since the start of the Eternal Night, and this was a sort of inside joke for us. “Come on, Sunset. I’m almost as old as you are, no need to act like I’m a child," she complained, still keeping her position and pinning me to the ground.

“You’re six years younger than me. That’s young enough, little poochie pie!” I replied mockingly as I pushed the pegasus off of me.

Scootaloo was a high-profile pony too. Ever since the Wonderbolts were disbanded by the queen, the Shadowbolts took over with Scootaloo being put in charge of them, making her quite famous. Our other friends, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, were also well known with Sweetie being a singer and Apple Bloom working in her farm alongside her family.

As I stood up, the pegasus looked at me in excitement. “So is it true that you blew up the queen’s carriage storage room?” she asked.

“Blew up isn’t the correct term,” I corrected her, “I would say more… imploded on itself.”

“Oh. That Starswirl spell not working out for you?” She cocked her head to the side, looking at me with wide eyes.

“Apparently not,” I replied, brushing myself off with a hoof.

“You’ll get there,” Scootaloo told me as she started to walk. “Are you coming?” she asked, and I shook my head.

“I still have to go run some errands,” I replied, turning my head to look at the crowded city in front of me.

Scootaloo nodded, looking a bit disappointed. “Okay, see you back at home.” Her orange wings spread out and she lifted off, leaving some of the surrounding ponies staring in awe at her.

As well as being my best friend, she was also my roommate. We met under unfortunate circumstances ten years ago, when I was barely sixteen and she was ten. She stumbled her way into Canterlot, sobbing and homeless. Everypony around thought she was crazy because she muttered something about rainbows and loyalty in midst of her sobbing. I took her in, brought her to my home and was nice to her, giving her food and a place to rest. Eventually, we became the best of friends.

I started my walk through Canterlot, watching as the ponies around me cleared a path in order for me to get through. The quill store was close by, it was just a matter of getting to it.

Knowing my target, I started to walk towards 'Quinn's Quills and Pet Quails,' but before I could get far, a large object crashed into me, knocking me over and pinning me against the pavement.

“Ow!” I cried out to the object, trying to spin around so I could get a look at it. "Scootaloo, is that you? I thought you left to go back home—" I stopped as I noticed that the object was not, in fact, Scootaloo.

It was a unicorn covered in some sort of white hood. Her coat was a purple hue and her eyes scanned me from top to bottom. “So this is the prodigal pony?" she mumbled to herself, clucking her tongue judgingly. Then before I could protest, she got off of me and levitated me above her head using her magic.

“I’m sorry but, who the buck are you?” I asked, still in her pinkish aura, struggling to get out of her grasp.

“That is irrelevant," the pony replied, still scanning me with her magic. Finally, apparently satisfied, she set me on the ground gently and released me, allowing me to stand.

I sighed, thankful to be back on the ground. “Why is it irrelevant?”

“My name and my status are unimportant to you, for now.” The unicorn's hood covered her face, but I could hear the slight annoyance in her voice as she concluded, “You’ll do. Not perfect, but not terrible either." She turned so her back was facing me. "You may not know me yet, Sunset Shimmer, but you will soon. For now, this is goodbye. But I am positive we shall meet again."

I opened my mouth, anxious to reply to her statement and ask her how she knew my name, but before I could, her horn lit up and with a flash of blinding white light, she was gone.

What a creep.

~~~~~~

“Sunset, wake up! Wake up, Sunset!” I felt hooves on my shoulders as I opened my eyes, staring at Scootaloo. “You have a letter! It's from work!"

I shot up, swearing under my breath, “What is it about?”

“I don’t know, I didn’t read it!” Scootaloo dashed over to the desk a couple of feet away and grabbed the letter, tossing it to me. I caught it in my hooves and looked on the cover. On the top was the seal of the queen.

“Buck!” I yelled, snapping the seal, then snatching the letter out of its envelope.

Dear Sunset Shimmer,

After yesterday’s accident at work, in which you used a spell to destroy half of Her Majesty Queen Nightmare Moon’s storage room, the Queen and I have decided that you are not fit for the type of work required for the Night Guard.

“BUCK!” I yelled even louder. Scootaloo shushed me, gesturing towards the letter.

Instead, we are moving you to Prince Blueblood’s royal advisors and help. You will now work for the Prince specifically, however, you still have a duty to the queen. You will be informed as to what you will be doing by Sparkler, Prince Blueblood’s personal protégé. Meet her at Canterlot Castle’s north wing, where Prince Blueblood resides. She will await you at the entrance.

~Cloud Crest

Commander of the First Legion of the Night Guards

On behalf of Nightmare Moon, Queen of the Night

“So you’re going to get a job with that asshole?” Scootaloo asked me, cringing. “We did a show for him once. He was terrible.”

“I guess I am,” I grumbled. “I guess I’d better go,” I told her, a somber tone invading my voice. I threw the blanket off of me and stood up, getting out of my plush bed.

“Yeah,” Scootaloo replied. Suddenly her voice became cheerier as she interjected, “Hey! Remember that Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle are visiting in two days!” Scootaloo bounced in the air a couple of times, beaming at me.

“What does that have to do with anything?” I asked, annoyed.

“Nothing… I just wanted to make sure you remember,” replied the sheepish pegasus.

I smiled, said goodbye, and rushed out the door and into the nighttime air of Canterlot. My hooves pounded against the ground as I galloped towards my location: the north wing of the Castle.

Eventually, I slowed down and looked at the castle that loomed over me.

The Night Guards that were positioned there looked at me, uncrossing their spears and opening the doors. “Thank you, kind sirs," I told them, flipping my mane seductively as I made my way inside.

My jaw dropped the moment I entered and caught sight of what, or rather who was occupying the room. The same pony from last night was there, standing right in front of me! Her cloak was still on her, although the hood was down, so I could see her entire face. Most stallions would probably think she was beautiful, the way her mane flowed and how her eyes looked like crystals.

“Welcome to the north wing, Sunset Shimmer,” she greeted me. “My name is Sparkler, and I will be your guide to work under Prince Blueblood.”

“You! You crashed into me last night! You said—”

“I said you’d do. Who do you think got you this job?" she replied, sporting an annoyed look. "The prince and I have seen you around and heard good things about you from Cloud Crest, and seeing your recent, ahem, accident, you should be grateful. Anyway, it is much better, working for a prince instead of a commander."

“Grateful? You are—” But I didn’t get to finish before she raised a hoof, silencing me.

“Welcome to Prince Blueblood’s personal court,” Sparkler told me, and started to walk away. “I hope you’ll enjoy your stay."

~~~~~~

Sparkler led me through the massive hallways of the right wing, pointing out everything of remote “importance”. Yeah, like I was interested hearing a twenty-minute lecture about a copy of the painting Blueblood was given for his twenty-first birthday nine years ago.

Even though I didn’t want to hear anything Sparkler told me, I couldn’t help but marvel at the beautiful architecture of the castle. It seemed so grand to me. I certainly was not used to this type of regalia at Cloud Crest's office. In fact, it looked so drab compared to the masterpiece of a castle, I began to wonder if it was only poorer city ponies like me who didn't get this much pampering. I looked over to Sparkler to see if it had any impact on her, but she looked like she couldn't care less.

Eventually, Sparkler knocked on another grand doorway and opened it, revealing what looked like an office inside. The room was empty but I could hear a muffled voice come from the room adjacent to the office.

“The prince will be here soon,” Sparkler told me, flipping her mane.

Sure enough, after a few minutes a large stallion made his way into the room, looking tired and befuzzled.

I gasped in admiration. He… He was gorgeous! His blonde mane partially covered his eyes, but was still neatly groomed. He was muscular and regal, and his eyes were a beautiful shade of blue.

“Who is this, Sparkler?” the stallion asked, sounding exhausted, as if he had just had an all-nighter.

“This is Sunset Shimmer, your highness,” Sparkler replied, pointing a hoof at me. “She will be your new royal advisor."

"Royal advisor?" he snorted. "I hope you turn out to be better than my old one. I had to throw him in the dungeon after his poor performance. Old stallion didn't hear a thing."

I frowned, stepping back a bit. "Well that's a bit rude, don't you think?" I snapped, eyeing him suspiciously. I immediately regretted it.

That little outburst earned a glare from Sparkler. “Rule number one, Sunset, don’t ever talk back in the presence of the prince," she responded, then turning back to the stallion

I gulped. Oh, great. Another member of the royal family, pissed off with something I did. “Oh… um… sorry, your highness,” I muttered, cursing myself internally.

Prince Blueblood looked at me tiredly. “Excused. Just this once," he told me, before turning around and heading out of the room.

After he left, Sparkler looked at me, shaking her head in disapproval. “You have a lot to learn, Sunset Shimmer, a lot.”

Chapter II: Know Your Enemy (Edited+Revised)

View Online

“This blows,” I mumbled behind Sparkler’s back when she wasn’t looking. I had been assigned the not-so-great job of cleaning up the prince’s office while he was away at a business meeting, and needless to say, it was dull beyond relief.

“Would you rather be jobless in the middle of Canterlot? I thought not,” Sparkler replied. She had obviously heard my feeble attempt at complaining.

The feather duster I was sweeping the cabinets with dropped to the floor, hitting the lush carpet with a thud. “I’m supposed to be Blueblood’s advisor, not his maid! Why are you just watching me work?"

The purple unicorn sighed, getting in a comfortable position on the chair. “I am not watching you,” she began calmly, “I’m reading the prince’s mail.”

“Isn’t that illegal?” I responded, giving her a bewildered look.

“Not when you’re the prince’s assistant and that’s your job! Who do you think signs off around here and does all the actual thinking? Blueblood isn’t that smart.” Sparkler scoffed and carefully opened another letter with her magic.

I sighed and mumbled to myself while picking up the feather duster once more. This time, Sparkler ignored me, but after a few moments of awkward silence, I exhaled and chuckled a bit to get her attention.

“So, I guess you’re not just his assistant, huh?” I provoked, trying to bring out the marelike side of Sparkler, if such a side existed.

Instead, the unicorn frowned, looking up at me. “Whatever do you mean?”

“He’s the prince, you’re his princess, amirite?” I replied, sporting a goofy grin on my face. “What, you’re his assistant and you don’t get any action? Pity. I bet I could give him the time of his life—"

“All right!” Sparkler cut off, a surprised expression replacing her annoyed one. “That’s enough. But no, I’m not his, if you’d excuse my language, marefriend.”

“Oh, no, you’re excused.” I shrugged sarcastically.

“The point is,” Sparkler said, ignoring me, “he is just my colleague. I am positive he holds no… feelings like that for me of all ponies. I am just his assistant, nothing more.” Her regal tone resonated around the office, causing me to shudder. “But,” she started in a much softer tone, “he is kind of cute.”

This made me laugh out loud. “I knew it! So you do like him?”

“Well… maybe,” she responded sheepishly, with a slight blush. "But that is not of your concern, Sunset Shimmer." Anything either of us might have followed up with ended by the door suddenly swinging open. Prince Blueblood stood in the door frame, bags under his eyes and his mane slightly rumpled as if he had just slept on it.

He nodded a hello to us, who had each immediately resumed their own work. The regal stallion plopped down on the chair, sighing contentedly. There were a few moments of awkward silence before he spoke. “Well? Aren’t you going to ask me how it went?”

Carefully, I looked at him, trying not to blush. He certainly was handsome, even with the look like he had just gotten out of bed.

Maybe he did.

Sparkler looked at me as if it was my duty to respond, her eyes signaling that I should say something with a slight twitch. “Okay, then. How did the meeting go?” I asked cautiously, trying not to say something that might offend him.

“Shitty,” Blueblood replied. Okay, not so regal.

Sparkler covered her mouth with her hoof in awe. “Blueblood! Language! You are a prince, not a commoner with such a dirty mouth!”

“Well, that’s how it went! It was just that bad!” Blueblood replied, throwing his hooves in the air.

"That is no excuse—" Sparkler started to say, before I cut her off.

“Oh really?” I asked flirtily. “So what happened that was so, ‘shitty’, as you put it?”

Blueblood was chuckling as the look on Sparkler’s face turned to shock. “Well, first of all—”

“Nah, boring,” I interrupted, waving him off with a hoof. Blueblood seemed to be on the brink of bursting with laughter.

“Sunset!” Sparkler chided, looking at us acting out. Suddenly she threw down her letters in exasperation, exhaling sharply. “You know, I have just about had it with the two of you! You are members of the Queen’s government, not hippies at Hippie Town!”

And that was it. We both bursted into simultaneous laughter, laughing at the immature jokes we were sporting. Sparkler’s mouth gaped wide open as she threw her hooves up and stormed out the office, slamming the door behind her.

Blueblood looked down, still chuckling a bit. "You know, it's been a long time since I've screwed around with her," he said, motioning for me to sit down in a chair with a hoof. I happily obliged, setting the duster down gently and mentally reminding myself to sit up straight and act as polite as I possibly could.

"Yeah, she seems a bit uptight," I replied, scratching my head with a stray hoof, before putting it down and wondering if it was polite to scratch your head in front of royalty. Luckily, he didn't seem to notice.

"I've known her for a long time, believe me, she's the most uptight pony I know. She's just always like that, you know? No matter how much I say to her... Ah, never mind," he finished, smiling distantly, as if he was remembering some old memory.

I smiled, hoping this was a chance to apologize for talking back yesterday. "I hope you forgave me about that little incident yesterday. I don't know what I was thinking, saying something like that—"

Blueblood waved his hoof. "Normally, Sunset, I would be a bit mad. After all, that's what I'm known for, is it not? Being mean to everypony? But you seem like a good mare. And I've seen you around Cloud Crest—although I doubt you've seen me—and you always act accordingly and don't break under pressure. I want to have a good start with you, Sunset. We are going to be working together for a long time, are we not?"

Nodding, I smiled sheepishly. "Thank you, Prince Blueblood," I started. "It really is an honor to be working here with you." See? I know how to turn on the charm factor.

He chuckled. “That's exactly what I'm talking about. If I were you, speaking in front of a prince that has a much higher status than you, I'd be at least a bit nervous." Blueblood put his hooves on the desk in front of him, his mane sweeping in front of his eyes.

“Well, I know how to act around royalty,” I replied, remembering the time when I was the late Princess Celestia’s student. Of course, she was long gone. So were my student days, taken away by that fraud, Twilight Sparkle.

Twilight, the one who had tried [and failed, I might add] to destroy the Queen ten years before. Without the Elements of Harmony, there was no way a pony like her could defeat anypony else. The Elements gave her the power she had. Magic alone could not stop the Queen, she must have known that.

I must have been deep in thought, because I snapped to my senses when I heard Blueblood chuckling. “Yeah, I remember. You used to be the student of—” Blueblood stopped. He wasn’t allowed to say Her name, just like everypony else. “The student of the Nameless One,” he finished.

Smiling, I nodded. “And I spent half of my time not in Equestria.”

“Yeah, how about that,” he mumbled in response, looking around his office. "You know, you're a cool mare—and I don't say that often. I mean, it takes a lot of courage and selflessness to take somepony in off the street and bring them into your home."

What? Did he just make a reference to how I took in Scootaloo off the street? How in Equestria did he know that?

Maybe Scootaloo told him at the Shadowbolt performance he attended. But why would she tell him something private like that?

I must have looked either confused or shocked, because Blueblood snapped me out of the trance I was in, saying, "But, you know, I'm trying to change my ways. Believe it or not, I'm kind of an asshole."

“No!” I replied sarcastically, shaking my head in mock disbelief. I guess I would just ask Scoots about it later.

“Hey, I can have you banished for that,” the prince replied, chuckling. “I really am. I remember one time a year or two before the Eternal Night, I met this one mare at the Grand Galloping Gala. Rarey, Ravish, something like that. So, anyway, this mare is head over heels about me and I actually think she’s kind of cute. I acted like such a douche to her that she screams at me and leaves me hanging! It was terrible. So now, I try to be nicer. It doesn’t always work out, though.”

Gods, was he cute. I shook the thought out, returning my attention to him. This was the prince of Equestria, nephew of the Queen herself. He would never ever like somepony so common as the royal advisor. “I’m sorry, but everypony says you’re not so great,” I told him truthfully, hoping to get an answer out of him.

Blueblood replied by scrunching up his face. “Well, sometimes my old personality comes back to me. Believe it or not, I think I’ve changed. Don’t worry, I always treat the ponies I like nicely now.”

I wonder what that meant.

~~~~~~

The Canterlot Castle’s throne room was silent, despite the fact that it was packed to the brim with ponies. They were all standing in a straight line, waiting to get their turn to speak to Queen Nightmare Moon. The mare in question sat on a pitch black throne made from polished obsidian. It was encrusted with rare gems that could only be found by dragons. Nightmare Moon scowled, her cat-like eyes staring at the one pony who was allowed to speak.

The throne room that had once been home to glass windows depicting scenes from Equestria’s past was now completely black, taken over by the night which the Queen had conjured. The glass windows still remained, but they were corrupted by evil and the images themselves were distorted. What once was a picture of the Elements of Harmony being wielded to stop Nightmare Moon was now a blackened picture of six ponies bowing to the evil entity before them.

The room—as well as the whole castle—reeked of evil.

Nightmare Moon no longer wore her traditional armor, but instead sported a necklace much like the late Princess Celestia’s along with high, spiked shoes and a regal yet cruel looking crown that looked as if it had been forged in the pits of Tartarus itself.

The pony spoke to her in a shaky voice. Her gray coat was slick with sweat, her eyes looking at different directions. Nightmare Moon was barely listening, but could make out the words ‘help’, ‘daughter is sick’, and ‘can’t afford treatment’. The poor mare had tears leaking out of her lazy eyes after she was finished.

The alicorn stood up, sighing deeply. “Miss… Hooves, is it?” Her voice resonated through the silent throne room.

The mare nodded. “Yes, Your Imperial Majesty.”

“Do you know what a pony would do a few thousand years ago when their child was sick?”

The mare shook her head. “No, Your Imperial Majesty.”

Nightmare Moon stepped towards the mare until she was towering over the poor pegasus. She smiled a bit and lowered her head. “Nothing. They did nothing.” The sound of cackling echoed through the throne room, bouncing off of the looming walls. Nightmare Moon lifted her head. “If the child was really worth keeping in Equestrian society, it would survive. If not, well, Equestria has no need for the weak and feeble.” The black alicorn stepped back onto the throne and dismissed the sniffling pegasus. She was escorted out the door, tears now falling freely from her messed up eyes.

Nightmare Moon wore an evil grin as she motioned for the next pony to step in front of her line of vision. Gingerly, the pony gulped and put her front hoof forward. But before she could move up, a member of the Night Guard pushed her back, so that he was now speaking directly to the Queen.

“Your Imperial Majesty, ma’am!” The Night Guard saluted, showing no emotions besides the one of reverence. “I have orders to ask you to the meeting room to discuss a pressing matter!”

“What matter?” Nightmare Moon snapped, annoyed that her time was disrupted. She stood up straighter, and her wings unfolded.

“I-I’m afraid that I was not permitted to know,” he replied nervously.

The alicorn sighed. “Fine!” She gestured to the pony behind the guard, and smiled cruelly. “I am ever sorry about this, but unfortunately I must leave. Your petty problems will have to wait.” Her horn glowed brightly, and a flash of magic teleported her from the throne room to the prestigious meeting room, where Night Crest stood, looking at the alicorn with intensity in her eyes.

“Your Majesty,” she greeted formally.

“Commander,” Nightmare replied to her. “There is a something which you wished to discuss with me?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. This has not been proven so far, but we have valuable evidence suggesting it.”

“Well? Continue!” Nightmare Moon commanded, sitting down on the main throne-like chair.

Cloud Crest sighed. “The, uh, the—”

“Do not stutter in my presence!” Nightmare Moon snapped, her hooves pushing her up from the chair.

“My apologies, my liege. But this is a matter of which I had hoped never to discuss with you.” Cloud sighed again and asked, “You have heard of the Mountain, I presume?”

“The Mountain?” Nightmare replied, starting to feel a little bit uncomfortable.

“The Mountain of the Sun. Legend has it that if you walked up the Mountain, you would find a beautiful castle. This castle would hold the answer to every question in the universe, and have unlimited power. Anypony who made it up this castle would be allowed to select one thing, one thing that would help you with anything you’d like. All superstitious nonsense, of course, but there is some truth to it now.”

“And what truth is that?”

Cloud Crest sighed. “Ten years ago, when you defeated the… the Nameless One, her spirit should have went straight to the sun; just like yours had gone to the moon a thousand years ago.”

“Should have?” said Nightmare in a harsh tone.

Cloud cowered and gulped the lump in her throat. “Yes, your majesty, should have. However, her spirit was bound to the one called Twilight Sparkle, the unicorn who harbored the Element of Magic.” Nightmare rose an eyebrow at the mention of the name.

“When you sent the Elements away as well, the only thing that Twilight had against you was her love for the Nameless One, which tethered her soul to the earth. While she was still bound to this earth, the Nameless One still had magic. She used this magic to teleport the Elements you had sent into oblivion into the castle,” said Cloud Crest.

Nightmare was taken aback. “How in the Holy Moon did you know that?”

“Well, I looked up some old Starswirl scrolls, but that’s not the point. The point is, lately I’ve had reports stating that the Mountain is acting up. The reports stated that strange… rays of light has been seen coming from behind the Mountain, barely peeking over the Everfree Forest. I asked my advisor what this would mean, and she only said one thing, jokingly, of course. ‘Maybe the sun is coming out soon,’ she said. I fired her the day after.”

“Was this the same advisor who blew up my carriage storage room?”

“Yes. Sunset Shimmer, her name was. She works over at your nephews’ now.”

Nightmare Moon took a last look at Cloud Crest before scowling more and stomping out of the room, slamming the door behind her. The three Night Guards guarding the room jumped in surprise, and bowed when they noticed their queen standing in front of them.

Nightmare bared her fangs at the guards. “New order!” she yelled. “Pass this on to your fellow guards: you are to find Sunset Shimmer and bring her to me! Alive! I have something special planned for her…”

Chapter III: The Chase (Edited+Revised)

View Online

After a long day of work, I finally made it back home. As I opened the door, Scootaloo exploded out of the hallway and forced me to the ground, pinning me. “Hey, Sunset!” Scootaloo said a bit nervously. She peered down into my shocked eyes, and a sheepish grin played across her face. “So, you know when I said that Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were coming tomorrow?” I nodded, and she added, “Weeeeell…”

My eyes widened as I realized what she was telling me. I shoved the pegasus off of me and stood up, running into my home. Scootaloo frantically followed me, shouting, “Wait!”

As I got to the kitchen, I gasped as my suspicions were confirmed.

A yellow earth pony sat at the table, her red mane bouncing around lightly. She wore a white spotted handkerchief around her neck, and her cutie mark was a zap apple. I recognized her immediately as our friend Apple Bloom.

Next to her sat a white unicorn, her pink and purple mane curled and beautiful, as if she was used to being pampered. Her cutie mark was a heart with music notes surrounding it, and I was positive it was Sweetie Belle who I was looking at.

I was too shocked to speak as the two looked at me with confused expressions. Scootaloo cleared her throat behind me awkwardly.

Before I knew what was happening, I whirled myself around. “Scootaloo, what the hay are they doing here today?” I said, not controlling myself as I yelled at my roommate, my blood boiling and my face most likely turning red.

Scootaloo put a hoof on the back of her head and chuckled nervously. “Um… there maaaaay or may have not been a miscommunication in the date times?” Scootaloo said, her voice much higher than usual.

I furrowed my brow and grumbled under my breath. “Why you little—” I stopped myself before I said anything that I would regret. I quickly whipped around and put on a fake smile, facing our untimely guests. “I’m sorry about that. It’s not that I didn’t want you here, it’s just I wasn’t expecting you until tomorrow.” I told them, doing my best to make them think I was not crazy.

Honestly, I don’t think it worked. They stared at me with a shocked expression, looking at each other and then back at me again.

It was Sweetie Belle who broke the silence saying, “Oh, um... That’s fine.” Bloom just smiled at me politely.

I smiled back. “I hope you will excuse me. I have some work to do. Scootaloo will get you some tea.” I turned around and gave Scootaloo the evil eye as I walked out of the kitchen and into my bedroom.

Sighing, I sprawled on my bed, lazily levitating a spare scroll. For a second, my girlish fantasies tempted me to write to Blueblood, asking him if he wanted to go get some coffee or something. But soon, I returned back to reality and muttered, “What am I doing?” Blueblood is a prince, and however hot he may be, I sincerely doubt he even has an inkling of that kind of feeling towards me. Besides, we just met. And he was known for being a total douchenozzle. In fact, it was weird that he warmed up to me quickly. Just yesterday he had been pissed at me and wanted nothing to do with me.

I threw myself back on the bed in frustration and looked out the window at the ponies running around everywhere, anxious to get on with their nightly lives. So busy, that it’s really hard to think that it used to be even busier than this, back before the Eternal Night.

When the Queen took over, it was as if a nuclear bomb had been dropped on us. The only city that was left mostly unscathed was Canterlot.

~~~~~~

Ten Years Earlier, After the Defeat of Twilight Sparkle…

Nightmare Moon looked at the space that had once been inhabited by Twilight and scoffed. “Stupid foal, thinking she could defeat me.” She stomped her forehoof in anger and triumph, ready to begin something she had been waiting to do for a long time, ever since her former jealousy of her sister returned.

She turned around and spread her massive, black wings and took to the sky. She flew through the wrecked halls of Canterlot Castle before exiting out onto the streets of Canterlot where she looked down upon the ponies that gazed at her with fear.

Nightmare Moon grinned victoriously as a burst of magic willed the sun to be gone, forever. She felt her powers growing ever stronger as the sun dipped lower and lower, far below the horizon, until finally it disappeared completely. Victory had never tasted so sweet, as her plans had finally come to fruition. She looked down on her subjects and bared her fangs in a vicious smile. “Citizens of Canterlot!” she greeted menacingly. “I am Nightmare Moon, the Queen of the Night!” A clap of thunder echoed through the city, and the audible sounds of pony screams filled the newly made night sky. “I have defeated your princess,”—thunder boomed again—“the Elements of Harmony, and the sun itself. Nopony, nay, nothing can defeat me! Bow to my will or perish!”

The frightened ponies bowed, their shouts barely reaching Nightmare’s ears. For she was in pure bliss.

But deep in the Crystal Kingdom, chaos ensued. An unnatural darkness loomed over the crystal city, and the ponies were reminded of the evil that King Sombra had brought to them years before. Some were driven to madness from fear, and resorted to running around endlessly and begging not to be taken by the villainous king.

Princess Mi Amore Cadenza desperately flew over her kingdom, trying in vain to calm her subjects down, but all in vain. The anarchy only continued when she noticed some of the affected ponies started taking their own lives. They would rather die than put up with the tyranny of King Sombra.

The rest were so frantic that they didn’t even realize the moon causing changes in the gravity. Equestria was not used to the moon being as it was. Waves from the ocean nearest to the Crystal Kingdom turned into hurricanes and tsunamis, ravaging the land. Those who couldn’t fly were killed, along with Prince Consort Shining Armor.

The princess had no time to grieve. The pegasi of the Crystal Kingdom fled quickly to the next town over, which had been hit by the hurricane as well. At this point in time, one fifth of the population of Equestria was dead or dying due.

Princess Mi Amore Cadenza fled to the one place where she would get some answers as to what was happening: Canterlot. The city was the only one in Equestria that was untouched, protected by the magic of Nightmare Moon.

The next city targeted by Nightmare Moon was Ponyville. The alicorn placed a simple spell on the town, taking over the plants of the Everfree Forest and destroying it with poisons and strangling its inhabitants. Only a few ponies survived, fleeing from the town at first sight of the evil from the Everfree.

Scootaloo was one of them. She ran as far as she could, but once she ran out of energy, she was a sitting duck. That was when her true wings were born, and in a leap of faith, she flew with the other fleeing ponies to Canterlot as well.

Ponyville was obliterated, and the genocide devastated Equestria’s population.

The moon wreaked havoc on Equestria, the foreign pulls of gravity causing earthquakes, hurricanes, and mass thunderstorms that killed off about half of the population. The only form of safety was going under Nightmare Moon’s reign, and even that was difficult.

Nopony knows what happened to Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, but they do know that Nightmare Moon is not to be trifled with. If she can destroy half of her own subjects in a fit of rage, nothing is impossible for her.

And Celestia withered away, as did her sun, dismissed as an old foal’s tale. The tale of the Mare in the Sun.

~~~~~~

Scootaloo shook me awake. Apparently I had fallen asleep a couple of hours before, and it showed. I rubbed my head with my hoof, feeling the groggy effects of sleep.

When I finally was awake enough to understand her, I noticed a particularly giddy expression on her face.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, flipping my mane off of my eyes.

She clapped her hooves excitedly, hovering in the air. “Prince Blueblood is outside! He just knocked and said he wants to speak to you!”

I was taken aback. “Why would he want to speak to me? I saw him a few hours ago anyway. Couldn’t it wait till tomorrow?” I retorted.

“I dunno. I didn’t ask the guy! Besides, I’d rather just push you out to talk to your boss than speak to him personally. That guy is a jerk.”

I scoffed. “Then why are you so excited right now?”

Scoots rolled her eyes. “Because a prince wants to talk to you, a simple country girl.”

“I’m not country! I grew up in Canterlot!” I retorted, going off-topic.

“Dude, if the prince wants to talk to you privately, it’s bound to be good. Don’t be stupid, Sunset! Go talk to the damn prince!” Scootaloo pushed me off of my bed.

Reluctantly, I grumbled and walked to the doorway, eyeing Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, chatting quietly in the kitchen. They were good mares, they really were, and I loved them as much as I loved Scootaloo. They had come with Scoots to Canterlot originally, but split up with her and tried to find their siblings, the late Applejack and Rarity.

I opened the door to my house only to find Blueblood standing in front of it, looking over his shoulder. Then my gaze shifted to Sparkler, who was a short way behind him and almost looked like she was keeping watch. The familiar white hood covered her mane, so I could only see her looking away.

“Sunset! I have to speak to you,” Blueblood told me in a very formal tone.

I sighed. “Couldn’t it wait for tomorrow?”

He looked at me sternly. “No, Sunset! This is urgent. The Queen—”

I scoffed, cutting him off. “Oh, she finally wants me to pay off the money I owe her for the storage room incident? Tell that lady to buck off. It was science, ponies! Science!”

“No! The Queen, she’s angry at you for something—”

“Over the storage room incident, I know!” I nodded sarcastically at him.

“Be quiet!” Sparkler snapped from behind him, her eyes looking at me with worry and anger. “Listen to him!”

Blueblood looked at me urgently. “Sunset, she called the guards on you. They’re taking you to her.”

My jaw dropped, and a wave of confusion and fear washed over me, causing me to almost tip over. I silently closed the door behind me and stepped outside of my home. “W-what?! I’ll pay the fines, I swear! I’ll pay double! This can’t be happening… this can’t be happening!”

Blueblood sighed. “Whatever this is, it’s not about the storage rooms. But that’s not the point. I’m here to take you away,” he said.

“T-take me away? What do you mean?” I stammered, trying to make sense of it all.

“Listen,” he cut me off, looking around for telltale signs of guards, then continued. “I’ll explain later. But right now, I need you to come with us.”

“O-okay?” I shook my head roughly, trying to comprehend what was happening. “But… I’d have to take Scootaloo. She’d… she’d die without me!”

Blueblood smiled weakly and gave a curt nod. “Hurry. We brought basic supplies. Get the belongings you need and meet us here.”

I quickly nodded and slammed open the door, rushing to the kitchen where Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom were sitting, chatting normally.

“Hey, what are you doing?” Scootaloo asked me, cocking her head in confusion at the spectacle.

“Scootaloo, I have to get away from here. Royal guards are on my flank for whatever reason they have,” I told her, breathing heavily.

She gasped behind me. “No, Sunset! This can’t be happening! What did you do to the Queen to make this happen?” She gulped, and I could hear her sniffling. She was on the brink of tears, but who could blame her? There was a moment of silence before a brave statement, “I want to go with you. I have to. You’re my lifeline, my only… my o-only family.”

I smiled, tears forming in my own eyes. I quickly levitated my saddlebag which was laying on the kitchen counter, replying, “Yes, Scootaloo. Please come with me. I love you, Scoots, and I couldn’t bear to live without you.”

“If you’re going somewhere, I want to come with,” said the voice of Sweetie Belle. “I got my things packed up right here. I could just take those.” She stood up from the table and pushed her chair in.

“Same here,” came the voice of Apple Bloom. “Ah wanna go wherever you guys go. Y’all mah best friends, and Ah can’t even think of leavin’ ya alone.”

Fastening the saddlebag to me, I gestured to Scootaloo, who ran out of the room. “Are you sure? You’re not tied into any of this,” I told them.

Sweetie and Bloom nodded in unison. “Of course, Sunset,” Sweetie replied. “We would do anything for you!”

I sniffled and nodded, starting to head out of the kitchen, but my eyes kept straying and looking around the room that had housed me for almost ten years. I felt sad that I wouldn’t live here anymore. This was my home, and now I am leaving it.

“It’ll be okay, Sunset,” I heard Sweetie Belle say. I turned around only to see her give a sympathetic smile, which I returned gratefully.

“Thank you, Sweetie. Being with you two and Scoots will ease the pain of going away.”

Just then Scootaloo pushed into Sweetie and Bloom, displaying her bulging pack. “Do we have food? Necessities? I didn’t pack any of that stuff!” she said frantically.

“The prince should have some,” I told her, rushing out of the room. “Now we have to go!”

Outside, Blueblood was gone, probably thinking of a way to get out of Canterlot. I still had no idea what the guards would do to me if they found me out, but I knew it wouldn’t be good, and I would at least lose a limb.

Sparkler was still keeping watch until I walked over to her and nudged her. She sprang around, facing me. “Shhh!” she scolded. “The guards—they’ll be coming soon. We have to go—now!” Then her expression changed into confusion as she realized the extra ponies. “Oh, no. Blueblood only said Scootaloo, not your entire gang! Besides, wouldn’t they look for a famous singer, a Shadowbolt, and one of the most important members in the Apple family business? It would be publicized all around Equestria!”

“Uh oh. I didn’t think about that,” I told them. But it turned out that we didn’t have a choice. A loud yell from inside the city shook me to the core as I realized that it was Cloud Crest herself, yelling out commands.

“Find her and bring her to me now, ALIVE!”

Sparkler took one look at me and my friends, nodded, and suddenly we were running past my old home and into the forest that surrounded Canterlot some ways away. Blueblood met up with us soon, running at a pace I thought that princes would never do.

And yet Blueblood ran, pushing harder and harder and blinking back the tears that arose when the thought of his friends, his home, his life all gone in a flash.

~~~~~~

Hours and hours went by, and yet we didn’t stop running. Finally, we collapsed onto a moist ground, surrounded by a lush forest.

“This... must be the... end of the Everfree... Forest!" Sparkler managed to say between gasps for the air she’d deprived her lungs of, for so long.

And it was indeed. The Everfree Forest circled around the ruins of the town once called Ponyville all the way to the edge of Canterlot that lay on a cliff. Just beyond the Everfree, which stretched hundreds of miles, stood the grand Mountain of the Sun.

Nopony knows what lies deep in the Everfree, but some say that it’s not all forest. It has crevices and endings and magical areas that house creatures unknown to Equestrians.

And now we were in the deep, dark, never ending pit of the forest.

The moon glowed bright, as if it was trying to light Cloud Crest and the other guards’ way to us. It was ominous, to say the least, and it made me wish for the sun to come back even more.

Blueblood sighed and dropped the pack he’d been carrying. “Holy Celestia, that was hard.”

There was a moment of silence before Apple Bloom said, “We’re not in Equestria now. It’s okay to say ‘Celestia’.” We all breathed a sigh of relief at that.

“Anyway,” Blueblood started, clearing his throat. “I have something to talk to all of you about. Something important, and if I was ever caught saying it to you I would be executed or thrown in the dungeon, despite being a prince.”

We all got quiet and looked at Blueblood. All except for Sparkler, who shifted uncomfortably and looked at her hooves. What a weirdo.

“Do you know why you got fired?” Blueblood asked me.

I nodded in return. “Yeah, I blew up that storage room.”

To my surprise, Blueblood shook his head. “No. Do you recall a conversation between you and Cloud Crest about rays of light peeking over the corner of the Mountain of the Sun?”

“Y-Yeah…?” I shifted awkwardly, trying to keep up with the conversation.

“And did you reply, ‘maybe the sun will come out soon’?” he asked me sternly.

“Y-Yes,” I replied.

Blueblood grunted. “That’s why you were fired. That might also be the reason why Nightmare Moon sent the guards after you. You remember when I had the stressful meetings, I presume? Well, the reason they were stressful was because they were discussing a prophecy from ten years ago, something that Celestia’s magic conjured before she was banished. ‘The one who hold the sun shall bring forth my return, through pain and journey she must learn’.”

“So what?” Scootaloo cut in. “So she said an unprofessional thing in front of the Queen’s personal protege. What does it matter?”

“Not only that. But she was a student of Princess Celestia, was she not? Celestia always told her to be patient for she will receive her reward. And even her name! Sunset Shimmer. Nightmare Moon has a very logical answer as to why she would think the prophecy spoke about you.”

For me? I was stunned. I opened my mouth to say something, only to be cut off by Blueblood.

“That’s why I brought you out here. If you really are the one from the prophecy, then that means that you will be the one who brings Princess Celestia—and the Elements of Harmony—back to defeat Nightmare Moon and restore peace back to Equestria.”

Swallowing, I turned my head to look at the depths in the forest. “So what do we do?” I asked.

“Right now?” I heard Blueblood say. “We sleep. We worry about the rest later.”

Where the Mountain Meets the Sun

by Weeping Angel

Chapter I: The New World (Edited and Revised)

Chapter II: Know Your Enemy (Edited+Revised)

Chapter III: The Chase (Edited+Revised)