Dark Side of the Moon
Erevis Cale
Dark Side of the Moon
A man of shadows, in an empty realm of darkness. Long since had the biting sensation of Cania’s cruel ice left his body, leaving behind only a dim light to mark the gloom of his twilight. A dim light, and the voice of an old friend, his oldest, only true friend.
“There are so many things I want to show you....”
The sudden smell of the halfling’s pipeweed was a familiar comfort, how he had missed that smell, that voice. It was a true rush of nostalgia. Mustering his last bits of strength, pain ripping through his body from the sheer effort, Erevis Cale spoke the name of his long lost companion.
“...Jak?”
His voice felt empty, as if his very spirit had been ripped from him and left only a hollow husk behind. Despite this he still managed a smile, the thought of once more seeing his friend filled his otherwise empty vessel with incredible joy. It was a feeling he welcomed fully, for so long he had fought and killed, and he felt so very tired of it all. He had held no aspirations of going anywhere but the deepest pits of the Hells after his death; he had murdered, stolen and deceived far too much for him to be any sort of redeemable.
The man of shadows opened his eyes, yet he no longer had a true physical body to see with. There was a remnant however, a representation of his last moments alive before the archfiend Mephistopheles’ blade had torn into him, splitting him apart to collect what he had owed. It was this broken form that he beheld, though he saw himself from a distance. His body was the same black as it had always been since his transformation into a shade, a being of pure shadowstuff. The familiar black tendrils of smoke writhed around his body, in a futile attempt to repair what was no longer truly alive.
A single sigh left his lips, in the end it did not matter. He had defeated Kesson Rel, the fallen Chosen of Mask, and retrieved the divine power he had stolen from their deity. Nothing else was of any importance, he had gone to his death with his head lifted high and no regrets. It was time for rest, and he welcomed his end with open arms.
He felt himself sinking, falling deeper into that endless abyss of darkness.
<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>
A gasp for breath brought Erevis Cale back to consciousness, the cold air biting his throat and lungs as sensation returned to his body, bringing with it a throbbing pain. Laying still, the former assassin uttered a groan of discomfort as he struggled to regain his senses. The world around him felt familiar somehow, though he was certain that he’d never visited the realm of the dead before.
With a great effort he managed to open his eyes to the world, fully expecting to find an archdevil or even Shar glowering down at him. Instead he found himself looking up at a dark sky, a complete absence of clouds or stars clueing him into the truth of his environment. It only took him another moment to recognize the familiar energies around him.
“Dark and empty!” He swore, the words escaping his pained throat before he could stop them. It caused him a coughing fit, bringing a black hand up to cover his mouth out of habit.
After his coughing had subsided, his gaze lingered a moment longer on his appendage. Shadowy tendrils swirled around it lazily, almost like an ethereal smoke. A short jab of pain went through his hand as he recalled how he’d lost that particular limb, the toothy maw of a Slaad appearing clearly in his memories, once more he was reminded that he only had the luxury of two hands within shadows and darkness.
Though in this particular place he’d never have to worry about something as mundane as lacking darkness, the presence of light was about as alien to this world as fire under water.
“The Plane of Shadow, how in the Hells did I end up here?”
With a sigh the shade managed to get to his feet, already he could feel the dark plane feeding his body with power and vitality. It had always been a great source of discomfort for him, exactly how much at home he felt in this cursed place. Despite his personal feelings of loathing towards the Plane of Shadow, he could never help but feel a sort of familiar warmth whenever he travelled it. Just another quirk of his rather unique nature.
Throwing aside his personal issues for the moment, Cale quickly took stock of his surroundings. He couldn’t help but lift an eyebrow in puzzlement at what he saw. The best way he could describe it was that he was standing in a great, barren wasteland, rocky surfaces and dust the only notable features. Lack of color was normal for the Plane of Shadow, though the absence of any sort of vegetation was new. The Plane worked almost as a mirror, reflecting the Material realm in a much more bleak and twisted way, but for there to be nothing else in sight? He couldn’t think of any place in Faerun where you couldn’t spot at least a mountain or forest on the horizon.
That’s when he decided to look back up at the sky.
“What in the stlarning Hell is that supposed to be!?”
There was an orb, but that’s where all similarities to the moon ended. It was at least three times as large, and had several patterns that seemed to be inching across its surface. It might simply have been the ethereal nature of the Plane of Shadow, but Cale could have sworn that it somehow looked like clouds. The only place in the Plane of Shadow where Cale had ever seen something even remotely similar to light had been near a powerful dimensional gate, yet this ghostly sphere in the sky was giving off light akin to the moon on a clear night.
“One thing’s for certain, I have no idea where I am...” He muttered quietly, rubbing his face in agitation.
Another sigh escaped his lips before he decided to take stock of his situation, he still wore the enchanted suit of black leather armor, and the familiar weight of his blade Weaveshear at his side was a welcome sensation. In a fluid motion he drew the longsword from its scabbard, its length bleeding shadowstuff as it always did when he was in the Plane of Shadow. Just grasping the weapon made him feel safer, its magic-nullifying power never functioned terribly well on Shadow magic, but he had slain his fair share of planar beings with it regardless.
One more glance around him confirmed that no enemies were forthcoming, and with reluctance he sheathed the weapon again. To most other creatures, trying to discern anything on the Plane of Shadow would have been a challenge, yet to a shade such as himself it was almost as easy as it would have been on the Material Plane.
Seeing no other course of action, Cale decided to try and find some sort of clue as to his whereabouts. He could certainly try to leave the Plane of Shadow at any time if he wanted, but without having any idea of where he was, doing so would likely be dangerous. With only one option left to him, Erevis Cale set out in a steady pace across the endless, barren landscape.
<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>
His surroundings stayed mostly the same as he traveled, the world around him a constant bleak grey of dust and rock, passing by him without leaving much of an impression. Wherever he was, he was certain that it was no longer on Toril, even the great Anauroch desert at least had the decency of offering travelers the occasional withered tree or stone formation.
The muffled sound of his footsteps along with his thoughts were his only companions, feeling neither fatigue nor thirst was one of the few positive boons of his deep connection to the Plane of Shadow, and it was certainly one he appreciated when he was stuck in such a desolate place. Despite being ever vigilant of danger, Cale found his thoughts drifting back to happier times, subconsciously fighting the twisting influence of the shadowy plane.
He thought of Varra, of the few actual joyful years of his life he had spent with her. Even memories of Drasek Riven brought him some semblance of comfort, though they had always had a deep rivalry, stemming from their shared professions and role as Chosen of Mask. Not to mention their general dislike of their individual personalities. Yet, in the end he had felt like they had become friends, at least somewhat, though he was certain Riven would mock him simply for suggesting it.
A low chuckle escaped him as a wistful smile graced his lips, whatever Riven was doing with his newfound divinity he was certain that he’d do what needed to be done. What was right. Or perhaps he’d just spend the rest of his days with his beloved dogs and island temple, who really knew when Drasek Riven was involved.
The faint sensation of an invisible breeze brought Cale back from his thoughts, coming to a stop in front of what appeared to be a large crater in the ground. He had encountered a few of these odd features in the landscape before, and though they had always been entirely empty, something about this particular pockmark felt strange.
On instinct his hand found the hilt of his blade, keeping it sheathed as he moved closer to the edge, his years of training in stealth making the effort entirely silent. With an almost painfully slow movement he peeked down into the crater, intent on finding the source of the odd sensation. His breath almost left him at the sight of what he saw.
At the bottom of the crater was a prone form, roughly the size and shape of a pony, though that’s where any similarities ended. Its coat and hair was a regal blue, with its mane and tail a lighter shade. From its brow extended a sharp horn, not unlike that of a unicorn, yet at its sides it had feathered wings nestled protectively against itself, like those of a pegasus. Even stranger, it seemed to have a black adornment of some sort atop of its head, styled horseshoes on its hooves, and a plate with a lunar moon motif on its chest. It was obviously sleeping, and even if it wasn’t he doubted it’d be able to move at all.
The creature was shackled to the ground, chains of some translucent metal restraining its limbs and likely making it impossible for it to move more than a few feet. It took all of Cale’s considerable willpower to not simply rush down and cut it loose in that moment, memories of his time in Skullport and its many slaves running through his mind and almost making him grit his teeth in anger. Few creatures deserved to be kept prisoner in such a way, and he could think of no crueler place to be trapped than the Plane of Shadow.
Not wanting to rouse the creature from its sleep just yet, Cale decided against simply sliding down the crater, instead choosing to rely on another power his state as a shade afforded him. With a simple thought he drew the darkness of the plane around himself, whisking himself out of existence only to step out of nothing less than ten feet from the imprisoned winged unicorn. His feet had barely touched the ground before he had to take a step back in surprise, whatever this creature was it held a great amount of divine energy, even in its sleeping state.
‘Her’ sleeping state, if he had to wager a guess on gender. Having taken a closer look at the winged unicorn, he certainly noticed a few feminine qualities, such as her obviously stylized mane, and what he realized was in fact a tiara on top of her head. For a long time he simply stood there, looking down on the chained equine. No matter what he tried, he could not sense any evil or malice from the sleeping creature, and she certainly did not look like a denizen of the Plane of Shadow. She seemed too... pure, for that.
Caught up in his contemplations as he was, Cale did not notice as the pony stirred lightly, her eyes opening to look up at him with not, as Cale was normally accustomed to, fear, but instead curiosity and uncertainty. For his own part Cale simply returned the gaze without moving a muscle, his own glowing, yellow eyes meeting her cyan orbs. Being easily six and a half feet tall, he literally towered above her prone form, and his bald head, black skin and expressionless face would be intimidating to any normal human.
They were like that for a time, until the pony eventually cocked her head and shifted her weight for comfort. “Who art thou?” Her voice was firm, yet held very little hostility. Perhaps the fact that she had a voice at all is what surprised Cale the most, though he did not show it. “We are unaccustomed to visitors, perhaps the Nightmare has sent thee to torment us further?”
Cale opted to keep his expression neutral, internally wondering exactly what ‘the Nightmare’ could be. “Erevis Cale, and I can assure you that tormenting you is my lowest priority at this time,” Seeing no reply forthcoming, Cale continued in a matter-of-factly tone. “I would like to find out exactly where I am however, and you’re the first other being I’ve met here.”
The blue pony kept a searching gaze on Cale, slowly stretching the discomfort out of her wings. “Yes, we suspect thee will encounter few other creatures here,” For a brief moment, Cale could’ve sworn he saw a profound sadness pass through her eyes, until she blinked and returned her attention to him. “Thou must certainly be an anomaly then, to be so far from thine home and not realise where thou are.”
“We’ve already established that I’m lost, now will you tell me where I am, or not?” Despite his normally cool demeanor, Cale could not help but have slight irritation seep into his voice. He had never cared for enigmatic creatures, especially when they insisted on doing things in roundabout ways. The hint of indignation in the regal pony’s features was not missed by him however, and he quickly added: “Please?”
“We apologize if it seems like we are wasting thine time, we have been alone here for a very long time, perhaps we have forgotten the proper conduct of conversation,” The equine brought a hoof to her mouth before coughing politely. “We are Princess Luna, and thou art currently residing in the Shadow of our beloved Moon.”
There was silence for a few seconds as Luna’s words slowly sank in, leaving behind a rather baffled Erevis Cale. “The... moon? Like, Selûne, the moon? The moon in the night sky?”
The Princess nodded her head just once. “Indeed, though we have never heard it called by that name before. ‘Selûne’, hmm... we like this name.”
For the first time since the start of their conversation, Cale let his cold facade fade away, placing a hand to his face in frustration. “The moon, that’s just great, not only do I not know what Material plane awaits me on the other side, but now I’m on its moon too,” He let out a deep sigh as he stared into empty space. “What did I do to deserve this?”
‘Oh... right.’ He thought to himself as the answer became obvious.
“Nothing we would know anything about we’re sure, our own sin has already afforded us close to a thousand years in this place,” The lunar mare looked back up at the stranger. “Considering thou know not thy reason for being here, we suppose it is safe to say that thou did not commit any crimes in Equestria?”
Cale shook his head. “Princess, I don’t even know what this ‘Equestria’ is, where it’s located, or even what your world is called,” he made a dismissive gesture with his hand, the shadows of the plane clinging to it like smoke. “and should I even be talking to a creature whose sin warranted her a thousand year long stay on the moon?”
Luna huffed in reply, closing her eyes and pointing her muzzle in the air in mock indignation. “Well we’ve never! Where are thy manners, speaking to a princess like this? If we were not currently restrained, thou would certainly come to regret thy choice of words.”
Catching the humor in her reply, Cale brought a hand up to rub his chin contemplatively. “Is that so?” He ran a searching gaze over her. “Hmm, you really don’t look all that tough, I’d wager you couldn’t fight your way out of an orphanage.”
Luna lifted a brow in genuine confusion. “Why would we ever need to fight our way out of an orphanage? Certainly homeless foals would never become our enemy, what...-” Realization suddenly dawned on her as Cale gave her a deadpan look. ”Ah... ‘twas a joke. We are afraid that our long exile has done little to ensure us a knowledge of the common humor. These days we are only capable of following the day to day lives of the world below in our dreams.”
With a sad sigh she continued. “Though it is true that we are... less, than what we used to be. Perhaps thou are right to believe us as weak as a foal... we’re certainly foolish enough to be one.”
Cale absently lifted a hand to scratch the back of his head, it apparently wasn’t enough that the fates had lead him to meet with an imprisoned winged unicorn in a moon’s crater on the Plane of Shadows. She had to be depressed too, the same sort of hopeless demeanor he had only seen in the slaves of Skullport. It practically made his stomach churn just looking at her.
“So,” he started as he sat down on the ground before her. “are you going to tell me how you got here or what?”
The lunar mare winced slightly, averting her eyes to look at the ground next to Cale. “We... we gave in to our jealousy and pettiness, allowing darkness to take hold of our soul and create something abhorrently evil,” eyes shimmering with regret gazed back at Cale, sending a shiver of cold through his body at the sheer sadness in them. “We renamed ourself ‘Nightmare Moon’ and swore to bring eternal night to Equestria, to force our pony subjects to love our night like they loved our sister’s day.” A sad sigh escaped her lips as she closed her eyes. “Our sister was forced to banish us, imprisoning both our selves on the moon.”
It was almost painful how little he needed to imagine exactly what she was talking about, he knew better than anyone what it was like to live with a darkness within oneself. Though he could not imagine living on the moon for a thousand years, Cale nevertheless felt a sense of kinship with the exiled princess.
“Well then,” he said as he got off the ground, patting his pants clear of moon dust as he stood. “how are we going to free you from those chains?”
A flash of disbelief crossed the chained princess’ face for a moment. “Hast thou not listened to our tale? We have more than earned our prison, there is no good reason why actions should be taken to help us. Besides, the chains are made of my sister’s solar magic, they’re unbreakable.”
“That’s very weak reasoning, princess. I take it the Nightmare is still out there?”
Luna gave a single nod at that. “Yes, our true body and power is still in the possession of the Nightmare, she constantly mocks and taunts us with the fact...”
“So what,” Cale narrowed his glowing eyes at the princess. “you’re just going to sit here in this hole for all eternity, letting your darkness taunt you?” A single motion drew Weaveshear from its scabbard. “Just going to give up, let this Nightmare corrupt everything you ever were?” Wisps of shadowstuff enveloped the blade’s length. “If you have a darkness within, if you suffer from some old sin or crime, then you don’t just give up and lay down.”
One powerful swing of the magic-absorbing blade slashed through the air next to Luna, making her eyes widen in shock. The dark edge of the sword sliced cleanly through the nearest translucent chain, causing it to dissipate into shadows with a hiss.
“You don’t just feel sorry for yourself. You get up,” another swing of the sword took away a second chain, “you confront whatever darkness you have, and then,” a third strike quickly followed by a fourth made short work of the remaining chains, leaving behind a speechless and very free princess, “you overcome it.”
“We... but... thou.” Luna managed to stutter a few words, attempting to get on her hooves while her body protested the sudden activity after a thousand years of rest.
“What about me? I’m not the one stumbling about like a newborn.”
There was no mocking in his voice, only an urging born from harsh facts. She responded in much the way one would have expected, by narrowing her eyes at him in an indignant glare. “We are not a foal! Tis more likely that we are several thousand years thine elder, and we will not be patronized by some shadowy monkey!”
A grin spread across Cale’s face, almost unnaturally white in contrast to his dark skin. “Well, look who’s finally on her hooves.”
The hostility left her gaze as quickly as it’d come, the princess glancing down to discover that she had in fact gotten up on all fours, albeit somewhat shakily. It was an almost forgotten feeling, to stand on her own hooves again after so long, and it felt so very good. A grin of her own appeared on her lips as she started trotting about, beaming all the while.
“Look, sir Cale! We have escaped our curse of atrophy and the bonds of our prison! Truly this is a cause for celebration, once more we can walk the surface of our beloved moon, join in the dance of the lunar spirits and...-” Her string of words ended the instant she noticed the stony expression back on Cale’s face. “What is the matter, sir Cale? Art our happiness so ill received by you?”
Crossing his arms, Cale returned to look at Luna with a raised brow. “Not at all, I’m very happy for you, but aren’t you forgetting something important?” A questioning cock of the head gave Cale the answer he needed, and he sighed, somewhat exasperated. “Your Nightmare will still be coming, right?”
Luna’s eyes widened for a moment as realization struck her. “...oh.”
Almost as if on cue the plane around them darkened, bringing with it a multitude of shapes outside their field of vision. It was almost as if the planar qualities intensified in that moment, a thought which did not sit well with Cale. Before either of them could utter as much as a word of warning, a reverberating voice sounding across the plane.
“Well, well, well, it seems little Luna has found a new friend, how very heartwarming.” A cruel laugh followed in the voice’s wake. “Too bad that it will make no difference to you, in fact, destroying those chains has only served to further free me from this prison.”
A pair of great cyan eyes, akin to Princess Luna’s in color yet with cruel cat-like pupils, suddenly appeared in thin air above them, promises of pain and misery clearly reflected in them. “Perhaps I should reward you for your effort, how does a swift end sound?”
Already Cale had drawn his sword, standing ready with an unreadable expression for anything this ‘Nightmare’ might decide to throw at them. Luna however, was less resolute. She was clearly terrified, her small body trembling at the sound of her evil counterpart’s voice as her pupils turned to pinpricks.
In the next moment several of the previously indistinguishable shapes took form around them, becoming pony-like creatures of pure shadow, demonic bat-wings sprouting from their sides and a mouth filled with sharp, white teeth opening to hiss at their designated prey. Their bodies might not have been particularly large, but Cale was more than aware of the difficulty involved in fighting many smaller opponents. Especially considering he had no divine spells to call upon.
Taking a step to stand with his back against Luna, Cale slowly brought his offhand towards the mare, never taking his eyes off of the shadowy ponies. “Princess?” There was no response, and the fiendish creatures moved closer. “Princess!” He ventured a brief glance at Luna, cursing internally as he discovered that she hadn’t moved a muscle, frozen in fear as she was. The fiendish ponies flared their wings, hissing loudly as they prepared to dive at their outnumbered victims. “LUNA!”
His outburst brought the princess out of her stupor, her head whipping up to look at the tall human in panic. But it also prompted the demonic ponies to attack, swarming at them with maws gaping wide. Having only a second in which to react, Cale quickly grasped the lunar mare by the shoulder, drawing power from the plane to envelop them both in shadows. Just as the demon ponies reached them, a shift in the air was all that alerted them as the duo made their escape, riding the shadows away from certain death.
<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>
In another, entirely unknown location, the shadows suddenly deepened as a pair of figures were deposited from thin air. Several feet above the ground. A pair of surprised yells escaped them, Cale quickly wrapping an arm around Luna’s abdomen and bracing her against himself. He gasped with pain as they collided with the ground, his breath leaving his lungs at the same time as a crack was heard from his shoulder. They were sent tumbling across the dust a few times before finally coming to a stop, Cale winced audibly in pain while Luna gasped for breath.
“Gah... remind me to never... make a blind jump like that again...” Cale managed to mutter as he sat up, glancing around to take in their surroundings. It was, not surprisingly, the same kind of desolate wasteland they had left behind. Although with a gratifying lack of demonic ponies intent on eating them.
“Princess?” The shade cast a glance at Luna’s still prone form, though she had not been hurt she made no move to get up. “Are you going to stay like that until those things show up to kill us?”
The lunar princess sent an angry glare in his direction. “Had thou not broken our bonds, we wouldn’t be in this situation! Now the Nightmare won’t stop until you’re dead, and what little remains of us has been devoured by it!” She glanced towards the man’s shoulder as her eyes softened. “Art thy shoulder well? We can not imagine ‘that’ is particularly pleasant.”
A gesture with her hoof brought Cale’s attention to the shoulder that had taken the brunt of their fall, and he winced slightly at the state it was in. It was obviously dislocated, his arm hanging limply by his side at an unnatural angle and ignoring any attempt at moving it.
“You’d be right,” He brought his other hand up to the shoulder blade, ignoring the piercing sensation of pain that shot through his body. “At least it doesn’t seem broken, give me a moment.”
Dreading what was to come next, Cale took a single deep sigh as he tightened his grip on his dislocated limb. With one swift motion he twisted his shoulder, a loud pop and groan of pain followed as he set the bone in place. Already he could feel the shadows soothe and heal his muscles, but that didn’t stop it from hurting like crazy.
If Luna’s expression was any sort of indication, she only had sympathy to show him. “We must apologize, had we not been so... foalish, thou would not have needed to suffer like this.”
Glowing, yellow eyes met the princess’, though they held no discontent. “Don’t worry about it, I’m plenty jaded to pain already.” With another groan he got on his feet, stretching his arms and arching his back. “So, are you going to be alright now?”
The princess cast a troubled glance to the ground, though she did get back on her hooves. “We... can’t be certain, the Nightmare has debilitated us for close to a thousand years already, and we see no point in fighting it regardless...” Her saddened gaze found his. “What would it accomplish? It is too powerful for us to defeat, and even if we somehow managed it we’d still be trapped in this place.”
“Well...” Cale looked uncertain for a moment before he walked to the princess, dropping down to sit in front of her. “How about I tell you a story of mine then?”
“We do not see why not, there’s not much else we can do at this time.” Her features showed doubt, yet she could not deny herself the companionship she had longed a thousand years for.
The former assassin sent her a smile, though it was neither happy nor sad. “Before I came here, I had friends. Not many, just a few who I could count on to stick with me no matter where I went. I should know, they went with me to some pretty dark places.” A wistful smile graced his lips as he recalled the many adventurers of himself and his friends. “One of my friends, his name was Magadon. He was cursed from birth, born to a father to whom the very concept of good was entirely incomprehensible. His name was Mephistopheles, and he was an archfiend, one of the nine devil princes of the Hells.”
Luna looked like she wanted to interrupt, but Cale raised a hand in a dismissive gesture. “Let me finish, please.
“Mephistopheles was the second most powerful of the devil lords, yet he desired so much more. He wanted to become a deity.” Cale grunted, remembering everything he’d gone through for that particular desire. “At the time I was a... cleric, of another god by the name of Mask. This deity saw fit to manipulate me into becoming his servant, and as such he named me one of his Chosen. I had another Chosen working together with me, but that’s not really important to the story.” Drasek Riven, what a partnership that had been. “Mask baited me for a long time, and eventually I learned the true mission of his Chosen. Mask was the deity of thieves you see, and one of his older followers, the first of his Chosen, Kesson Rel, had committed the greatest act of thievery. He had managed to steal a part of Mask’s divinity itself.
“You see where this is going? Mephistopheles was of no little power himself, and had learned of Kesson Rel’s theft. He desired this divinity for himself, and he wanted to use me to achieve it.” Cale’s eyes grew morose as he reminisced what happened next. “To this end he sought to use the things I cared about the most, and eventually he got hold of a bargaining chip I could not ignore. In order to force me into working for him, he took Magadon into his possession... and tore out half of his soul.”
This revelation prompted the reaction one would expect from the lunar princess, her eyes taking on a look of sympathy. “So to make a very long story somewhat shorter, my fellow Chosen and I managed to defeat Kesson Rel, with some help from a third party, and each of us recovered a piece of Mask’s power. I had obviously promised Mask that I’d return the part of his divinity to him, but that was something I could not do with Magadon in the state he was in. For without that last part of his soul, his human part, he had become a lunatic. Become less of what he used to be, and twisted by the demonic soul he had been left with...”
For her own part, Luna could not ignore the obvious implication of what Cale meant. “So I returned to Cania, the fiend’s plane, and payed him the price for Magadon’s soul. With his blade he tore open my body, and took from me the divinity I had worked so hard to find.”
Silence reigned for a moment, until Luna cocked her head in a questioning gesture. “But thy life was saved? We certainly sense no divinity in thee, yet here we are.”
Cale scoffed, crossing his arms in front of himself. “No, I’m fairly certain that I died. At the very least, something happened which sent me here.”
“So...” Luna shifted uncomfortably. “Thou went through all that, even though thou knew it would seal thy fate?” A nod from Cale was her answer. “But... why? What was the point?”
“That one’s simple, princess, and it’s what I want you to understand.” He gave her a toothy grin. “Loyalty.”
That one word sent a jolt of recognition through her, like a long lost value she had once treasured so very much. It had been one of her Elements after all. “... loyalty has little meaning to us now, sir Cale. Who do we...-”
“Your sister.” Cale cut her off, keeping his steady gaze on her. The statement caught Luna off guard, leaving her to simply listen to his words. “Think about how she must feel, losing you like that and spending all that time alone. Don’t you think you owe it to her, to at least fight back against the thing that split the two of you apart, no matter what the cost?”
“We...” Luna’s eyes flickered in uncertainty for a moment. “Perhaps thou are correct, our sister does not deserve whatever sadness our actions brought her...”
A low chuckle from the shade made Luna lower her head in embarrassment, it had been a long time since she’d talked like this to anypony. Or whatever this dark stranger was. “Well?” Cale said as he brought a hand down below her chin, lifting her head to look into her eyes. “Are we going to go do something about it then? I’d be happy to spend the rest of my unnaturally long life here with you afterwards, if you want the company.”
Tears were threatening to form in her eyes, for so long she had been alone, and even before the moon she had only ever been close to her sister. Never had she had any friends, or anything close to a companion. The ponies had never adored her, and she had only been able to spend time with her sister at dusk and dawn. The thought of someone who was actually willing to be with her for the rest of his life, it was...
“.. what are you?” She asked, for the first time in uncertainty, as if she didn’t dare believe what he was telling her.
Cale simply patted her on the cheek, smiling that enigmatic smile of his. “Me? I’m just a butler.”
Luna stared blankly at him for a few short moments, before breaking out in giggles, actual tears of mirth appearing in her eyes. She wasn’t sure if he was being serious or not, but the way he’d said it, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, and in their current situation no less, she couldn’t help but laugh.
An entirely serious expression had taken over Cale’s features, and he mumbled in mock annoyance. His indignation didn’t last long though, and after a while he found himself chuckling along with the princess.
They stayed like that for a while, simply content to be in each other’s company. It did not take long however for Cale to notice something odd.
“Princess... what are those?” He had been eyeing the sky for a while, puzzled by the appearance of something new and unknown.
“Hmm, what dost thou mean?” The lunar princess turned her gaze to the sky. “There should be nothing... there.”
Her last word almost died in her mouth, for in the sky was a multitude of ghostly lights, shining like the Shadow plane equivalent of stars. Luna was as confused as Cale was for a moment, until realization dawned on her. “But... those are... no!” Her wings flared as she got on her hooves, eyes of desperation pinning Cale to the spot. “The stars! Without the chains she’s regained control of our celestial powers, if she gathers the stars she might be capable of returning to Equestria!”
Cale took a moment to consider the implications. “And that’s... bad?” The glare he got in return was all the answer he needed. “Well if she returns to Equestria, doesn’t that mean that you go along as well?”
“Not if we’re left behind here! The chains might have made us powerless against her, but they were also what connected our spirits. We need to get to her before she returns, if only the Nightmare goes back to Equestria there’ll be nothing my sister can do to stop her!”
“Okay, so we just need to get to her and stop her, right?” Cale wasn’t one to admit it, but he too was getting a little riled up by Luna’s reaction.
Luna stopped the frantic pacing she had entered, looking to Cale with hope in her eyes. “Yes, we need to find our physical body, somehow restrain her, or at the very least hinder her in what she is attempting.” The lunar mare shook her head to clear it. “We need... yes! Thy teleportation, if I guide thee would it be possible to move where I willst it?”
“I... guess.” Cale was looking at the frantic mare with worry. “But princess, if we do find her, would you be able to fight this time?”
In that moment she froze, her entire body going rigid at the thought of confronting her worst Nightmare. “We...” She managed to utter a single word before speech left her, for a moment it looked like she was about to give up and fall to the ground. Then she looked back up at Cale with steel in her eyes. “Yes, we will fight her! For my sister, for Equestria, and for ourself! The Nightmare has tormented us long enough, a thousand years is a thousand years too many to spend with that evil!”
Her dark companion managed a smile, eagerness shining brightly in his eyes. With a nod he extended a hand to the mare. “Well then, Princess Luna. Shall we?”
A blue hoof reached towards him with resolution, and the shade wrapped his hand around it in turn. In the next moment there was a coalescing of shadows, and the pair was gone.
<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>
An intensification of shadow heralded their arrival, and as Erevis Cale and Princess Luna stepped out from nothing, boots and hooves kicking up dust, they came face to face with a mass of very familiar demonic ponies. They had obviously not seen them coming, and before the closest of the beasts could give a single hiss in surprise, Cale had already assessed the situation and stepped forward. With finely honed dexterity he drew his blade, slicing into one of the creatures in the same motion. As it dissipated he quickly drew a concealed dagger, sending it flying to hit another right in its face.
Only when the dagger hit the ground did the demonic ponies realise they had unwanted visitors. Though by then Luna had had plenty of time to charge her horn. A flurry of azure bolts of magic took apart half a dozen of the creatures, the rest scattering quickly to avoid the Night Princess’ fury. A few of the creatures had been on their flank as they had appeared, and one of these had dived for Luna as soon as it was able. Preoccupied with her front as she was, Luna did not realise the danger before she heard the hiss next to her.
She gave a quiet gasp as she swirled to the side, knowing full well that she’d be unable to dodge the attack in time. As fate would have it however, she did not need to. The bat-pony was less than five feet from her when a familiar bipedal form appeared from the darkness behind it, cleaving the monster in half with a blade tracing shadows.
Cale smirked cockily at the mare, until a sound made him twist his head to the side. A pair of the fiends had formed out of thin air, apparently with intention to rip him apart. In their way however was a blue shield of energy, and they had no time to react before it exploded outwards, reducing them to wisps of shadowstuff. The shade glanced back at Luna, who had a superior look on her face and a still glowing horn. Not one to scoff at help, Cale mouthed a ‘thank you’ before returning his attention to the work at hand.
The remaining creatures had formed into some semblance of structure, quickly surrounding the pair to prepare for a collective attack. Before they had the chance however, Cale quickly called on another of his shade abilities, creating five exact duplicates of himself from the shadowstuff of the plane. Startled by the appearance of so many new enemies, the demonic ponies hesitated in their attack. Which was just long enough for Cale and his mirror images to jump into action, and for Luna to unleash another precise wave of attacks.
The shade worked with practiced ease, jumping from spot to spot with his shadowstep while making use of his copies to confuse and waylay the enemy, Luna meanwhile was putting her magic to good use, taking out an enemy with every blast she released. By the time the fiends discovered the mirror images were harmless, Cale and Luna had already reduced their numbers by half. The few injuries Cale had sustained in the melee scuffle were already healing, the shadowstuff of his body knitting together wounds at rapid speeds.
As the remaining fiends took to the air to get out of Cale’s reach, the shade swiftly jumped back to stand beside Luna. “Princess! How are you holding up, a bit rusty after a thousand years up here?” There was a certain playful cockiness to his tone, he would never admit to it, but deep down Cale really enjoyed fighting.
There was no sign of exhaustion on the mare, and there was a certain energy to her speech that he had not heard before. It seemed like actually fighting against her sworn nemesis was doing her confidence some good. “We are quite fine, sir Cale, thank you. Even with our reduced power these shadow constructs are barely a threat!” As if to back up her point, Luna conjured up another wave of magic, washing over a trio of fiends and reducing them to nothing. Cale was no stranger to magic, and he could feel the very energies she summoned as a tingle in the air around her.
“Good to hear, now where is this Nightmare of yo...-”
He did not manage to utter another word before a bolt of dark purple magic slammed into him, sending him tumbling away with an exclamation of pain. Even with his increased resistance to magic it still felt like a giant had kicked him, and it was with a great effort that he managed to roll around to sit on his knee. He barely heard Luna crying out his name over the throbbing of his ears; the voice of his attacker however, silky smooth and cruel all at once, did manage to make itself clearly heard.
“Right here, you impetuous foal.”
With a groan he raised his head to look at the speaker, just barely bringing up his sword in time to catch another blast of tainted magic on its blade. The attack dissipated, but he still felt the power lash out at him like a venomous snake, leaving fresh bruises on his hand and arm.
The creature before him looked like what he had imagined Luna’s form would’ve been had she been twisted by the Plane of Shadow. The mare, who Cale instantly knew was this ‘Nightmare Moon’, had a coat of the darkest black, with a mane and tail of starlit smoke. Her head and body was adorned with pieces of armor, and she too had wings and horn. On her flank was a similar symbol as the one he had noticed on Luna, a crescent moon on a background, though its colours were reversed. Most strikingly of all her features however, was the cat-like pupils of her eyes, piercing him to the soul and making a shiver run up his back.
Not one to be so easily intimidated, considering his annoyingly regular run-ins with all-powerful beings, Cale swiftly got back on his feet, sword at the ready. “You finally show up then, took you long enough to crawl out of whatever hole you were lurking in.”
Showing no outward sign of having even registered the insult, Nightmare Moon started trotting casually towards him. “Do not flatter yourself, creature. If this wasn’t such a grand occasion it is unlikely that I would even grace you with my presence.”
Sneering had never been something Cale did, it was more the area of expertise of Drasek Riven, yet in that moment he really wished he’d been paying closer attention to how his old rival used to do it. Instead he settled for a simple, cold glare. “That’s enough out of you. Luna, you still with me?”
Receiving no answer, Cale hazarded a glance towards the lunar princess. She did not look as terrified as she had previously, but she certainly did not look like someone who wanted to fight either. The way she stood, with her head held low and her back slightly elevated, it reminded Cale more of a dog being backed into a corner.
“Luna!”
Nightmare Moon laughed cruelly. “Oh do not bother with that one, little Luna is far too scared to do anything at al...-”
This time it was her turn to be interrupted, as a blast of azure magic caught her on the side of her head, creating a scorch mark on her helmet. For a moment surprise showed on her face, until it was transformed into a terrifying snarl as she turned to look at Luna.
The princess had her eyes locked firmly on Nightmare Moon, her teeth gritted and horn still ablaze with light. “Not this time! We will not allow thee to return and bring more misery on our sister!”
No words could describe the hate in Nightmare Moon’s eyes at that time. “You pathetic little filly! I will do exactly what I want, and there is nothing you can do to...-”
Once more her words were cut off, this time by the sudden appearance of Cale at her side, sword already slashing through the air for her neck. She gave a roar of indignation, a barrier of energy just barely slowing the blade so she could disengage from the shade, leaving a small gash on her throat. Though no blood poured from the wound, instead oily shadows dripped from the opening.
“How dare you! I will suffer your presence no longer!” The exclamation of rage was followed by a wave of magic, sending Cale flying backwards once more, his arms braced protectively in front of his face. This time his innate resistance to magic staved off most of the damage, allowing him to disperse into the shadows and reappear on the opposite side of where Luna was facing Nightmare Moon.
Before Nightmare Moon could realise she had been flanked, both Cale and Luna went into action, charging her swiftly from different sides. Nightmare Moon responded with a sneer, releasing a flurry of magical projectiles in both directions at once. Luna managed to either dodge them or conjure barriers to turn them aside, while Cale dispelled them on the blade of his weapon, or simply allowed his spell resistance to reduce the damage. Soon enough they were upon her, enchanted sword and magical blades of conjured moonlight slashing at her from both sides.
The corrupted aspect of Luna held up remarkably well, barriers and armor turning away their collective attacks in sparks of light or flashes of magic. For a moment it looked like she was buckling under the pressure, though it lasted only a short time.
“Enough!”
Her yell was followed by a darkness filling her eyes, her horn blazing with ungodly power as she created a magical explosion that tore apart the ground with the sheer force. Luna and Cale barely had time to defend themselves before they were thrown bodily away from the enraged Nightmare, the magical energies of the attack causing them both grievous damage.
As Cale crashed into the ground he gave a gasp of pain, rolling a few feet before coming to a halt. Already the healing properties of his body were struggling to piece together damaged tissue and broken bones, though he knew even that power had its limits. It took all of his will to struggle back on his knees, blood spurting from his mouth as he coughed. Through blurry eyes he saw Nightmare Moon standing in the same spot, apparently entirely unharmed.
“I have endured you two long enough, this is the day of my grand return, and I will not be denied it!”
The Nightmare was slowly being enveloped in wisps of celestial magic, though Cale was focusing more on Luna than the Nightmare. The lunar mare was laying a few feet on the other side of the victorious Nightmare, her coat was tainted by blood and dirt, and she seemed barely able to stay conscious. Cale tightened his grasp on his sword, though he knew he wouldn’t have the strength to swing it.
“...Cale.”
Her voice was barely a whisper, yet Cale heard it as clearly as if he had been standing next to her. It had a sense of hopelessness in it, one that hurt Cale to his very core. It was with pure determination that he raised his sword.
“Yes! Yes! Soon I will return to Equestria, to take my rightful place at its ruler! I will bring eternal night and glory! I will be...-”
A loud, painful cough from nearby stopped her string of words, and it was with barely controlled anger that the Nightmare looked to the battered form of Cale, barely able to stay on his knees as he was.
“Do not push your luck, creature. I allow you to live only so that you may spend the rest of your pitiful life on this barren rock.”
The weak chuckle that came from Cale was enough to almost make a vein pop on the mare’s brow. When he did speak, it was with great strain. “Sorry to... disappoint, Nightmare.” He pointed the tip of his sword in her direction, grasping the hilt with both hands. “But my sword... doesn’t just dispel magic...” A smirk appeared on his lips. “It stores the spell it absorbs as well.”
The Nightmare lifted a single eyebrow at that. “So what? Blasting us with our own magic will do you no good.”
The smirk turned into a devious grin, glowing yellow eyes suddenly ablaze with confidence. “Who said... anything... about your spell?”
As the blade of Cale’s sword was enveloped in a glowing, white light, Nightmare Moon’s eyes widened in shock, and when translucent chains started snaking their way towards the two mares, he saw actual fear on her features.
“Celestia’s spell!? No! What are you doing, do you have any idea what that magic is!?”
Cale closed his eyes, bracing himself. “I know enough...” He felt the chains latch onto the trio of spirits. “And you... you’re not going anywhere without us!”
There was a great flash of light as the power of the stars washed over the area, in that last moment their spirits were bonded, and as the Nightmare’s spell took effect, all three of them were carried away by the starlight.
<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>
He had no idea how long he stayed in the darkness, but when he awoke it was not to the endless gloom of the Plane of Shadow. Instead a gentle breeze washed over him, soothing his aching body and causing him to sigh in content. As his eyes fluttered open he noticed that he was laying on the outskirts of a forest, and high above him on a dark night sky, was a single great, white moon.
Little did he know that less than an hour earlier, a dark mare’s visage could have been seen on that celestial sphere.