Moon, Nightmare Moon
Solaris System, Selene, Hidden Citadel of the Nyx
21 June 2551 CE Celestial Standard Calendar

“Reclaimer input requested.”

The vaguely distant and slightly muffled digitized voice repeated constantly in seven second intervals, which was starting to drive the alicorn in its vicinity to the cusp of sheer madness … if only the alicorn herself had not already been of questionable sanity to begin with.

“Silence!”

“Reclaimer input requested.”

“... that was the only warning you had, fool. You will now face the wrath of the Nightmare!”

With all the speed of a bolt of lightning, the dark-coated form of Nightmare Moon shot out from her bed in search for the source of the offending noise that dared to usurp the peace of her private chambers. Her search was short-lived, however, for Nightmare quickly discovered that the source in question was a rather out of the ordinary sight for her room’s balcony.

What had previously been just an ornately-decorated but otherwise inert silver balustrade was now overlayed by the luminescent glow of holography; ancient technology that the Nyx’s palace came equipped with, yet saw little to no use by Nightmare herself over the centuries.

As far as Nightmare was concerned, the citadel was far older than any piece of movable furniture or living creature within its halls, but beyond the annoying surprises like this terminal that the citadel sometimes produced, the fact was entirely irrelevant to her machinations.

“Proximity alert … scanning.” The digitized voice paused as the system proceeded to scan Nightmare Moon from mane to hoof with a field of iridescent blue light. “Lineage confirmed … stand by …” It scanned one more. “Princess Luna Stellanatus confirmed, Amaranthine Throne override engaged and the Cathedral is now accessible. Welcome, Your Highness. Unfortunately, the Domain remains currently inaccessible due to indeterminate cause. Beginning automated message: attention, by high authority of the Crystal Senate, the Reclamation Measure and all associated protocols have been enacted. Please consult the nearest Celestial for assistance with Key dispensation procedure.”

As foreign text and technical diagrams flashed across the holographic screen, whatever significance the data had was completely lost on the alicorn. She simply blinked at the flashing reds and blues with wild, feline-like eyes, which were charged with pent up anticipation for her impending conquest.

“I have not the time for this. Off with you!” With a simple swing of her hoof, the hologram stilted and died as its projector was reduced to a piece of crumpled mithril and some form of solid light that flickered away to nothing.

Nightmare let out a sigh as she then flexed her muscles and wings, briefly taking in the sight from her position. The balcony overlooked a mostly flat sea of dark, argent lunar rock with distant craters of varying size visible. It was one of Selene’s many basaltic mares.

All of it was presided over by the alicorn’s most sought after prize, the blue-green orb hanging in the sky above. It was a sight Nightmare had seen thousands upon thousands of times over.

What she had not beheld once, however, were the anomalous and changeable lights now perched on the far horizon. There was also the conspicuous glow and artificial clusters of light that Equis now possessed on its side that was supposed to be currently shrouded in the embrace of nighttime.

Nightmare’s eyes narrowed.

As expected, the scheduled restoration of her citadel, from almost a thousand years’ residence in the secure pocket semi-alternate dimension of her design, had returned them to a greatly changed moon. She then turned away from the balcony to regard the posh interior of her bedchambers, pondering what even greater changes must have transpired on her former homeworld.

Striding around the sizeable form of her veiled four-poster bed and towards an unopened armoire reminded the corrupted demigoddess that it would be her home once again. She would see to that personally.

With a reverent tug of cyan and violet-sparked magic, the crystal of the armoire creaked open slightly, revealing the full mithril battle regalia inside to a grinning Nightmare Moon; her lips parted to expose her reptilian-like teeth. The helmet, breastplate, and shoes all awaited their master’s approval as they all hung neatly in their pride of place against the armoire’s back wall.

First to be equipped, the chestpiece was secured to its owner with a neat clicking of its straps, its unnaturally cold surface somehow granting an invigorating warmth to its wearer. Nightmare proceeded to step into the armoured shoes, before slamming her now mithril-clad hooves against the floor of her room to test their durability. They were still as formidable-feeling as the day of their forging. Last to follow was the helmet, which Nightmare slowly slid down over her horn, coming to rest it upon the top of her flowing mane and skull.

With her armour in place, Nightmare began to cast a spell, one that would begin her first true effort to scrutinize the world she and her Nightmare Forces had returned to. Simple but vastly-reaching in its purpose, a field of magic quickly exuded out from her horn, through the walls, and into the barely visible atmosphere of Equis’ moon.

Travelling at the speed of light, the spell’s magical field rebounded across deep space at the edge of the star system before returning to the citadel and Nightmare Moon’s horn in the span of mere seconds.

As raw clairvoyant data began pouring into Nightmare’s consciousness, her earlier grin only grew in size. Corresponding with the soon to be eclipsing of Solaris on Equis in time for the Summer Sun Celebration in Equestria, bright matter streams were in flux all across the star system in Selene and Equis’ favour. This meant that enough residual cosmic magic would soon be at Nightmare’s disposal to teleport her and her entire force to the planet above, overpowering Celestia and the Elements’ ancient but fading wards that prevented such a return in the centuries prior.

“Soon,” Nightmare Moon licked at her lips, “so soon that it can already be tasted. Conquest! Vengeance! An eclipse that, this time, will praise not the glory of her, but the true might and majesty of I, Nightmare Moon!” Her eyes became as wild as ever, and a light cackling resounded about the chambers before the alicorn made her way out with rapid, measured, and deliberate hoofsteps.

In the ever-ornate corridors of the Nyx citadel, Nightmare passed by many of her subjects. They were, each and every one, shadowed entities whose forms seemed to suggest the presence of a physical creature rather than existing in the conventional sense. Their peculiar mixtures of bodily features resembled those of native animals from Equis. Each one conveyed their respect to the mare whom they considered their Queen as she strode rapidly by, saluting her with a crossing of their arms and a bowing of their heads.

Many rooms and a regular stream of intricate stained windows and tapestries went by as Nightmare continued on her way to the citadel’s central and most important chamber. Each tapestry proudly displayed Nightmare’s crescent moon sigil, while the various workshops, research rooms, living quarters, common areas, and practice rooms all thrummed with activity.

As she passed the armoury, Nightmare Moon noted that the Nyx present within were still forging ever more pieces of armour, and assembling ever larger numbers of magical staves that, if the Nyx wizards’ centuries of research was correct, will turn their enemies and future subjects into their greatest sources of offensive and defensive power.

Immediately after the armoury, Nightmare found herself at last on the threshold of the heart of the Nyx citadel, the Chamber of Dreams.

The bustling and cavernous room was the central nexus of the Nyx dreamweavers and their livelihood, all that had changed since Nightmare’s original arrival was the product they dealt with therein. It was in this throng of activity that nightmares were now produced by the thousands each hour using the Nyx’s profound magic and “broadcasted” to sleeping beings on nearby Equis. This in turn provided a form of reciprocal energy that allowed the Nyx to sustain themselves.

Likewise, it was also in said throng that Nightmare spotted the individual she was searching for prior to beginning their departure.

“Shadowfright, there you are!”

Upon hearing her voice, one of the tallest Nyx in the chamber immediately snapped to attention from his ministrations. “My Queen?” Shadowfright inclined his vaguely avian head and reptilian body as a gesture of reverence. “The time approaches, Your Majesty, as you no doubt know full well.”

Nightmare nodded slowly in return, showing the whites of her razor-sharp teeth. “Indeed. What is the state of your readiness?”

Shadowfright’s inky-black features seemed to shimmer, conveying the equivalent of a determined expression. “We are prepared, and await only your call to usher us all to the greater blue sphere that holds us in its grasp.”

“But how prepared can one be without accompanying knowledge of the place they will be going to?” Nightmare Moon pointed out.

“Oh … but of course, Your Majesty. We have been conducting exhaustive investigations into any and all major happenings since you first arrived here a thou-”

“I know how long it’s been, you fool. Down to the very last minute!”

“Of course, my apologies. Shall I begin streaming our findings to you now via our telepathic links?”

“Do so.” Nightmare began preparing for a new influx of data into her mind even before Shadowfright’s verbal confirmation.

“Very good, my Queen,” Shadowfright affirmed, preparing the information in spell form at his workstation. The station was a semi-solid cloud formation that hovered just above the polished floor. Shadowfright finished shaping the water contained in a pool across its surface, and thus did the data begin to flow to Nightmare Moon as the water went from a gentle violet to the charged colour of her aura.

Nightmare’s eyes were briefly replaced by pure white as the data flowed in at great magnitude and speed, enough to be physically taxing to the alicorn by a minor degree. Nightmare let out an involuntary groan as she let her eyes droop to a half-lidded state, before she finally closed them shut. She spoke once more without opening them, her rich voice heavy with thought.

“Equestria … it has grown larger and more glorious than I could have ever imagined. Such technology, such advanced sorcery and reach! We shall all sit down when our conquest has entered a state of temporary lull to fathom these innovations! What we could do with it all at our disposal!” Finally, Nightmare Moon’s eyes opened again, no longer wild but instead resolute. “Shadowfright!”

“My Queen!” Shadowfright perked to attention once again.

“Assemble our finest mages and muster them in the courtyards. By the end of this Equestrian day, you will all have the kingdom you were promised!” The resounding response of exalted cheering was enough to trigger a cascade of laughter from Nightmare Moon.

When her laughter and the cheering had died down enough, Nightmare paused briefly and gave all present a raised brow. “And just what are you all still standing there for? Move! You will all be given our stratagem when you have neatly readied yourselves and have gathered outside!”

There was no further sound of voices as nearly the entirety of the inhabitants of the Chamber of Dreams began to rapidly let themselves out of the room like well-calibrated clockwork. Those that remained resumed working at their stations, manipulating the water in the process of weaving more nightmares.

There would be little peaceful sleep for those on the planet below for the time being.

Party Crashers
Equis, Equestria, Town of Ponyville

Invasion was imminent, Shadowfright braced for it as himself and a dozen other Nyx straightened themselves and clutched their magical staves while falling feet-first towards their destination. It was the terminus of their particular portal that utilized the bizarre alternate dimension known as Elsewhere to shortcut and facilitate teleportation.

Despite their seemingly weightless cloud-like appearances, the thirteen moon creatures made very conspicuous impacts on the ground below them as they returned to the mundane realm in unison, cracking cobblestone and trampling hapless flowers and other plants underfoot.

Like the others, Shadowfright used his staff to correct his posture and regain his bearings. He straightened up to his full height of two and a half meters before regarding his new surroundings. More portals were opening in the air, each depositing the same number of Nightmare Forces in the same orderly manner onto the crowded town plaza that stretched out around them. Each of the parties of Nyx awaited their commander’s direction.

It was immediately apparent that the now shocked locals were in the middle of ongoing festivities. Stands were set up, sun pennants, banners, and holograms hung and flew everywhere, and a sizeable wooden stage rested before the entrance to the town’s most central structure.

The town hall stood tall and proud with its circular, multi-story wooden architecture whose tall windows depicted various animated murals of ponies and other beings engaged in various pursuits. It drew Shadowfright’s attention as the best central location from which to begin their bloodless– if possible–-effort to capture the town, forming it into their anchor that would enable a full-scale assault of the entire land itself.

“Such a diverse collection of creatures,” Shadowfright remarked. “Ponies of the three races as expected, and yet … more. Much more. I must petition the Queen to look into these others once we have secured this region.” Indeed, amongst the crowds of ponies were multiple examples of at least six different races that the Nyx could make out, many of them bipedal but only minotaurs and gryphons garnering his recognition.

Snorting, Shadowfright rolled his shoulders and popped his neck, before hefting the mass of his onyx-black staff above him and igniting it with magic. He then began a gradual approach towards Ponyville’s town hall, and more specifically, the wooden stage.

The gesture was met with a mixture of reactions and frantic murmuring from the citizens attending the Summer Sun Celebration. Of those reactions, fear was fast becoming the most common.

It was a powderkeg whose fuse waited simply to be sparked.

“What in Equestria are those things!” one of the bipeds, a furless ape creature in a suit and tie questioned, filming the strange newcomers with their data pad.

“Stay back, they look dangerous!” a unicorn stallion responded, brandishing a similar such data pad.

“Are we under attack?! Is it the Covenant?” more than one of the others asked with nearly trembling voices.

“Impossible,” a middle-aged, golden-brown pegasus mare stated firmly. “Solaris is a fortress that only brute force could crack,” she gestured a wing towards the sky, “I worked on an orbital defense platform for thirty years, we would have heard if something from outside had broken into the system!”

“Besides, what Covenant race looks like that, certainly not one that I’ve seen on Waypoint!” another of the townsfolk interjected.

As more portals opened, the occupants of the stage, police and what appeared to be the mayor of the town, finally took action beyond simply sharing in the murmuring of the crowd in front of them.

The town’s mayor, a light amber earth pony mare donning glasses and a smart-looking formal collar, was beyond flabbergasted. She and many of the others had no expectation of such a manifestation of foreign beings in the middle of her town. “Citizens of Ponyville, I … I do not know what to make of this! Who are you, strangers?”

While their mayor seemed temporarily out of commission from her surprise, the policeman positioned themselves in front of her podium with hooves, hands, and magic readied on the holsters of their weapons.

“See that one, the tallest is raising a staff! You there, all of you, halt!” one of the blue-uniformed officers demanded.

Still with the crowd between himself and the mayor’s stage, Shadowfright chuckled to himself as more and more of his people appeared, many of them raising their staves as well or slowly nearing the crowd with slow steps in the continued absence of specific direction from Shadowfright. They measured their steps in an effort to amplify their ominous forbearances, of which they were beyond well aware of.

“I don’t think they’ll be stopping today,” another of the officers remarked, as they all finally drew their weapons.

“Brothers and sisters, our time has come to fulfill our duty to the Queen of Nightmares in full!” Shadowfright growled. The command was met with a mixture of foreboding laughter and similar growing from the other moon creatures.

“You, get Mayor Mare out of here! We need to request assistance from the Guard, and...” The police sergeant’s command was cut off as Shadowfright and the other shade-like Nyx closest to town hall began emitting an ear-piercing collective roar.

The grating, horrifying symphony sounded akin to tearing, tortured metal mixed with the raking of talons across old blackboard. It immobilized a good majority of the townsfolk nearby as they clutched painfully at their ears, desperate to block out the sound and its accompanying magic on an instinctive level.

“Gah… Gods save the Empress, but my ears, they must surely be bleeding!”

“More on the way … run, you idiots!” The words of the officers were punctuated by weapons discharge as the police began unloading bullets and light gold plasma at Nyx that did not have townsfolk within the line of fire.

“There is no fleeing from nightmares now, not even in the world of the waking! Equestria will fall to us, and you in time will gladly give it to us!” Shadowfright proclaimed, bringing his staff forcefully to the ground and puncturing the cobblestone beneath it with a sharp crack. By now, the roaring had begun to taper off as to be barely noticeable by all but the most acute of ears.

Meanwhile, the Nyx flinched from the impacts of metal and plasma fired at them by Ponyville police. Their archaic armour boiled away or was dented by attacks, but the Nyx otherwise ignored whatever damage they were sustaining as they continued about their task.

All of this combined was more than enough to finally light the powder keg of universal fear in the citizenry. The remaining crowd still on their hooves, feet, and paws, broke off in every direction in a blind panic as the Nyx at last casted their primary and most important spells. The magic cascaded across the entire town, amplified by each consecutive staff that was activated.

It was also during this time that Nightmare Moon herself finally surfaced in person, the shadow of the unfolding eclipse finally veiling the land below in a diurnal imitation of night.

Emerging from her own personal portal, Nightmare furled her wings as she landed deftly on her armoured hooves atop a sizeable hill just outside of Ponyville. She took in the unfolding attack with stoic serenity, for the moment. All around the modern storefronts, quaint rustic houses, and tree-lined streets, utter chaos was unfolding.

As anticipated, the Nyx’s magic had succeeded in putting over two thirds of the town into an artificial slumber, their sleeping minds now becoming prime sources of energy for the Nightmare Forces. They engaged the remaining locals that remained awake with illusion magic and spells of restraint.

“Remember, none of them are of any use to us dead, each and everyone is a further source of power to fuel what is to be the cleanest revolution in this planet’s history!” Nightmare Moon thundered, loud enough to be heard across half the valley itself as she blatantly and confidently revealed her intent.

“My children know the cost of failure, and fail they will not,” she added in her low, default speaking voice. “The distraction will hold, while my true weapon awaits my arrival to claim it!”

Content with her assessment, Nightmare wasted no time in turning her eyes to the great profile of Mount Canterhorn that loomed on the horizon. Like the glow on Equis’ surface she had seen a little over half an hour ago, change in physical form stared her down in all its raw mystique and majesty.

Beside the familiar silhouette of Canterlot, the ancient capital of the Equestria her host had known before the construction of her and her sister’s castle, Nightmare Moon drank in the faintly visible sight of towering spires of glass and metal many stories tall.

They were clustered in great districts around the base of the mountain with the original Canterlot itself perched above as always like a watchful guardian, and a trio even accented the far side of Saddle Lake. With the shadow of Selene blocking out the sun, lights had appeared for the time being inside many of the graceful towers, and hundreds – thousands, even – more were seen moving to and fro in the streets and skyways betwixt them, or remaining static and illuminating the ground around them.

“Such reach…” Nightmare Moon murmured, echoing her earlier statement back in the home of the Nyx. Were Nightmare to only allow the emotion to manifest, she would be dazzled by such modern sights. Such was not the time or case, however, for the dark alicorn’s eyes soon found a new interest to bore their predatory irises into.

The beckoning treeline of the Everfree. Her eyes did not long dally on that either, however, for something new drew her attention to the sky. A faint humming in the distance was the herald of technology Nightmare could barely have conceived of in her wildest imaginings at any time prior.

What looked to be a massive metal airship with the profile of a broad-headed arrow, defying gravity to the greatest extreme, was approaching Ponyville fast from somewhere in the upper atmosphere. Nightmare also noted smaller winged vehicles accompanying it closely in a squadron. To her, it was a peculiar mockery of a flock of birds, or any winged animal.

In the darkness of the eclipse, it began shining massive lights upon the land below where the light of Ponyville did not illuminate the ground.

It didn’t take any form of guesswork for Nightmare to ascertain that the modern aerial beast was there due in no small part to her, and that she was soon to become its prey rather than hunter if she did not act fast. She took the form of mist and rapidly made for the Everfree.

Within a few moments’ time, Nightmare was once more on familiar ground, or what had once been familiar to her host, a millennia ago. Nightmare Moon grew wide-eyed.

My home.

Staring at the ruined castle across the rocky ravine long enough caused a stirring in Nightmare’s mind. It was a stirring that she realized the danger of, if she valued her absolute control over her host in any way, shape, or form.

Despite that, the alicorn’s gaze lingered long enough to notice that someone had some time ago replaced the ancient wooden bridge that had once spanned the gap with a new one. This modern replacement was of striking metal, glass, white-enameled stone, and crystal accents that held the span of two roads upon its deck, going in either direction towards a small paved resting spot for some form of bizarre mechanised chariots.

Likewise, the dirt paths of the past had been replaced by a paved road whose material resembled marble but felt far stronger upon close magical analysis. The same enameled stone as the bridge. In addition to the new sign of civilization, someone had planted birch saplings that had grown into modestly-sized young adult trees. Such trees from the Whitetail Woods region stood in defiant opposition to the still thick overgrowth of the Everfree in the immediate vicinity.

“These modern changes never cease to baffle and wonder!” Nightmare remarked aloud to herself, breaking into a gallop as she crossed the bridge with a wary expression.

Accompanying the modern Equestrian constructions, pairs of banners adorned some turrets of the intact parapets. One of the two varieties was the familiar old blue and white of the Kingdom of Equestria, and the second was a less familiar red and gold of a sun and its rays imposed upon a ruby backdrop. Nightmare regarded the second one with offense to the point of revulsion.

Illumination could be seen coming from within, and simple networks of scaffolding adorned much of the intact stone facades. The stirring began in Nightmare’s mind once more, and it almost wanted to call this modern age, “the Age of Light,” but such a notion made Nightmare cringe, both inwardly and outwardly.

“What sort of work are these moderns doing to my castle!” Nightmare growled, letting herself in through the currently deserted and intact gatehouse in search of the answer to just that.

From what Nightmare could ascertain as she strode through halls both familiar and foreign, the work in question was a form of scientific study. Given the timeframe of her absence, Nightmare was almost completely convinced that the modern Equestrians’ business here was archaeological in nature.

Specialized lighting, excavation equipment, and tables upon tables of neatly arranged objects from all across the Castle of the Two Sisters were everywhere in the main foyer where Nightmare recalled her first rise to being. They were accompanied by notes penned in a modern dialect of her host’s language that Nightmare found quite odd in written form.

The halls were quiet now. The archaeologists and scribes themselves had already ran for the hills on hooves and feet almost steaming with speed-induced friction from the mere sight of Nightmare Moon.

Such quiet would not last long, however.

“Humming … distant roaring … that metallic leviathan of technology has returned!” Nightmare growled, muttering a curse to herself before following with, “dammit, I shall use the Elements to bring it down upon this very castle, if I must!” She brought her armoured shoe sharply down on the stone beneath her.

With a subsequent sparkling cyan flash of her horn, Nightmare Moon teleported herself at last to the tower she sought, the one that contained potentially her greatest tools in her ascension to being the planet’s foremost unassailable sovereign.

Nightmare suppressed her by now infamous and nearly instinctive cackling upon making eye contact with the floor of the tower’s topmost room. The marble and limestone floor was still in near exquisite condition despite centuries of rain, snow, wind, and neglect, and the six-pointed star at its very center was as bold and easy to make out as the day it was built.

With Nightmare casting a spell, the very structure itself seem to come alive with magic, reacting to the manipulation of energies that the corrupted alicorn was now carrying out.

White light, pulsating with untold arcane power, converged in delicate and intricate patterns like a spider’s web across the floor. It converged on a locus in the form of the six-pointed star. In the star, light gathered and thrummed, producing a harmonic chime that punctuated and gave inanimate voice to the charged atmosphere.

“Impressive … “

Once again, Nightmare Moon felt as if she should be struck with true awe, but she reminded herself that it was her host and their suppressed consciousness feeling this, not Nightmare herself. Thinking otherwise was surely a path to ruin for her plans and her supremacy.

As if reminding her of the importance of such a fact, the rising of an ancient stone plinth from a compartment beneath the six-pointed star plaque demonstrated the tangible aspect of her plans. It alone beared the six keys to everything she sought to accomplish – for now.

Genesongs … the geas sing to them from across the vastness of time with lyrics of power and notes of succor … but what beeth the song?

Nightmare’s alicorn host was stirring again … something must have been happening. Fury rose like bile in the alicorn’s throat.

Who beeth the composers? And, at the apex of the question: who beeth the intended audience? If only We could but regain Our control …

“Silence!” Nightmare Moon thundered to none physically present but herself, as another thundering met it from not too far outside. “Enough questioning, enough ponder! You will not have the freedom you seek! Your mind and your body are my dominion, Princess.”

For now. Those truly in power do not need to remind thy subjects who so rules. Hark, thine ultimate weapons appear to do more than either thou or Ourselves yet realize …

Quelling her rage, Nightmare Moon snorted as the outside sounds grew ever closer. “I feel them pulling at me … in a way I can scarcely describe. For once, we may yet be in agreement on something.” Nightmare gasped suddenly, her eyes widened. “...no! There is no ‘we’, only I, Nightmare Moon!”

Nightmare breathed deeply, then shook her head and dismissed the episode she had just experienced as a simple byproduct of her pent up anticipation. She then proceeded towards the plinth.

Atop the stone sculpture, six radiant gems rotated in their own magical fields, as well as those of each other, each and every last one of them awaiting the command of a new wielder after such a long repose.

Ponyville Thunder
Ponyville
Several Minutes Earlier

“Honestly, a bizarre attack this close to the capital, I don’t blame Concordat Allied Command for going all out overkill on this one. Sending the likes of us in, ya know?” The larger-than-life voice of Avery Jr. Johnson quieted for the moment as the sound of a heavy shotgun kicked its way through the tense air of battle. “Smile for me, you shadowy bastards!”

The human soldier towered over some of his present comrades in his Mjolnir Mark IV armour as they engaged the Nightmare Forces, its surface a deep forest green like that of both his hat and one of his other companions.

“Trixie agrees, such hostile creatures being here are … beyond out of the ordinary!” an azure unicorn mare replied. Her lustrous silver armour plating was accented by her similarly coloured mane, as well as a violet tunic and body suit that provided its own onboard illumination in the dark of the eclipse. “Master Chief, duck!”

The other Spartan present amongst the group fighting the Nightmare Forces ducked without any hint of hesitation, allowing Trixie a clear line of fire at two approaching Nyx just behind him.

“Equestria belongs to the Nightmare!”

“For Nightmare Moon!”

Trixie growled in distaste, and aimed down the reflex sight of her rifle, discharging a trio of golden bolts in rapid succession that felled both targets before they could bring their staves to bear or cast any form of offensive magic. They crumpled to the ground as Chief felled three more of their number in front of him with his assault rifle.

As they fell, their inky, shadowy mist-like forms faded away to reveal ordinary (in the physical sense) bipedal beings with large rabbit-like ears and other obvious physical traits beneath. They were each in states of complete unconsciousness but otherwise unharmed, like the seas of citizens and their defeated comrades all around what was unfortunately now a live combat zone.

With Ponyville town square clear for the moment, Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 looked quickly from the downed lunar aliens and up to Trixie. “Good reflexes, Knight-Errant,” he complimented in a deep, disciplined voice.

“Trixie wouldn’t be wearing the armour if they were lacking, Master Chief. Any observations from this engagement?”

Chief nodded. “They may be using the people here as energy sources to power their non-lethal offensive attacks. With how unusual this is, I don’t believe they accounted for our weaponry.”

“Indeed. The fact that they arrived via portal yet equip such primitive armour confuses Trixie greatly.” Trixie rubbed at her mane before holding her muzzle high in readiness. “Instructions?”

“Rally your five Praetorians and deploy more drop shields around as many civilians you can gather together as possible until they wake back up. Chieftain Rurika and her pack will reinforce you if needed.”

“What of yourself and the good sergeant?” Trixie inquired with a raised brow.

“Searching for the enemy head honchos while you purple cloaks fight the good fight,” Johnson chuckled, holding his combat shotgun at his shoulder with the barrel skywards.

“What the … good sergeant said, Trixie,” Master Chief answered with a hint of amusement. “Johnson and I will attempt to identify any leaders if possible for immediate neutralization.”

“Heard and obeyed. We will place them under this protection until unaffected emergency responders can arrive to take care of them,” Trixie agreed, bringing a hoof against her breastplate before going on all fours and trotting over to her five unicorn comrades.

Most of Praetorians’ gun barrels were smoking as their wielders stood upright. Their party of three stallions and two mares, not counting Trixie, was surrounded by more of the defeated Nyx. “They dare challenge the might of the Praetorian Guard?” one of Trixie’s subordinates shouted, the energy of battle charging her a bit more than the norm. Even her horn was beginning to glow a bit in anticipation for further combat.

“All of you, Trixie requires you to deploy more drop shields!”

“Yes, madam!” her unit replied in almost perfect unison. The six Praetorians then galloped away as one, pulling off grenade-like devices from their armour belts and adding to the already one dozen three meter-wide circular shields already glowing about the town every which way.

“Chief, wait! Scratch that previous bit, we’ve found our guy!” Johnson exclaimed, catching the Master Chief’s attention. “One of the two Jiralhanae chieftains, Ceretus I think, he sniffed him out and floored the ugly with his gravity hammer after the Capricorn squad caused it to flee into a corner. Dumb bug is even still conscious; Rurika is already talking about drowning her entire pack in liquor over it when they get off duty!”

“If they can drink it!” yelled Rurika from afar, earning a light chuckle from Johnson, a snort from the four melee weapon-brandishing capricorns of Rurika’s pack.

Nearby, a set of hearty, if rather throaty and grating chuckles from the two present Jiralhanae as one pounded a fist against the head of his gravity hammer and the other inspected the curvature of his axe-bladed grenade launcher.

Chief looked from Johnson to Rurika and back again, through his concealing visor “Acknowledged. Let’s see if he can tell us anything.”

The Spartan II and III both sprinted towards where Johnson was widely gesturing with his shotgun. Both were met with the sight of a rather tall, even compared to the Spartans or Capricorns, being with violet feathers and an orange, scaly belly and chest sitting cross-legged in some form of a position of surrender. The aforementioned Nyx leader was surrounded by his captors.

The first was the tall female Capricorn clad in quite lithe-shaped metal armour than seemed to be too light to protect, Chieftain Rurika herself. Her armour was adorned in animal pelts and covered most of her own slate-coloured fur save for that of her head, which was fringed by a neatly-kept auburn mane. Of the race that called themselves Capricorns, her appearance was overall like that of a pony as she brandished her war axe, with the obvious exceptions of her distinctly slender but muscular humanoid frame, as well as her pair of imposing, ram-like horns.

Of her four Capricorn comrades that also kept watch over the defeated Nyx leader, one of them continued to snort to himself with his arms folded, sword sheathed, and shield slung across his back. The rest of the Capricorns either inspected their weapons or surveyed the area. All were clad in light, primitive-looking armour.

The other two allies present, Ceretus and Maladus, were Jiralhanae brothers of chieftain status in their military, a race – like Rurika’s – non-native to Equis whose ursine/simian-like features and distinct ornamental helmets commanded fear and respect from all but the foolish. Their civilized demeanor of groomed fur and polished red-black, curving power armour that covered black polymer bodysuits belied their truly primal warrior nature.

The Chief and Sergeant Johnson both nodded to their allies before the Master Chief stopped directly in front of the Nyx, who now regarded the armoured human with the eyes of one who had no idea where they were, or why.

Master Chief knelt down to be eye level with the sitting Nyx, and kept his voice at a neutral tone to match the enemy’s radical change in both nature and demeanor.

“Who are you? Why did your people attack Ponyville?” Chief asked.

“L-Larry, that is my name!” the Nyx sputtered, “not Shadowfright!” He was so spent and shaken from the forceful nature of his restoration that he could barely speak. “My people … the Nyx … we are being manipulated by the Nightmare Forces, we have been enslaved this way for many centuries. We mean Equis no harm, its peoples were our friends once! The Queen … Nightmare Moon, she is is manipulated like so, and came to us like this where before she was protector of this world. But she is corrupted to a much larger scale! Defeat her, and our curse and threat will surely be lifted forever!”

“Nightmare Moon? That can’t be …” Master Chief’s demeanor grew stiff, and he shook his head. As part of their training and education that rivalled that of the most prestigious academies, Spartan II’s had been taught the history of all major species of the present-day Concordat.

Amongst that curriculum was mythology, including the Equestrian legend of the corrupted alicorn mare of pure darkness that had sought to usurp the then Princess Celestia early in her rule, ushering in an “eternal night.” If what the Nyx was saying held true, then it would mean the legend was more than just simple folklore from centuries past.

“What does your Queen seek in attacking this town? Does she intend to threaten the capital of the Equestrian Empire? Spill, damn you!” Ceretus demanded, carrying on the questioning as Chief seemed to be in deep thought. “Before we spill you across the cobblestones!” the Minotaur added with snarl.

“I think that will do, Ceretus” Rurika intervened with a wave of her gauntleted fist. “He’s talking, you might just shut him up from fright. So speak freely, Larry of the Nyx!”

“Please, please ... all be calm! I will tell you … “ Larry replied, nearly to the point of trembling. The menacing entity known as Shadowfright had clearly been stripped from his being utterly. “Nightmare Moon seeks nothing less than total dominion over this planet, just as she rules over the body of Princess Luna!

“Princess Luna?” Johnson raised an eyebrow. “Princess from what nation?”

“Princess Luna of Equestria, of course!”

“Huh? Not any Equestrian royalty I’ve ever heard of. What in the …”

“What is her location?” Chief inquired, finally breaking his quietude.

“She has left for the Castle of the Two Sisters in search of the Elements of Harmony, the Nightmare Forces believe it to be the ultimate weapon!”

“Well now, Trixie believes somepony has just earned negative five loyalty points for betraying their so-called Queen,” the Knight-Errant of the team proclaimed to everyone, as she and her Praetorians appeared beside them, having dealt with the remainder of the Nightmare Forces in the area. “In other news, our weapons nearly ran out of bright.”

“Mmm, a fresh scent,” Ceretus’ brother Malabus muttered, crouching and facing the direction of the Everfree forest. “Something powerful used its energy to move that way, several kilometers away.”

Before Chief, Larry, or anyone else could respond, the entire special response team and their defeated foe had their attention diverted by the sudden appearance of two newcomers via magical teleportation. They were Equestrian Royal Guards of the Solar Branch with their iconic blue and gold armour. One of the duo was human, and the other a pegasus; neither said a word and both wore stoic faces.

The pegasus produced a holo-communicator from his armour belt and held it out in front of him. Whilst doing that, he saluted the warriors with his free hoof to his chest, his human colleague doing the same but with her fist.

Upon giving their salute, the pegasus activated the communicator, and both Royal Guards knelt into a bow as a figure everyone recognized appeared before them in virtual form. All team members of Equestrian citizenship mimicked the Royal Guards in their posture. The others inclined their heads as a sign of respect to the leader that was now visible.

The Master Chief stowed his assault rifle on his back, and straightened his posture. “Your Majesty.”

“John-117, I hope you and your team are faring well.”

“Affirmative, Empress Celestia. Do you have counsel to provide?”

Blinking serenely, the kind, wizened violet eyes of a tall alicorn mare with snow-white fur regarded the Master Chief for a moment before replying. As the response team expected, her mane and tale flowed with an almost water-like quality as it always did. The only difference from her usual appearance was the presence of a suit of full body white and gold armour in the place of her default gold torc.

“Yes, Spartan, and I think you will find it beyond invaluable, for this event has been a long one coming. At my direction, naval support is on its way in a few minutes, and emergency responders are en route to render aid to Ponyville.”

“That’s good news, ma’am. May I inquire into our next objective?”

“As for that, I will need you and your team to stand by for a brief explanation. Don’t worry, the Royal Guard can deploy you to the Castle of the Two Sisters in seconds, and will be as brief as possible.”

“We will remain for as long as you need us to, Your Majesty.”

Celestia closed her eyes and smiled, bowing her head for a second in appreciation. “Now, I’m going to begin by stating this: the legend of Nightmare Moon, as you may have surmised by now, it is more than just a legend.”

“Indeed, Your Majesty,” Trixie agreed. “These ‘Nightmare Forces’ have referenced the legendary figure multiple times by now during combat, to the point of painfully eye-rolling cliche.”

Celestia let out a deep sigh as her features saddened. “It only fell into legend due to my crass neglect in preserving facts. In my grief, I left our records to the forest along with our castle. On top of that crime, I made no legitimate effort to dispatch scribes nor historians in later years to ensure preservation and publication of relevant documents. It could have staved off the growing evolution of my sister’s downfall from my mistakes into a bard’s tale.”

“Empress … we’re terribly sorry to hear that,” Johnson said in a soothing tone, a bit downcast as he debated reaching for a Sweet Williams cigar as soon as Celestia had finished.

“I thank you for your sympathies. But now, I must impart something you urgently need to know, I have delayed you for too long already. My sister is Nightmare Moon, Princess Luna, and in regards to her, I must request something of greatest importance from you all.”

Elemental, My Dear Harmony
Everfree, Castle of the Two Sisters

Nightmare Moon was within grasp of the Elements of Harmony at last. Mere centimeters. But before any of her magic could be joined with that of the Elements, fate threw something new into her path.

A spherical device landed upon the orrery-like plinth, glinting briefly before expelling a harsh glaring light and derailing what Nightmare thought was inevitable and imminent. It replaced the alicorn’s anticipation and growing sense of triumph with a primal wrath that threatened the very stability of the castle itself. Reeling back from the deployment of the Jiralhanae-made flare, the device emitted the last of its glaring attack and self-destructed before Nightmare Moon could do so in retaliation.

“Insolence!” the alicorn bellowed, casting a beam of pure blue destruction magic in a direction that even so much as hinted at having a viable target through her temporary partial blindness. “This eclipse is the harbinger of my vengeance, my rule will not know end! I cannot stop … will not stop!”

Baring her teeth, Nightmare fired another beam as her vision fully recovered, a pained and animalistic growling indicating that she had in fact hit something living that time.

“My fur, I can smell myself burning! For this I shall see your legs roasted upon my plate!”

“Stay yourself, pack brother! We must charge as one!”

While the verbal exchange was made, Nightmare took rapid stock of her surroundings in the span of two and a half seconds with narrowed but wild eyes, registering the six armoured ponies and several armoured bipeds that all had manifested themselves in the room. All had weapons at the ready as both sides took stock of their respective opposition.

“Whoever you meddlers are, you clearly seek Nightmare Moon! Well, now you will have her!” Nightmare followed up her enraged statement with another beam attack, immobilizing two of Trixie’s Praetorian Guard with the destruction spell’s area of effect.

“At least buy us dinner first, Grimhilde!” Johnson taunted, blasting his combat shotgun repeatedly.

The fight panned out for the next minute, with Nightmare forced to supplement her attacks with a constant shield whose magnitude she had to adjust to defend herself from the now constant hail of plasma and bullets.

Her shield defense tactic was forced to be replaced as Ceretus attempted to flatten her with his gravity hammer. The gravitational field caused an uncomfortable vibration through Nightmare’s frame, providing incentive on top of practicality in that chieftain being her next target.

Ceretus and Malabus, as well as Rurika and her squad all were incapacitated by the beam’s sheer power, even caught as they were in its mere backwash. The architecture of the tower absorbed most of the damage, broadening the holes in the ceiling and walls.

Nightmare for her part refused to kill any of them with direct hits due to the perceived treasure troves of knowledge about the modern age their slumbering minds could surely provide her.

With her shield spell down, Nightmare Moon’s armour began taking the brunt of the damage. Pre-placed shield and tempering enchantments in the armour were only doing so much to abate the sheer kinetic force of the many bullets, and the extreme temperatures of the concentrated bright matter still being casted at her by Trixie and her remaining Praetorian Guards.

“Enough!” Nightmare Moon boomed, magically amplifying her voice enough to shake the castle itself and immobilize the enemy combatants that were still standing. Many of them clutched painfully at their ears. Nightmare seemed as if she was about to say more, but one of her opponents were no longer willing to spare any time for chatter.

Master Chief began closing the gap between himself and the alicorn as another last-second beam attack rendered the others temporarily in a daze, intent on a hand-to-hand strike that could render her incapacitated. To his mild surprise, Nightmare was able to muster a response fast enough. She used their combined momentum to weave around and force the Spartan into a tackle on the dust and pebble-littered floor.

Nightmare fired yet another beam as she pinned the supersoldier. Trixie was left as the sole remaining Equestrian Praetorian of any rank in the area still in fighting shape.

As the Chief attempted to force her off, Nightmare brought her right hoof down repeatedly, aiming for the Spartan’s helmet with the intent of knocking him out swiftly and cleanly. Every one of the stamps resulted only in an increasingly cracked floor. While the alicorn grew increasingly frustrated, her fatigue started to show with the state of both her coat and her breathing.

It was during their struggle that both Trixie and Johnson were able to finally come out of their respective dazes and render support to their beleaguered comrade, if only briefly. Johnson’s power armour had suffered noticeable damage in the chest and shoulders, and Trixie’s armour was likewise dented and somewhat singed from magical residue. A few scrapes to the face drew blood from both warriors.

Johnson approaching whilst firing his shotgun, all the while Trixie fired steady streams of plasma whilst casting an overcharge spell that did just what its name implied, amplifying the destructive nature of her weapon’s shots and heightening Nightmare’s threshold of fury as they struck.

Nightmare cast a spell to temporarily bind the super soldier, then removed her attention from the Master Chief and got off him, having to stand to prepare her defense.

Still with great strength and magic reserves left in her even in the face of mounting physical exhaustion, Nightmare Moon managed to force both the unicorn and human super soldier flying towards the plinth with a magical shock wave she triggered by igniting her horn and stomping at the same time, slamming them against the stone hard enough to make stars dance about the interiors of their eyelids.

Unbeknownst to all present, the forceful physical contact from the duo along with flecks of pony and human blood with the Elements of Harmony’s solid stone housing was more than enough to finally trigger the dormant magic of the artefacts themselves, causing them to begin their charge.

As Nightmare brazenly continued to scrutinize her other two combatants, her third and possibly most dangerous was able to break free from the now weakening ward. While the Elements built up their charge, the Chief was able to capitalize on the momentary distractions Trixie and Johnson had provided by sweeping his left leg out and toppling Nightmare’s hindlegs, bringing the alicorn mare to her knees with an enraged yelp.

Chief quickly followed up with an elbow jab to her shoulder and head that forced Nightmare Moon back to the ground as she attempted to rise, expending the last of her remaining reserves with which to fight. With ragged breaths, Nightmare rolled onto her back to meet the gaze of the green-armoured Spartan that now stared her down through his amber visor.

A small rivulet of luminescent gold fell from her cracked lips to the floor.

“Come, then, warrior. I am cracked, and now await only the hammer to bring about my shattering into so many inert pieces,” Nightmare hissed, sneering with absolute hatred for her foes as she noticed the Elements reaching the peak of their charge. They arose from their respective cradles on the plinth and were rotating with increasing vigour.

And shatter thou wilt, for the time of Our return is nigh!

The void-black alicorn shut her eyes fast for a moment as she moaned in resignation. Meanwhile, Master Chief remained in the same observant position as she struggled against her physically overtaxed state.

Nightmare’s eyes were still powerful, and allowed her to see his true shape beneath all that armour; his posture was only tense enough to convey that he was more than prepared to fend off another potential attack, but there was no hint of offensive intent to his body’s language.

“Why even wait for the Elements to be turned against me, warrior?” Nightmare questioned in a much softer tone, feebly pawing her hooves at the marble and trying to prevent her eyes from widening in surprise. “What mandate or impulse forbids you from doing the deed yourself?”

“Somehow, I saw no fatalities on either side during this eclipse attack. You could have had those civilians slaughtered before a full defense could be mustered, but you didn’t. You knew the price of killing any would have when ruling them later.”

“You … you still did not answer my query… “ Nightmare groaned. “Forget it. I-I shatter, I … argh!” The Elements of Harmony fired at her body center mass, cutting her off mid-sentence as her entire form was bathed in a brilliant white light that quickly blotted her from view.

At last!

“I can’t believe my … I mean, Trixie cannot … I can’t … I cannot believe my eyes!” Trixie stammered, on her rump against the Elements’ plinth with Johnson beside her as they both shared a view of the of the magic in action. The harmonic beam was streaming through the air above their heads, and both shared a look of utter amazement upon their dust-covered faces.

“Thy dominion is over, foul corruptive shade!” Nightmare declared, although the cadance of her voice was vastly different. It was a fact that Trixie, the Master Chief, and Johnson all registered as the their incapacitated allies began to stir, groan, and sigh.

Within the swirling maelstrom of heavenly energy that had engulfed her, Nightmare Moon howled as a transformation took place. The light of the Elements coalesced into their greatest state of luminosity before fading out.

As they dissipated, an entirely different pony had replaced Nightmare Moon. Long gone was the demon-like alicorn, and in her place was a considerably smaller light blue mare with argentine hair and tail. She lay in the midst of Nightmare’s shattered and broken armour. The newcomer had her eyes closed, and like her immediate predecessor, appeared to well beyond the threshold of complete exhaustion.

“Well … that happened,” Johnson remarked as he hefted himself up, lending an armoured hand to help Trixie up onto her hooves as well.

“The tainted alicorn, is it … oh, it is vanquished,” Rurika stated, approaching the standing trio. “Joyous. I will not miss being on the receiving end of that destruction magic of hers.”

“I think our mission is done here,” Chief stated simply. “We need to inform the Empress of our success.”

Trixie chewed her lip for a bit as she appraised the new alicorn mare that now lied in the midst of Nightmare Moon’s shattered – and still smoking –- armour. She then cast her glance asides to her still recovering comrades, then turned to regard the stranger once more.

“Hmm … Trixie thinks heavy lift gear might be in order.”

The Master Chief stared at her briefly as a hint of humour sneaked its way into his voice. “You’re still helping us carry her.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Johnson agreed, lighting a cigar he’d pulled from one of his armour’s pouches.

“Trixie must check upon our wounded first.”

“By all means. But, I’m willing to bet a year’s salary that if the demon alicorn lady had been fighting with the intent to kill us, there would be no wounded, only stiffs. Call it a Sergeant’s intuition, if you will.”

“What type of usurper plots a revolution without the willingness to sacrifice lives? Trixie fails to grasp the reasoning.”

While Trixie huffed and moved to check on her fellow Praetorians and the others, Chief activated his radio. “Sierra-117 to Canterlot. Nightmare Moon is neutralized, requesting medevac for five to seven individuals and one VIP.”

“Acknowledged, we’re scrambling a squadron for you, it will be inbound from the ENV Foreshadowing Dream. Estimated arrival in five.”

“Copy that.” Chief cut out the radio, and turned to face the others. “Those who can walk, help the others who can’t. Trixie, Johnson, and I will handle the VIP.”

The room responded with a mixture of “Yessir”, nods, and salutes as everyone began moving again. Already, sounds of incoming aerial vehicles were audible to the untrained ear.

Shortly after, the Concordat special response team was aboard the Equestrian aerial squadron with the alicorn safely accompanying them on the way to Canterlot.

While touching down outside Canterlot Palace, the alicorn mare began to stir for the first time since her initial appearance. Trixie, Chief, and Johnson had rode with her, and noticed her movements immediately.

The alicorn blinked several times in rapid succession, awakening presumably from a form of deep sleep. She regarded all three of the armoured strangers barely two meters from her in the dropship troop compartment with great surprise in her cyan eyes. After a few moments, she parted her lips to speak.

“Nightmare Moon? She is destroyed, just as We witnessed? This is not some cruel dream most nefarious?”

“If the Night Mare’s armour was any indication, pretty much,” Johnson confirmed in a mildly nonchalant tone. “Turns out the mythical artifacts of ye olden Equestria times is actually a giant reformation deathray for old-fashioned villainous types.”

“A ray of awesome death … for evil, that is, even though Trixie asserts that true evil is but an illusion. The puny mortal mind’s attempt to put an understandable face upon the truth of the cosmic gray.”

“Beatrix, getting deep on us. You always steal my thunder, girl!” Sergeant Johnson grumbled with a half-hearted scowl that threatened to become a grin.

“Hmph.”

The alicorn darted her eyes between Trixie and Johnson with her mouth in a small “o” before settling her gaze on the Chief and normalizing her features again. “Erm … momentous. We are within thy debt!”

“We were simply following orders, and defending civilians from unconventional attack in a critical region,” Chief explained, idly inspecting an energy rifle from the dropship’s weapon bay. “it is fortunate that no lives were lost, including your own, or that of the Nyx.”

“The Empress of Equestria has explained to us your importance and your history,” Trixie added.

“And while we know what we know, in order to know personally that we all fulfilled our mission,” Johnson continued.

“We’d like to hear you introduce yourself, Your Highness,” the Chief finished, placing the weapon in his hands back in its place.

Looking between the trio and the metal floor of the aircraft, the alicorn took a moment to gather herself, before beaming at them with all the warmth of a star. “Please, We insist that thou calleth Us: Luna.”

Author's Notes:

After almost two months, the revision is back with a massive start! I have some awesome new people on board, assisting with both editing and worldbuilding. They're listed in the description, and none of this is possible without their invaluable roles.

Oh! One last thing, the Codex! It will be implemented starting with Chapter 2, in the form of footnotes added at the bottom of each chapter just before the Author's Notes (if there are any AN's for that given chapter.) The Codex provides information on specific things Luna and Chief both encounter in their journeys during IE, from people and places, to technology, races, factions, and more! It will be one "chapter" that is updated with new content each time a new primary chapter is published, so if you're a lore junkie than don't forget to check back to the Codex with each release!

As always, thanks for reading!