Chapter I

Night had fallen over the land of Equestria. It was a mild summer evening and Princess Luna’s night sky was unblemished by any stray clouds letting the moon and stars shine brightly over the lands below. The patron princess of the night soared gracefully through the air, her mane and tail nearly invisible against the star speckled purple sky behind her. She hovered there in the sky and gazed over the lands she ruled; a nocturnal warden. Below rested the village of Ponyville and further North she could just make out Equestria’s capital city of Canterlot. She smiled to herself as her kingdom slept soundly under her cool blanket of serenity. The day was hectic with life’s schedules, duties, and obligations but the night, her night, was peaceful bliss.

“Rest easy my subjects,” Luna said softly. “The night holds no resentment towards thee.”

A dark cloud appeared below her. Princess Luna landed on it and folded her legs beneath her. She exhaled a contented sigh and shifted her gaze towards the city of Canterlot. Tonight was the night of the first Grand Galloping Gala since her return from exile and from the looks of things it was in full swing. Her sister had implored her to attend but Luna simply could not bring herself to face her royal subjects, not yet anyway. She had made amends with her older sibling but the shame she felt for having wronged the ponies that once looked to her for protection and guidance still weighed deeply in her heart. She had resumed her duties to safeguard the night but had made little to no contact with her subjects since she returned. Even though it had been a thousand years the wounds she had left were still fresh in pony’s minds. Her name had become naught more than a myth, and now that she had returned, all it meant for the ponies in Equestria was that the boogiemare was real and she now walked among them.

“Just give everypony time to adjust.” Her sister had told her. “They’ll come around once they see that your intentions are noble and pure.”

Luna had trouble believing that. She had spent some time delving into the dreams of those who lived in Canterlot. She had thought that a good way to express her sincerity was to come to those who had bad dreams and comfort them. Luna quickly discovered this to be a mistake. Whenever her royal subjects laid eyes on her they assumed their bad dream had gone from bad to worse. The most painful thing, however, was when she discovered that the ponies had taken to calling bad dreams nightmares in honor of Nightmare Moon. How could they ever come to love her, she the monster who hides under foal’s beds at night, waiting to gobble them up once the lights went out?

Luna rolled onto her back and let the cloud drift aimlessly, looking up to the heavens for comfort. Her night sky was truly a work of art to behold, an infinite tapestry of stars and constellations that shine like diamonds. Each constellation told a story and Luna knew all of them by heart which wasn’t surprising considering that it was she who made them. A long time ago the stars were arranged haphazardly and just hung there in the sky. Until Luna was taught that the stars could be moved and she soon went to work collecting all of her favorite stories and immortalizing them in the heavens above. Then there was the glorious moon, the crowning jewel of the night. For a thousand years, that brilliant globe of silvery light was her prison, her physical body and her consciousness locked away inside.

“Perhaps we were better off.” She thought sadly.

Suddenly Luna felt an all too familiar emotion flood through her and cold despair was replaced by hot anger, not at the citizens of Equestria or her sister but herself.

“No!” She said defiantly. “We shall not think that way! We are home now and we will win over the hearts of our subjects!”

Lightning flashed around her as if the elements themselves felt her fury. Luna, fueled by determination, spread her wings and took to the skies flying towards Canterlot with the speed of a shooting star. She landed on the terrace that leads into her chambers and stepped inside. Once inside she closed the doors behind her and started across the room, Tartarus bent on showing all who was in attendance that their princess of the night would not be ashamed. She took two proud strides across the room but suddenly froze in her tracks as she reached her door. Her heart beat rapidly and her legs wobbled beneath her. Tears streamed down her cheeks and she let out a moan of defeat as she threw herself onto her bed sobbing uncontrollably.

“We can’t!” She cried. “We just can’t!”

The doors to her chamber opened and a shadow fell over her. She looked up and saw her older sister Princess Celestia standing over her, her purple eyes full of concern. Luna felt even more ashamed at her sister seeing her in such a pitiful state and could not bear to look her in the eye. Celestia knelt down and embraced her sister affectionately.

“It’s okay.” She said gently. “The day will come when you will be able to walk among them again with your head held high. I promise you.”

“When sister?” Luna cried. “This feels so much worse than when we were imprisoned! It is unbearable! They hate us, we know it!”

Celestia’s horn glowed with magic and a hoofkerchief appeared above the two sisters. Celestia gently began to wipe the tears from her sister’s eyes.

“Soon.” She said. “I promise. If you were to walk down those steps right now and meet our guests I think that you would that they would greet you warmly. As a matter of fact, I have had several attendees tonight ask just where you had gotten off too.”

“Really?” Luna asked looking up.

“Yes really.” Celestia chuckled. “It’s not just a matter of them forgiving you Luna; you have to be able to forgive yourself. Just know that I am here now and I’ll always stand by your side. You are my sister Luna and I love you.”

Celestia wiped the last of the tears from her sister’s eyes and the two sisters embraced again.

“You should probably get back to the party.” Luna sniffed. “They will most likely be wondering where you have gotten off to now.”

“Are you sure?” Celestia asked.

Luna nodded.

“Don’t worry about us.” She said. “We’re fine. Thank you, sister.”

Celestia nodded and left her younger sister on her bed, hoping that in time Luna would be able to move on from the past and enjoy all the wonders that the present had to offer.

South of Ponyville the Everfree Forest loomed menacingly. Its trees climbed high into the sky and blocked out the moonlight shrouding the forest floor in darkness. A thick blanket of mist crept along the ground making the ancient forest that much more gloomy and spooky. Deep in the Everfree Forest, a robed figure walked through the trees. The figure hummed in a ghostly way as it moved through the trees like a phantom. It knelt down to the ground and began pulling a root out of the dirt with its teeth. The root resisted a little but with a final tug the soil relinquished the root with a snap and the resulting whiplash caused the figure’s hood to fall backward. Zecora the zebra dropped the root into a satchel around her neck.

“The final ingredient has been found it’s time I turn my gaze homeward bound.” She said to herself.

She flipped her hood back over her head and made her way through the forest. Eventually, she reached her hut, which rested in a small clearing. It was made in an old hollow tree; its branches adorned with tribal decorations and fetishes from her homeland greeting any visitors she may have. She wasn't expecting anyone tonight and it had in fact been several days since she last spoke to anyone from Ponyville.

She entered her hut and closed the door behind her. She lit a lamp and removed her cloak, placing it on a peg by the door. Her hut was cluttered with bottles, jars, bundles of dried grasses and herbs, beautiful gemstones, wood carvings and various books on all natural remedies for just about any ailment one could think of. In the center of her home was a large cauldron filled to the brim with a bubbling green liquid. Under the cauldron, the embers of a fire that had been burning for three days glowed brightly. Zecora was relieved that the fire had not gone out in her absence. If it had all of her endeavors would have been for nothing. Just to be safe she tossed a bundle of dry sticks onto the fire and let the flames rise a little higher. The overall temperature under the brew didn't matter just as long as the fire was lit by an act of nature; a bolt of lightning that had not been produced by a Pegasi.

Zecora took the root out of her bag and tossed it into the mixture. The bubbling green liquid turned white and began to glow with a silver light.

“Lunar root can be quite elusive. If the moon isn't right it is quite reclusive.” Zecora mused.

And so Zecora began her chanting. Three days ago she had a foreboding, an ominous vision of a coming peril. The brew she was creating would allow her to glimpse at something that has not yet come. The zebra chanted in her native tongue and pranced around the cauldron causing the mixture to glow brighter. Zecora kept this routine going for several hours until finally, the brew was ready, the liquid replaced by silver vapors. The zebra shook her head free of sweat and approached her cauldron.

“Magic brew reveal and tell. A darkness is coming I fear all is not well!” Zecora said.

She gazed deeply into the cauldron. The vapors from the brew had dissipated and though it looked like her cauldron was empty, the zebra could not see the bottom; there was only an unnatural darkness that chilled her to her core. The heat had vanished and the zebra felt a bitter wind blowing from that darkness. She was beginning to think that maybe she had done something wrong and then she saw it. A great eye opened and revealed itself in her cauldron. Its iris was as red as the flames of Tartarus, its pupil a black slit like that of a serpent. The slit narrowed and Zecora felt the eye look into her very soul. She screamed as a voice spoke and shook her hut sending bottles and jars toppling off of their shelves.

“ZU’U ALDUIN! ZOK SAHROT DO NAAN LO KO LEIN! ZU'U LOST DAAL! DAAR LEIN LOS DII!”

The eye pulled away and Zecora saw what it belonged to; a great black dragon with jagged scales and sharp claws that glinted in the glow of the burning fires below it. She heard screams and saw a village engulfed in flames. Shadowy figures ran for their lives only to be immediately engulfed in flames as several dragons laid waste to the ground below. Zecora couldn't watch anymore. She stumbled away from her cauldron as red cracks appeared in its body.

“No!” She screamed.

The cauldron exploded and the zebra dropped to the ground covering her head with her hooves. Shards of red hot metal blew through her home and the front door was blown from its hinges. When she looked up she saw that her cauldron had been decimated and the flames beneath it extinguished, embers and ash floated in the air and landed on the bare earth floor of her home. She rose to her shaking hooves, stumbled out of the hut and out into the cool early morning air. The mist had vanished and the sun was beginning to rise. Now the forest didn't look very frightening at all. It actually looked peaceful. It was the natural untamed beauty that Zecora fell in love with and made her want to call this place her home. She trembled where she stood unable to really appreciate the dew-soaked grass and the cry of a distant bird. She looked up to the heavens and with a shaking voice said, “By the shaking of my hooves, something wicked this way looms!”

Author's Notes:

Translation notes: Alduin says “I am Alduin! Most mighty of any in this world! I have returned! This world is mine!”
I hope you enjoy this story.