Bong, bong, bong, bong. Startled by the sudden noise, a snow-white Pegasus garbed in golden armor suddenly stood at attention, his rapidly blinking eyes attempting to drive off the sleep that yearned to drag them shut. Glancing at a clock a few yards down the hall from him, the pony mentally groaned. “Only 4 o’clock? Well, I guess I can stand a couple more hours…” he muttered to himself.

Working the night shift at Canterlot’s palace was a duty that normally fell to the rookie Royal Guards, such as this less than exemplar colt. It was a boring, if easy job. Stand in the hallway, watch for anything suspicious, don’t fall asleep, blah blah blah. The pony sighed. Why did they even need a night guard? It wasn’t like anything ever happened around here anyway. Sure, there had been that whole issue with Nightmare Moon about a year ago, but now Princess Luna was back, and it wasn’t like there were any other enemies floating around out there. Hell, they could probably abolish the entire Royal Guard at this point.

Settling back into a more relaxed stance, the guard’s thoughts began to wander again. His shift ended at six; there might be some time to have some fun before he had to get to sleep. He could visit that donut shop downtown, according to some friends it was a favorite of Princess Celestia. Might be worth checking out.

Suddenly, the Pegasus pricked his ears up. Was that someone screamingOW MY RIBS. A navy-tinted blur had slammed into the colt, throwing him a few yards through the air. By the time the guard had picked himself up, the apparition had already vanished down the hallway, its echoes bouncing around the walls. The Pegasus stood in shock, staring in the direction the strange blur had disappeared in. After a moment, he glanced at his side, and mournfully noted the massive dents that now covered the right side of his armor. His captain was going to kill him…

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Luna wanted to stop and apologize to the confused (and likely unconscious) guard. It had been a long time since she had moved this fast, but the situation demanded it. Swerving around corners and dashing through hallways, Luna moved as fast as she could towards her sister’s quarters, shouting out Celestia’s name every few paces. This was a dire emergency; of this the Alicorn had no doubt.

After what felt like hours of travel, Luna finally skidded to a halt in front of her sister’s ornate bedroom door, panting and out of breath. The twin Pegasi guarding the room glanced at her with some worry. One of them began to ask what she wanted with Celestia, but was silenced by a flash from Luna’s horn.

Celestia’s door slammed open, jarring the taller Alicorn from her slumber. Bleary-eyed, she wearily turned her head towards her younger sister. “Luna? What are you…” Celestia’s question trailed off, as she noticed the terrified expression adorning her sister’s face. The bed sheet was quickly thrown off, and Celestia quickly embraced Luna, attempting to comfort the smaller pony.

“What is it? What’s wrong Luna?” The gentle whisper broke through Luna’s terror, and she wrapped her arms around her elder sister.

“Oh Celestia… I’m scared. I’m so scared.” Luna trembled in her sister’s embrace. Although she could not see the sky from her current vantage, she could still feel the strange presence spreading through it, obscuring her stars, stealing their light. It felt like her own life-force was slowly being drained away, slipping bit by bit. “Please, look outside. Something’s wrong.”

Gently releasing her sister, Celestia slowly walked towards a window on the far wall. Although she was not nearly as attached to the night as Luna, Celestia knew enough about the stars to realize that a few constellations were off. Orion’s hands were missing, and Ursa Minor was… Celestia stopped breathing as she saw a star vanish. Slowly at first, but then faster and faster, she began to tremble. Her eyes widened in horror as she saw more and more pricks of light vanish into nothingness. “No…”

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No one knew where the darkness had come from. If anypony had been awake at four that morning, they might have noticed a few oddly behaved stars. If they had been curious, and kept watching those stars, they would have eventually noticed them slowly peter out, as they faded into blackness. Then, they surely would have been able to trace a spread of darkness, as more and more of the celestial bodies disappeared from sight. They would have seen moon itself follow its smaller brethren, leaving the night sky lightless. Then at half past six, the moment the sun was meant to rise, the early riser would have been treated to a terrifying display: The darkness that had stolen the light, the presence that had taken away the beauty of the night sky, touched Equestria.

It spread faster than a wildfire in the dry season, more widespread than the largest fog in recorded history. Plains, roads, forests, lakes, rivers, towns, cities, anything and everything was swept up by the blackness.

As ponies began to rise from their slumber, they were at first merely confused by the strange conditions. Had they set their alarms too early? Was there a fog scheduled for today? However, these questions were laid to rest as they further examined the strange presence.

Every colt and filly is afraid of the dark at some point. It’s an unconscious fear, one of the unknown, the mysterious, the unfamiliar. When seen through a haze of darkness, friendly and familiar objects become perverted and twisted. An open closet is a gateway to another world, the shadows tell tales of strange and dangerous creatures. It’s a fear that every young pony must face and accept at some point in their lives. Most are able to adapt to the darkness, to learn to ignore this instinctive fear. They mature, and soon forget their adolescent fears.

This darkness brought it all back. Anypony who looked outside and saw their world through the veil of blackness could feel their sanity begin to slip away. Fears that had been laid to rest years ago were reawakened, long-forgotten nightmares were instantly recalled. Equestria began to go insane.

There had been panic. Cities like Manehatten and Fillydelphia were nearly destroyed by riots and looters, ponies who had been driven to the brink of madness in their terror. What few remnants of the Royal Guard who remained organized did what they could to maintain order, but found that they were outnumbered nearly a hundred to one by both civilians and their former comrades. Smaller towns, like Hoofington and Trottingham, were spared the riots, but suffered unbearable silence and isolation from all other areas. It seemed as though Equestria would fall apart.

Then, a miracle. The few who retained their sanity during the disaster in Canterlot would later talk of a great flash of light emitted from the highest tower of the Royal Palace. They found themselves blinded by the light, but thought it infinitely better than the darkness that had nearly stolen their vision. They swore that once they could see again, they saw the darkness sliding away, dispersed as though by some great wind. Waves of blackness faded away, leaving only small clouds, then wisps, then nothing. The sun was high in the sky. The light was back. It was 12 o’clock.

Across Equestria, things began to calm down. The few remaining rioters were quickly dispersed. Fires that had raged during the morning were quelled by the afternoon. Casualties were remarkably low, and by some miracle no deaths were recorded. It seemed that the nation had restored itself. One by one, settlements scattered across the land began to re-establish communication with each other, either via magical messages or simple mail-Pegasi. By that evening, everyone had been accounted for, every citizen of Equestria was known to be safe. All except for one small town, on the outskirts of the Everfree Forest. All except for Ponyville.

Unlike the rest of Equestria, Ponyville was still trapped beneath a sea of dark.  The late afternoon son failed to pierce it, and nopony was willing to venture into the smog a second time. With bated breath, the nation waited for any news to emerge from the small town, for any contact or hope to emerge from the shroud.

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In a hollow tree, stuffed full of tables and books, a purple librarian and a baby dragon curled together underneath a hoof-stitched blanket. In an elegant dress shop, rolls of fabric and mannequins knocked aside in a panic, three snow-white forms, two sisters and a companion huddled next to one another in a storage room. In a sweet-encrusted bakery, two older ponies tightly hugged each other, their forms further entwined by a pair of pink legs impossibly stretched around both the couple and a small, toothless alligator. In a hidden cellar, built into a hillside covered with apple-trees, a family of four embraced each other, a loyal farmhand growling at the intruding presence. In a small cottage on the outskirts of town, dozens of terrified eyes could be seen in the darkness, their cream-colored caretaker hyperventilating in a corner, a small, white rabbit attempting to comfort her. In the darkness floating above the town, reaching high into the sky, a cyan blur raced back and forth, clearly disoriented, frantically searching for an escape where none was to be found.

The darkness persisted long after the sun began its descent. Most of Ponyville’s citizens, weary from a day full of nothing but horror and blackness, found themselves falling into a fitful sleep, plagued by dreams of evil and despair. Six of the town’s residents were not so lucky. As night fell over the land, they remained painfully awake, perfectly aware of the terror that pounded in their minds, the fear that crept through the deepest cracks of their psyches.

“Let’s begin…”

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