"Princess Luna has returned from her banishment and has begun to adjust to life in this new age, but it has not been easy. Though Nightmare Night and a recent wedding provided her the opportunity to make friends, she remains sad and alone throughout the long nights.
It was not always like this, in ages past Princess Luna was never truly alone. Long ago, the Court of the Moon was ever present to guide her and aid in her duties. Its membership consisted of some of the most talented ponies in all Equestria. A court that rivaled even her sister's."
A My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fanfic by Primrose
that reunites the lonely Princess Luna with her favourite apprentice and friend Aldus, and their ensuing efforts to reassemble an ancient fellowship thought forever lost to the cruel passage of a thousand silent years...
The Court of the Moon.
It can be found here.
This fanfic contains examples of the following tropes:
- And I Must Scream: Aldus' punishment was similar to Nightmare Moon's - sealed in stasis, awake and aware with only his demons for company, for a thousand years.
- Anti-Hero: Aldus and, when pushed, Frost have good intentions... and are still willing to kill their enemies to protect those they care about.
- Big Brother Mentor: Both Rigel and Polaris were this to (young) Aldus back in the day.
- Aldus continues the tradition by guiding Pyrite and Frost in a similar way.
- Casting a Shadow: Aldus. Frost may be on his way down this path too with both Aldus' tutelage and Ciaran and Silth's attempts to teach him changeling magic.
- The Chessmaster: Aldus.
- Chick Magnet:
- Rigel and, to a lesser extent, Aldus.
- Frost and Pyrite have this effect on the fillies too.
- Colony Drop: The comet Aldus pulled from orbit as a final act of defiance against Celestia. For this, he was dubbed Aldus the Moondeath - and he's not proud of it.
- The Corruption: Selene is responsible for both Nightmare Moon and Aldus' dark powers, but otherwise isn't a malevolent being. Quite the opposite, in fact.
- Dark Is Not Evil: Aldus and Selene, and of course Luna herself.
- The Dreaded: Aldus and Rigel are very much feared by Celestia's army.
- Friend to All Children: One of Luna's greatest joys is to guide foals through the night, and to protect them from their nightmares.
- Selene is very affectionate toward the foals in her care.
- Fusion Dance: Andromeda possesses Pyrite, granting him an immense boost to his power, speed and durability while filling him with righteous fury. She can also take it one step further and actually usurp control of the body to fight directly if the host's will fails.
- Selene can do a similar manoeuvre with Aldus, to much the same effect.
- Iris and Black Star are able to do a similar maneuver as well. After Selene creates Firebrand and Stormcaller, the two are able to do the same dance with Ruby, Antares, and Blue Bell.
- Good Is Not Nice
- An Ice Person: Frost, coupled with Meaningful Name.
- Kung-Fu Wizard: It's not stressed that much since he's usually using magic, but Aldus casually performs a backflip at one point.
- Manipulative Bastard: Aldus, and both Seabreeze and Frost have called him out on it.
- Morality Pet:
- Lilith was this to Aldus. Naturally, her senseless torture and murder at the hooves of Celestia's corrupt chosen sends the poor colt over the edge.
- Aldus was this to Luna herself before her fall to madness. Of course, even his counsel couldn't save her.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Aldus takes a step back after Pyrite's What the Hell, Hero? outburst.
- My Master, Right or Wrong: The Court of the Moon was willing to server Princess Luna to the bitter end, even after she became Nightmare Moon and started treating them like disposable pawns.
- Averted spectacularly with Frost, who takes issue with Aldus' manipulative tendencies and is more than willing to walk away from both his tutelage and his lifelong friends without hesitation.
- Nigh-Invulnerability: Pyrite when possessed by Andromeda gains armor plating strong enough to repel crossbow bolts without a scratch. It doesn't make him resistant to electric shocks, though.
- Pet the Dog: Aldus refrains from killing Silth's children, despite having every tactical reason to do so.
- Pragmatic Hero: Both Aldus and Frost excel at improvising with their surroundings - for example, shaping air particles into fire and lightning, and water molecules into icicles, as it consumes less magic than conjuring them from nothing.
- Red Baron: Aldus the Moondeath and Rigel the Blood Hurricane, titles earned through battlefield proficiency.
- Remember When You Blew Up a Sun?: The foals are eager to ask him about his Colony Drop, up to and including whether or not he can do it again. Turns out he doesn't have the power to actually create one from scratch - he pulled it from the sky during Nightmare Moon's rampage - and that even if he did, it's not going to happen.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Frost gives Aldus an epic chewing out in chapter 20 after his master shows more interest in his student's "interference in his plans" than his safety and well-being.Aldus: "Was it you who somehow managed to free Silth?"
Frost: "... Don't you even care about what happened to me? I almost died! My saddlebags were stolen by some street rat! ... I chased after him because I didn't want to lose your money! I didn't want to disappoint you! ... The guards catch me, doesn't matter if I told them I was with you, they broke my legs! The only way out was to free the changeling!" - Winged Unicorn:
- Aldus temporarily sprouts black wings when he fully manifests his power.
- Princess Desalia and Princess Seabreeze.
