War of the Princesses

     In the haze of my half conscious mind, I began to hear Celestia,s soothing voice, albeit faintly.

   “….mor……..Shining Ar….up…” Her voice said.

    I opened my eyes to see a blurry visual of Celestia, a hoofful of my guards, and…”C-Cadance?” There she was, my lovely wife towering over me in a well lit medical. Though her expression displayed relief, I could see the concern and sadness in her eyes. “Cadance, i-is that you?” I asked. At the time, my voice was fairly weak. Should that come as any surprise? I mean…I took a blade to the belly for gosh sake.

   “It’s me Shining Armor. I’m here.” Cadance said as she, as I recall, stroked my mane.

        Did I mention that she looked concerned? “My head.” I groaned as I sat up holding my aching head with my right foreleg. I vaguely remember that I had an ice pack bandaged to the side of my head. “W-what happened? What am I doing in the medical wing?” I asked the group of ponies that surrounded me. An eerie silence fell upon the room as the ponies’ ears drooped. They seemed concerned.

     “……you were cut by the tip of a blade and suffered a head injury as I crashed on top of you. I am not surprised that you cannot remember anything” Princess Celestia said sadly.

     “…Aunt Celestia. What happened? Please answer me.” I replied, my voice was filled with fear.

       Another silence fell upon the room, until Cadance spoke up. “Princess Luna has been entirely possessed by Nightmare Moon, who was long thought to have been destroyed by the Elements of Harmony. She wounded Luna to about a mere inch of her life.”

    It wasn’t hard to read my expression at the time. I was devastated, especially when I remembered it myself. But that news was nothing compared to what I heard next.

     “A few of our guard ponies were killed, along with your chambermare, Petunia.” One of my guards, a captain said.

   “N-no…I should have been-” For that moment, a tear streamed down my left cheek.

    “But worst of all, we received this earlier this morning.” Celestia levitated an open scroll to me. As I read, my expression bode sorrow.

    “Nightmare Moon…has declared war upon the good citizens of Equestria. Her forces are comprised of Luna’s Nightguard. Even now, she is recruiting followers to expand her army.” Celestia explained.

        “I…” What began as a sorrowful expression, turned to one of hate and white-hot anger. “If it’s a war that Nightmare Moon wants, then it is a war that she shall have.” I said.

     “As much as I don’t want to fight those that we care about, it may be the only way to save Equestria.” Cadance said with a sigh.

   “What about the Elements of Harmony? Can’t the Elements defeat Nightmare Moon?” My captain had asked.

      “I’m afraid Nightmare Moon is much more powerful and ruthless than she was before. She would not hesitate to kill the six who wield the Elements. Even if they could use the Elements power, it would possibly kill Luna in the process. We will have to find a way to separate Nightmare Moon from my sister’s body.” Celestia explained. “I don’t wish for war either. But there is just no other way. Captain, Princess Cadance…you two return to the Crystal Empire and prepare our troops and enlist some new recruits immediately. Shining Armor, you will stay here in Canterlot until you’ve recovered.”

   “But Aunt Celestia-“ I began, before Celestia put a hoof to my mouth.

     “Buh-buh-bup. Butts are for sitting.” Celestia tutted. Is…is that the proper term for it? “You are in no condition to so much as move. Cadance and your captain, Dusk Relic will handle everything.”

   “….” I remained silent as Cadance kissed me on the forehead and left with Dusk Relic. If it were not such a grim and serious situation, “Why does Cadie get to do all the fun stuff?” would have been coursing through my thoughts.

    “Aunt Celestia…how are we going to separate Nightmare Moon from Luna’s body when her magic is quite possibly more powerful than ours?” I asked, scared of what the future held. Like a filly in her mother’s hooves.

   “I…I don’t know Shining Armor. For once, I just don’t know. Once again, I feel like how I felt a long time ago after I sealed my sister in the moon.” Tears began to stream down Celestia’s face.

    A silence fell, once more, upon the room. But this particular silence would last for hours.