Chronicle of the Immortals

Demons

“So I have been shown the greatest curse of my kind. In light of the shadow that has consumed my beloved sister; I now understand the order that must be established. In my vanity I was forced to banish the only family I have ever known, and because of me she is gone. The shadow of evil makes its home in all of us, and it only requires a spark to escape. But, in my case, and that of Princess Luna, we cannot allow our inner chaos to be unleashed; for we alone have the power to protect this world, and the power to destroy it. To avoid suffering her fate we must all take great care to not draw from hiding our demons.”

-Princess Celestia, Goddess of the sun

In response to the destruction wrought by Nightmare Moon,

And the tragic undoing of Princess Luna

Luna the young princess, goddess of the night, the dark lady, stands vigilant perched atop the highest tower of Canterlot city. Her long iridescent blue hair flows in a breeze that doesn’t blow; the stars themselves twinkle in her locks. Her large teal eyes coldly skim the vast countryside of Equestria. The crescent moon hangs high above, offering little light but her ancient eyes are able to pierce the blackest of nights easily. Her face is young and pale, yet is shadowed by wisdom that cannot be gathered in ten lifetimes. She wears a simple deep blue night suit, a large black steel necklace marked with a shimmering moon hangs from her neck, and she holds in her hand a small black crown. A pair of large, blue feathered wings hang down from her shoulder blades, twitching slightly every so often. She risks a glance up at her marvelous gem: the moon. Sadness fills her eyes. Her heart begins to ache, she is forced to tear her gaze away from the crescent, from her ancient prison. She is haunted still by fleeting memories of death and shadows, when over a thousand years ago she took on the demonic visage and power of Nightmare Moon. A thousand years she spent locked inside the moon after she was banished there by her older sister. Years ago she had returned, hell bent on shrouding the world in eternal night when the young heroine: Twilight Sparkle and her companions had used the relic Elements of Harmony to purge the corruption from Luna.

“Princess,” a deep voice calls calmly from behind. Suddenly all sadness, all shadows of any emotion evaporate from the ancient goddess’s youthful face. She turns her now cold and unreadable mask toward the speaker. A man dressed in purple and black scale armor, kneels in a respectful bow in the doorway to the balcony.

“Captain BlackBlade, I trust you have made the preparations I requested.” Luna says her voice soft yet carrying enough force to stun an army.

“Yes, my lady, the hall of relics is cleared of your sister’s agents and my men now stand watchful. The Horn is prepared, though many of my guards have been too fearful to enter the chamber.” The warrior replies still kneeling, he raises his head to look upon his mistress; his eyes glow yellow and are split like those of a cat or reptile.

“They are correct to be wary, now come quickly captain we have precious hours before my sister wakes to raise the sun,” Luna states flatly while striding quickly toward the door. The guard rises to his feet, he is a large man but no mortal could measure up to the princess of the night, who stands now at eight and a half feet tall. The two figures make their way through a series of small hallways, darkened with the black of night; both of their eyes are unnaturally tuned to the darkness. The two move quickly yet perfectly silent as to not startle even an insect. The princess feels something in her head, a small voice knocking on the walls of her mind; she seamlessly parts the barriers to allow the voice in.

“My Princess, if I may ask, why the secrecy in regards to Princess Celestia, do you perceive some threat from her?” BlackBlade’s voice asks inside her conscience

“Some questions are best kept to yourself captain.” She replies back not awaiting the mortal to let her in his mind, she can hear a slight change in the captains breathing as he winces in pain. Even at a mental whisper the power of Luna’s magic is enough to shatter a mortals mind. “But, if you must know I see no threat from my sister, but she can be quite foolish at times, her methods are to slow and too careful. I would prefer to leave her out of this affair all together.”

“Of course Princess, I meant no disrespect,” The captain replies. The two figures minds are silent as they continue to descend downwards through the massive Canterlot Tower. They continue winding through hallways and staircases until they reach a large golden double door, far below the surface of the city above. Two guards dressed similarly as the Captain stand at the door, they both kneel at the approach of the tall woman.

“Rise, open the gates,” she commands, the two hurriedly push the doors open, which creak just slightly. She strides past the large gateway and its guards.

“Shall I accompany you, my lady?” Captain BlackBlade asks slightly worried.

“No,” Luna says not turning to face the shadowy warrior “close the gate behind me, no one enters.” She orders. Then she turns to face the guard “No one,” She repeats making the guard quake with slight fear.

“Y-yes Princess, no one,” BlackBlade stammers, Luna begins moving once more into the room as the large doors slam shut behind her. Even my own guards, who I trained myself, are wary of me; will I never be rid of my sins? I am truly a creature of fear. Luna thinks to herself, her cold mask melts away like snow to reveal her saddened expression beneath.

The room before her is littered with shelves stocked high with ancient tapestries, magical scrolls, ancient jewelry, gems, ornate boxes, and everything in between, In the chambers center however, on a golden pedestal rests, a small, simple black box. Luna eyes the box wearily and begins moving towards it. Suddenly out of the corner of her eye she spies a dark figure, a black skinned figure moving toward her just at the edge of her peripherals. She snaps her body toward the assailant with supernatural speed, arms raised ready for battle. But when she moves to meet the figure, she is faced only with a tall girl. The girls face is pale, and her hair flows like water and shimmers with a deep blue.

Wide eyed, Luna places her palm against the cold surface of polished glass; the girl on the other side too rests her palm against it. She simply stares at the reflection, solemnly lost in thought. Her brow furrows in slight irritation, and she gives a snarl as she moves past the mirror. She strides the short distance to the black box, her hands are calm and steady as she removes the lid to the container. She slides the heavy metal lid from the case and sets it gently beside. Gibbering whispers and demonic cries carried on an unknown wind escape the casket as the inside is revealed.

The innards of the case are soft red velvet, and resting in its embrace: a long bony blade starting at the tip as an iridescent blood red and slowly fading to black closer to the base. The base of the appendage is broken and charred, and it resonates with a dark aura. “The horn of King Sombra,” Luna breathes, a tingle of fear taking hold. It was a thousand years ago when she faced the dark emperor with her sister and cast him down into the frozen depths. It was his black magic, his corruption that brought about her own demonic change so long ago. He had returned recently but Equestria’s champions had destroyed him. All, but his horn were reduced to cinders. The horn however, was the source of Sombra’s corruption and his spirit yet can survive in the broken relic.

Even now Luna can here the chaotic whispers of the Shadow lord chattering at her from all sides, she hears her name more than once. The goddess ignores the incessant jabbering. Her sister Celestia was always one to be over cautious and so she wished the horn to be studied and perhaps used on the side of good. But, Celestia had not felt the power of this relic upon her; she didn’t know how terrible it truly was the way Luna did. “Time to be rid of it once and for all,” Luna says angrily

The mistress of the night raises her hands above the object; soon she can feel the power of magic flowing through her body. With a thought the feeling of power changes to a burning sensation behind the princesses eyes. Her pupils vanish from her orbs, which turn a bright luminescent green. Tendrils of shadow pour from the backs of her eyes as if the Princess had begun to weep darkness. Volts of blue-purple lighting begin to dance along her hands. Sadistic visions fill her mind; her anger and sorrow begin to grow radically inside her chest. She breathes in and out calmly. The only way to be rid of a relic of dark magic was to destroy it using its own power against it.

Black mist showers down from the Goddesses delicate hands, flowing over the horn. Suddenly pain rips into Luna’s hands, burning her like hellfire. She grits her teeth and grunts with pain; the voices around her begin to shriek in agony as she unravels the horns existence. She focuses more of her power into the relic, and so too her own pain increases as the horn fights back against her. Candles place around the room begin to dim, their flames continue burning but no longer produce light. There is the sound of tearing metal when small jagged pillars of black crystal start to erupt from the ground around her. With one final force of effort Luna sends a shockwave of shadowy magic down into the horn, and with a great roaring death throe the evil relic is gone. Luna releases her power, her eyes fade to normal and the cascade of darkness from her palms ceases.

Luna pants heavily sweat beading on her brow. She looks down into the case, and finds nothing but a small mound of grey ash. Light flows back into the chamber slowly; Luna turns her head to take in the miniature forest of dark crystals she has made. There is a pounding on the door to the chamber

“Princess… Princess Luna are you alright?” The voice of captain BlackBlade calls. Luna breathes heavily and makes her way toward the door without a word, taking care to avoid the dark shards littering the chamber. “She’s not responding, I’m going to open the door, be ready!” The captain orders his guards outside. Luna wrenches open the doors suddenly, catching BlackBlade off guard. The night watcher staggers back away from her in shock, he looks at her wide eyed.

“It… is done,” Luna says tiredly between pants, she has all but forgotten to put on her cold emotionless mask that she uses to address underlings. A large grin is appearing on her face, she cannot contain her joy at finally having destroyed the monster that ruined her life years ago.

“We heard screaming within and I felt a nightmarish power emanating from that room, are you well?” The captain asks his yellow eyes still wide with shock.

“That was me,” Luna states calmly only widening the eyes of the guards “I was forced to use black magic in order to destroy the horn,” She finishes.

“V-very well then… Mistress, would you like me to escort you back to your room?” he asks slowly, slack jawed from shock

“No captain I know the way, you must stay here and dispose of these crystals.” Luna says regaining her composure, suddenly her face becomes a blank mask once more and her voice replenishes its commanding power. “They are a side effect of using dark magic, break them down and they will dissipate, repair the rents in the flooring and leave no traces that we were here.”

After leaving her guards to their work, Luna returns to her chambers. The sun will be rising soon and Luna will need full rest to do her duty tonight. As she closes the large door to her private chamber, and crawls wearily into her massive royal bed, she smiles and her heart swells with pride. Knowing she has done the right thing and ended a great evil, the Princess of the night drifts off into her empire of dreams. Luna’s sleep is unlike any others in the entire world, to her she simply takes on a new form in a different world, her physical body regains energy like sleep, but she feels as real as any other hour. In her sleep Luna enters the dreams of all the sleeping Equestrians, aiding them in defeating their nightmares and ensuring that sleep is good for all her subjects and even her own sister. But, inside Luna’s mind there are no dreams, only an endless black void, as the goddess of the night she can peer into the subconscious of all those under her rule and around her, but she cannot make dreams of her own. Luna has often wished to be able to dream, but there is no time for doting on what could be, so she uses the time spent in the black of her mind for meditation

However, this time, it isn’t an empty void. After inspecting the dreams of her subjects and loved ones, Luna returns to her own mind to get some peace. And there she finds herself. Amid the endless dark there she seats, in front of herself like a reflection, but this reflection wears a sinister grin, and is garbed in an intricate and embarrassingly revealing suit of black mail armor. The doppelganger simply stares at Luna unblinking.  Luna is greatly confused and frightened.

“W-who are you?” She calls to the figure of herself.

“We are you of course,” The figure replies in a voice entirely unfamiliar to Luna

“You can’t be me, I’m me. How did you get here?” Luna asks back

“You’re not so much you as you are us.” The thing giggles “And we’ve always been here Luna,”

“What do you mean we?”

“It is proper language is it not,” the creature asks mockingly, Luna understands, once in ancient times it was traditional for royalty to speak as multiple beings. When Luna had first returned to the world she was mocked by others for speaking in ancient tongues, and this thing obviously sought to insult her. Luna is terrified now; no one has ever been in her mind like this. In her physical body she would smite this nave for its mockery but in the dream she is incapable of harming others, and she does not know if this other her has such limitations.

“I do not know how you have entered my mind like this, but it is irrelevant, begone!” Luna commands, the thing only laughs. It begins to step towards her; Luna tries to back away but finds she can’t escape the thing; her legs simply won’t obey her! As the evil image of herself draws near, it raises its hand slowly. Luna cannot defend herself against it, and she feels its hand clasp around her throat.

The thing pulls its face in close to her own, and she can feel its breath on her. The two identical women stand for a moment, one terrified and unable to move, the other grinning slyly with its hand placed on the first’s neck. With one swift movement the nightmare doppelganger’s mouth expands to horrific proportions, and Luna is devoured instantly. The Princess screams as she enters sudden pain and darkness, and horrid laughter resounds all around.

Luna’s eyes open quickly; she draws in a sharp breath through aching lungs. Cold sweat runs down her face, and she shakes violently with fear. “W-was that a nightmare?” She asks groggily to no one in particular. Then Luna notices she’s not in her bed. In fact, she’s not even lying down. The haze of deep sleep sloughs off from the young Princess and her she takes in her surroundings.

She stands now on what feels like a stone road, it is cracked and pitted, even torn out entirely in places. All around her is strewn with rubble from various statues and small storage buildings reduced to gravel. She recognizes this place: The Canterlot Sculpture Garden, but why?  A path of destruction is carved through the area all around her, and she can sense a heavy blanket of magic residue everywhere. Something incredibly powerful leveled this entire area, and recently. She concludes. But, how did I get out here? The question appears in her mind. The sun is just beginning to rise, and it is barely starting to push the night away.

“Luna?” A familiar voice questions from behind. Luna turns quickly to face the speaker. A massively tall and beautiful woman stands now on the broken path, the top of her head easily reaching ten feet. Like Luna the woman’s age is impossible to guess, her face is youthful yet holds unfathomable years.  The woman wears a long white night gown; hair billows down to her ankles and flows unnaturally like the wind. Her hair is constantly shifting from blue, to green, to violet, and her bright magenta eyes are wide with shock. A pair of white angelic wings stretches out from the woman’s back. And she carries a huge, ornate golden sword in one hand; its hilt marked with an icon of the sun.

“Celestia?” Luna breathes wide eyed at seeing her big sister in this place. Luna takes a step forward to greet her beloved older sibling. But, as she strides forward, Celestia moves back. “What is the matter sister?” Luna inquires confused “Sheathe your weapon sister, whatever did this is gone,” Luna says, her words sound hollow to her own ears.

“Do not take another step, Luna” Celestia says her ordinary, motherly tone all but gone, replaced by worry. “Why did you come out here Luna?”

“We…” She catches her habit “I… don’t know I just awoke, I think I had a nightmare, sister.”

“You don’t dream Luna,” Celestia says, a hint of anger is present in the sun goddess’s voice.

“I never have but I think I can… Come sister put that blade away. There are more pressing matters than my sleep patterns right now, we must find out how this destruction was caused.” Luna says taking another step towards her sibling, Celestia raises her blade threateningly. Luna stops, confusion and sadness fill her. “Why do you threaten us, sister?” Luna asks in a shaking voice, ignoring her speech. Celestia’s face softens, the two sisters have always loved each other and it is no easy thing for one to draw a blade against the other.

“I already know how this happened, Luna. Now, stay where you are.” Celestia commands, her voice quivering. The sound of footsteps reaches Luna’s ears; she turns and sees a full battalion of royal guards, dressed in both solar and lunar armor. At the forefront is Shining Armor: Captain of the entire Royal Honor Guard, both to Luna and Celestia. Dozens of armed soldiers begin to flood in, and begin forming a tight circle around Luna and Celestia. Many of their faces have scowls, others bear saddened eyes, but all are drowning in fear. Luna turns back to face Celestia, lost in confusion.

“What is this?” Luna asks venom in her tone. Celestia stands, blade still raised

“Luna calm down,”

“Traitors,” Luna spits, turning to face the soldiers “Traitors every one of you!” Luna shouts, her supernatural voice echoing loudly and rippling the air in front of her face.

“There’s only one traitor here Luna!” Shining Armor shouts angrily from behind, Luna turns to face him, hatred plastered on her face.

“Princess Luna, under the laws of Canterlot, Equestria, and society as a whole, I hereby place you under arrest! For the murder of Night watch captain BlackBlade, and the threat you pose to us all.” Luna blood freezes in her veins, and she faces her sister slowly.

“BlackBlade… Murdered?” Luna asks shaking

“Your own personal body guard and you vaporized him!” Shining Armor shouts angrily, Luna can barely hear him.

“Shining Armor, that’s enough!” Celestia commands

“No we… I couldn’t have. I’ve been training him since he was a boy.” Luna says disbelievingly. Suddenly her heart swells with anger, burning rage flows through her veins. “No I wouldn’t, I couldn’t! What trickery is this, what horrid mockery? Is this you’re doing sister? More knavish pranking you enjoy so much?” Luna screams, lightning flashes across the sky and thunder rumbles deafeningly.

“Luna calm do…”

“No, no sister you have done me injustice and now you will pay!” Luna shrieks, the ground begins to quake with the goddess’s fury. With supernatural speed the Princess lunges forth, her wings beating up a massive blast of wind behind her, and the ground beneath her feet erupts into a shower of earth as she leaves it. Celestia’s eyes widen just as her sister’s body smashes into her with earth shattering force. The blade tumbles out of her hand. Celestia’s feet grind into the pavement, she skids to a halt, her body aching and Luna’s shoulder still smashed into her abdomen. She grunts in pain, and still caught off guard she feels one of Luna’s hands on her throat, the other on her shoulder. Luna looks up at her sister, hatred burning in her heart. The guards begin to sprint toward the royal brawl “Let’s lose this crowd,” Luna says through gritted teeth

With a blinding flash, and an evocation of magic, the two sisters vanish from the ruined garden. When the light dies down around the sisters they find themselves in the large royal throne room. The ceiling to this chamber is massively tall; the walls are lined with stained glass windows depicting the great triumphs of Equestria’s heroes. A long crimson carpet runs the length of the room from the large wooden double-doors to the raised dais upon which sits Celestia’s massive throne. The two tall figures, now standing in the center of the chamber, break away from each other quickly.

“Luna, this is your last warning: stop this foolishness now! You’re not thinking clearly, little sister. We have to find out what’s wrong with you.” Celestia shouts with fire in her words, lowering her fists and leaving her combat stance.

“Oh, now you claim that I am at fault. You always were self-righteous, but this…” Luna retorts, the young Princesses eyes are wild, madness and anger turning her vision red. With another burst of speed the goddess of the night sprints forth once more, delivering a powerful blow from her fist to the elder sister’s jaw. The attack sends a rippling shockwave through the room, and a series of ornate windows are blasted apart by it. Celestia’s body is thrown violently into her own throne, cracking the stone around it and warping the royal chair severely. She brings herself back to her feet slowly and shoots a piercing gaze at her younger sister; Luna pants heavily, drool begins to pour down her chin and she has the wild eyes of a crazed animal.

“I am a fair leader, and I am a fair sister, Luna,” Celestia says slowly, her angelic wings twitch and their joints pop audibly. She wipes a thin trickle of blood running from her mouth with a gloved hand “but even my patience has limits.” Suddenly Luna feels a massive ripple of pain through her body as Celestia’s fist is driven into her diaphragm. Luna feels her legs give out, and her breath fail her. But, before she can retaliate she feels fingers clasp around her blue mane. She his wrenched from the ground painfully by her hair, and brought to eye level with the goddess of the sun. With her free hand Celestia crushingly bludgeons Luna’s face, letting her hair go and sending the younger Princess sailing across the room.  There is a loud snap as Luna’s nose is shattered, followed by the crash of the doors being smashed down by her rapidly accelerating body.

The wooden doors fall from their mountings with Luna lying on top of them, blood pouring from her broken face. She raises herself up and glares menacingly at her older sister, blood dripping down to stain her night suit. Luna places a hand on her broken nose and swiftly pulls the bone back into correct placement, holding it there for a moment. Her bones begin clicking loudly as the fuse back together, healing at a rate beyond that of even a god. When she pulls her hand away, the wound is gone but for a small scar running along her ridge. Celestia’s eyes widen slightly out of shock.

Luna chuckles too maddened to question the unnatural healing factor but proud to have received it. “What’s wrong sister, getting too old to be fighting?” Luna inquires mockingly in a savage tone.

“Enough Luna, I am far more powerful than you are. You cannot win this battle; it’s time to give up.” Celestia says softly in her natural motherly voice. Luna looks away from her, knowing that she is weaker than her older sister. She looks about frantically hoping to find some miracle; she doesn’t have to look far, because she soon spies the key to victory.

“I might not be strong enough to beat you…” She pauses to cackle manically “but I know someone who is.” She says raising her other arm, one hidden until now from Celestia’s sight. Luna is filled with satisfaction at seeing the horrified look on her sisters face, as she shows her arm which has grown to disfigured proportions and its skin has become black as midnight. A single tear runs down Celestia’s cheek

“No, not again, Luna why? We had made amends, how have I driven you to this again?” Celestia asks silently, on the verge of weeping. Luna closes her eyes, and tears stream down her face even as she laughs insanely. But, when she opens her eyes they are different. Their whites are gone, filled by her massive pupils which now are reptilian in shape and glow a vibrant teal. Luna’s veins begin to bulge out across her skin; cracks in her pale flesh begin forming. Black ichor oozes from the wounds and slowly seeps across her. The loud cracking of bones fills the room as Luna’s smaller body begins to grow. She stands her body is mired with patches of black and her eyes glow with fury, she grins to reveal her suddenly sharpened teeth. She flaps her blue wings; even now the feathers are clinging together with dark ichor.

“Yes sister, and by midday my transformation will be complete. You however will be long dead by that point,” Luna says in the voice of the doppelganger from her vision.

“And so our nightmare continues, but you will be stopped. Twilight and the other elements of Harmony will hunt you down and destroy you again.” Celestia states coldly, her voice suddenly low and threatening. She raises her fists, and takes a combat stance.

“I underestimated those wretches once; I do not intend to do so again.” The demon cackles “But, what I do know for certain: you don’t have your precious Elements of Harmony, so there’s nothing to stop me from finally ending you.”

“Luna would not have chosen this path, not now. She has earned the love of the people as their Princess, and respect has been brought to her precious night sky; the only things she ever truly wanted. So then Nightmare, how did you force your way back?” Celestia asks not expectant of a response.

“Enough talk” the larval monster roars, and raises its newly clawed hands. There is a shift in the air, and glowing violet energy begins to dance across Nightmare Moon’s blackening arms. A sphere of white light breaks forth between the corrupted’s palms, spiting gouts of blue lighting which crack and burn the ground and walls where they strike. The sphere begins to expand and a low humming sound drowns the room as the air becomes electrified. The sphere quickly reaches as size much larger than the hands cradling it, and with a loud booming thunder clap, the sphere becomes a beam of blue violet light. The blast races toward the elder Goddess, the ground beneath it begins to recede and dissolve from the raw power of the attack.

Celestia quickly raises her own hands, and without a moment of preparation an equally massive beam of golden sunray erupts from her palms. The two beams collide with destructive force, at the point of meeting the magic rays churn and mix together to form a ball of blinding light. The ground for miles around quakes with bone jarring ferocity, while the two deities grit their teeth in exertion. The two forces power begins to fracture, as the beams push against one another jets of white energy sear forth at random directions; massive chunks of wall and flooring are disintegrated, and colorful windows are blasted from their panes. Lightning crackles along anything in the royal chamber that can conduct it, while tapestries and rugs catch fire in the hellish heat. The two Princesses grunt and grind their teeth in anger as they force more and more of their unreal power at the other.

The rays continue to push against each other, the ground continues to shake horribly, and the sky itself feels the battle, as the sun and moon clash Equestria begins to darken. Both Princesses can feel the pain running through their bodies, but Celestia most of all. Normally being the elder she is far stronger than her sister, and once Luna knew this. So, in an attempt to gain strength she bargained with dark king Sombra for a touch of his power to unlock a strange inner darkness. That day was over a thousand years ago, and that was when Nightmare Moon was born. Celestia knows that she cannot defeat her sister now; she is already too deep in corruption.

With a great primal roar, Nightmare Moon unleashes her full power. Her attack increases in size to daunting proportions, its bulk now encompassing the majority of the throne chamber. Celestia is taken off guard fatally. And her defense is knocked aside easily. The monstrous beam engulfs the sun goddess completely, carrying onward. The blast explodes from the rear wall of the Throne room, exiting the rear wall of Canterlot tower and fading off into the horizon. The blast dissipates rapidly, leaving Nightmare Moon panting as she lowers her arms. The dark lady begins to laugh maniacally when her eyes fall upon Celestia’s broken form. The sun Princess lies on her back in the ruins of the beautiful throne room, much of her regal white dress has been incinerated; her body is burned and raked in many places. Her large magenta eyes still stare at Nightmare Moon, her breast rises and falls with ragged breath, and blood runs from her mouth and nose.

“Still alive are you?” Nightmare asks in a weary tone. “Let’s fix that, shall we?” Her tone is evil and she quickly strides to the prone Celestia. She kneels down over Equestria’s broken leader, places one bladed hand on her throat and raises the other to the now open ceiling. She gives a jagged grin as crackling energy envelopes her raised fist. Celestia only stares up with sad eyes; tears begin to stream down her cheeks. “What,” her executioner scoffs “tears? So faced with death we see Celestia’s true colors. You’re a coward,”

“N-not tears for me… little sister.” The Princess chokes out. Nightmare’s reptilian eyes widen, and her own salty tears begin to fall.

“Big sister,” the monster says in Luna’s natural velvety voice “h-help us,” she squeaks out like a frightened child. Celestia too widens her eyes

“I can’t Luna, only you can. Be rid of her sister, force her back!” Celestia’s screams in desperation. A scream escapes from Nightmare Moon’s maw, a shriek of agony in the monsters voice. The energy fades from its fist, and its hand latch on to its head. It closes its large eyes and bellows in rage.

“No, you’re mine, you’re a weakling! You can’t take this body from me, not like this!” Nightmare Moon roars, falling away from the stunned Celestia.

“You’re not in control anymore,” Luna’s voice is heard from everywhere at once. Not using the mouth of her body, her telepathic speech floods the room with its booming fury. “You think you are strong, you had only survived as long as you did before because I allow it! Without me you are nothing, and now for your evil I rebuke you!” Luna shouts defiantly from within her own mind. Celestia can only stare slack jawed at the writhing form of her possessed sister. Suddenly the deformed girl stops shouting, stops moving, and opens her eyes. She looks up at Celestia with two teal orbs, two glittering human eyes.

“Luna?” Celestia asks shocked. Luna only sobs loudly, clenching her eyes as tears pour from them.

“I’m so sorry Celestia; there is no greater fool than I.” Luna cries, pulling her legs in close to her chest. Like a child the goddess curls herself into a ball to weep over her guilt at breaking the rules. “This was my fault, I wanted so badly to see the curse lifted forever, that I… I destroyed the horn of King Sombra, but the magic must have backlashed. Once again I have damned myself!”

“That’s enough Luna, you are not damned. You did what you believed to be right. It’s over now and you’re safe.” Celestia says still unable to move, using her legendary soothing voice, like a loving mother to all.

“No, it’s not over yet, I’m afraid.” Luna shakes, Celestia furrows her brow as if asking why. “That monster, Nightmare Moon is still here. I can feel her in my head, trying to get out. I won’t be able to hold her for long, she will escape again. Only one thing can undo this.” She states grudgingly

“Luna no, the Elements changed you back the last time,” Celestia says pulling herself up to a sitting position, wincing in pain of her shattered ribs “but there’s no telling what they will do this time. What if you’re imprisoned again, or worse?”

“Celestia there is no other option!” Luna shouts “Send for Twilight and the others, only the Elements can stop me now.” Luna rises to her feet; she looks down at her still darkening hands. She balls her clawed hands into fists in anger, and turns to the door.

“Please stay Luna. We can fix this together. There’s always another option.” Celestia begs, she tries to stand but her body is too damaged and pain brings her back down. “I won’t use the Elements on you again, I can’t lose you again!” Celestia begins to weep. Luna turns back to face her

“Then I will kill you,” she says coldly, menacingly “I will kill you, Twilight, and all of her friends.” Celestia lowers her head in defeat. “And, in time if it comes to me ending the lives of my loved ones… I will have died with you.” Celestia knows that her sister speaks true, for her kingdom she must risk losing her little sister. Luna turns back to the ravaged exit “I will be back, and when I am pray that the Elements of Harmony are ready. They defeated Nightmare Moon easily before, but this time won’t be so easy.” She finishes flatly. Suddenly the air shifts, and crackling energy surrounds the Princess of the night.

“Luna wait, I…” Celestia is cut off by a loud crack and a flash of light as her sister teleports as far away as she can. The room turns silent once more and the Goddess of the sun is alone. “…love you.” She finishes, letting one last tear fall.

Days later, mages and construction workers toil to rebuild the shattered throne room; and high above resting on the very peak of Canterlot tower two large figures rest. One figure, a giant ten foot tall woman with shifting hair and angelic wings wears a mask of sorrow. Her powerful magic carries the bright yellow sun below the horizon, setting the sky alight with the vibrant hues of sunset. Beside her sits another large woman, this girl is much younger and only comes to six and a half feet at full height. Her name is Twilight Sparkle, the heroine of Equestria.

Twilight is the youngest of the four Goddesses; born a mortal she spent the majority of her life as Celestia’s protégé and a master sorceress. But in unleashing an ancient and powerful spell, as well as completing the magic, she ascended to godhood. She is the Goddess of magic, friendship, and heroism. Her short cropped hair is a black blue hue, a pink and a purple stripe run through her locks. A pair of large, violet feathered wings protrude from her back. And, upon her head she wears a large golden tiara, with a massive purple gem intricately woven into its frame. The gem is shaped as a six pointed star, and it pulses with light like a heartbeat. The two deities watch as the sun sets in silence.

“When do you think she will be back,” Celestia asks in a somber tone.

“Impossible to say Princ… uh, Celestia.” Twilight responds, still not used to addressing Celestia as an equal rather than her Princess. “I know so little about Nightmare Moon, and Luna for that matter. But, the others and I are prepared to do what we must.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of. You’re immortal now Twilight, and one day you will understand just how long a thousand years is too live.” Celestia says sadly “You can’t imagine what it’s like to lose someone for that long, to be the one who was the instrument of their destruction.”

“I am sorry Princess, Luna is a friend, and so I will only order the use of the Elements as a last resort. But, the Equestrian people are now my people as well, and I will do what I must to guarantee their safety.” Twilight says with conviction. The sun finally disappears beyond the horizon, and soon enough the stars begin to come into being, and behind the full moon shines up over the peaks of mountains. The two Princesses turn to look at the large orb. “There’s not supposed to be a full moon tonight,” Twilight being ever fond of astronomy states

“She has changed,” Celestia breathes to herself silently.

“How can you tell?” Twilight looks to her former mentor

“I can just feel it; this night will not end until Nightmare Moon is destroyed.” Celestia says angrily

“Then we will destroy her, once and for all. And, we will save Luna from her grasp. I promise you that Celestia.” Twilight says confidently. And, as the long night began two goddesses left the tower, to prepare for their sisters arrival, and to banish the demon from her soul. But, far from the shinning city the creature stirs. Nightmare Moon hovers amid the night sky, her flesh now fully blackened and her body clothed in deep blue armor. Her bat like wings flap to keep her aloft, she stares at the large full moon longingly.

“I cannot defeat the Elements alone.” She states to no one in particular “They are too powerful, and too pure for me to control. But,” she begins thinking, her ancient mind devising a nefarious scheme. “Twilight Sparkle can command them. And, with her upbringing to immortality, who’s to say she doesn’t have her own demon inside of her.” Nightmare grins slyly “All I have to do is bring it out to play.” She laughs thunderously into the night. And, with a great flap of her dark wings she sets off to put her plans into motion.