The sound of hooves on ancient stone filled what remained of the ruins of a once great palace. Princess Celestia, Goddess of the Sun and diarch of Equestria, walked solemnly and alone. She’d set out from Canterlot a little after sun-down and had made it all the way to the Everfree, following the hoof tracks of her sister left in the snow. Celestia moved with a focused silence, as she weighed out the possible reasons for her sister making it so easy to track her, as well as the reason she’d run off at all. At present there were several scenarios playing through Celestia’s head, neither of them pleasant. In either case it was obvious that Luna wanted to be followed and found. The artifact that was removed from beneath the royal palace was the only reason Celestia wasn’t confident that there was no trouble.
The artifact in question was one of the few things that could completely destroy the soul of a divine being such as herself and only a few other beings in Equestria. If what she feared was true, that jealousy had taken root in Luna's heart again and she intended to fight for sole rulership, then that artifact would make for a decisive end to the conflict.
There were of course other possibilities. Celestia had time to consider most of the reasons for Luna's behavior. Long ago, a pact had been made between all the immortal beings alive at the time. If ever their existence was too much to bear the knife was there for their use. It was a grim pact, and one that had caused the destruction of several of her eternal companions.
Celestia wasn't about to deny Luna her end if it was what she truly wanted, but she wouldn’t let her be alone. A promise they’d made each other in the same year the pact between immortals was made. Celestia wore a brave face that went a long way in hiding how afraid she was that Luna might soon be gone. She’d only returned from her banishment a few years ago; giving up so easily so soon seemed unlikely to Celestia. There was always that possibility.
Suddenly the ancient stone around Celestia shook violently as though a minor earthquake had assaulted the foundations. This was followed shortly by a loud “Stop!” It was a mare’s voice, magically amplified.
Celestia picked up the pace as she headed towards the source of the sound.
It wasn't long before another set of hoofbeats joined Celestia's in echoing through the halls. Though the new ones were frantic and uneven.
"You will not have me!" Came the voice again, followed by grunt of considerable effort.
Celestia was close now; the voice was undoubtedly Luna's. She broke into a gallop, following the sounds of what might be a fight. Turning a corner and down a set of stairs, she slowed again. The torches that lined the stairwell were lit unlike the rest of the torches in the halls. Celestia was wary however, because the torches burned with a cold blue flame and seemed to draw heat from the air around them. As she descended further the torches seemed to chill her as well; they did not seem malicious beyond that, but the sensation was unsettling all the same.
As Celestia neared the landing at the bottom of the stairs she had a view of the room beyond, and in a corner directly across from the door was Luna. Celestia almost called out, but stopped herself when she saw the artifact, a long black slightly curved dagger, floating menacingly before Luna. It was pointed farther into the room where Celestia guessed Luna's assailant must be. She hadn't heard another combatant on her way here. It had sounded for all the world like Luna had gone mad.
Luna also appeared uninjured m, but was cowering in absolute fear of whoever was in the room with her. Celestia slowly and quietly charged a powerful paralysis spell, hoping to get the drop on Luna's opponent.
Without a sound Celestia took off from the bottom of the stairs horn suddenly radiating sunlight as she entered the room. She turned to face the part of the room she hadn't seen previously and unleashed her spell. A wall of golden light followed instantly by a venomous green washed over everything in front of Celestia. Though when she surveyed her targets she noticed a distinct lack of anything alive being affected by her spell. Instead there was a room full of demolished furniture and cracked stone flooring. Luna had clearly been around the room more than once to destroy its contents so thoroughly, but there appeared to be no one else present.
Slowly Celestia turned to look at her sister.
Luna looked as if she hadn't even noticed Celestia's bright and ineffective entrance at all. The only thing that had changed about the younger alicorn is that the divinity destroying blade hung ineffectually in front of her, pointing at the ground apparently lacking a better target.
There was a short silence where Celestia hoped an explanation would simply be given. In that time Luna only stared at the far side of the room where nothing of note was occurring.
"Luna?" Celestia tried carefully, using her softest tones.
Tears started streaming down Luna's face as soon as Celestia spoke. In a matter of seconds Luna was choking back sobs as the knife slowly lowered to the ground.
Celestia had never seen a more broken looking Luna in all her considerably long life, this was not her strong and prideful sister who at her lowest hid behind a mask of cold anger, instead of showing weakness; this was a scared little filly who was lost on her own and didn't know who to turn to for help. Something was hounding her, and as Celestia put two and two together she began to realise that this opponent would not simply be beaten physically or even magically necessarily. Luna seemed to think the artifact would help her in this fight.
"Luna, please talk to me." Celestia tried again.
This time Luna fixed her tear filled gaze on the pony before her. More tears welled up in her eyes, before Luna dropped her gaze down to the floor. She shook her head slowly and muttered something, Celestia could not understand.
Celestia took the knife in her own magical aura and tried to move it from in between them. There was a moment of resistance before Luna let go of it completely. Without the threat of the knife being wielded against her Celestia approached Luna slowly sitting close beside her and draping a wing over her sister’s back.
Luna jolted at the contact then fell completely silent, even her sobs ceased.
“I can’t.” Luna whispered, still looking to the dusty stone floor.
“Can’t what, Luna? Please tell me.” Celestia urged, pulling Luna closer with her wing. The move had their sides touching now, and Celestia realised how unnaturally cold Luna was.
“I can’t do anything to stop it. I can’t hide from it, or fight it. Not even in the dreamscape can I best it.” Luna started gaining volume with each declaration of her apparent weakness.
“What it are you talking about Luna?” Celestia pleaded.
“The Nightmare!” Luna shouted, desperation and fear in her tone.
“It has a way back to me and it whispers things to me now. I cannot escape it, nor ignore it. I am scared sister.”
Celestia studied Luna carefully, watching the tremors running through her body as she confessed her worries. The elder alicorn could tell there was more that Luna hadn’t told her. What she’d heard so far was not the worst of it; but the greatest of her sister’s fears was not far from her trembling lips.
“Was there something here that you thought could help you?” Celestia asked, hoping to keep Luna talking.
Luna shook her head slowly in response.
“No, I only have the knife for it or myself hasn’t been decided yet. It is the only option I have left though.” Luna grumbled darkly, eyeing the knife Celestia had moved away from where they sat.
“The Nightmare has no power over you, you ended that connection yourself some time ago. Besides which, even if she had influence over you I am here with you now. You could have come to me instead of here.”
“You have not felt her touch as I have, I have and I know. Even now her eyes are on you and I, she knows what I say and how much the thought of playing host to her malice terrifies me. She delights in my fear because she knows she’s won.” Luna was near hyperventilating by this point. Celestia pulled her sister into a tight hug whispering assurances into her ear.
Luna concluded her rant by saying, “Even if it has to wait thousands of lifetimes she will still win.” There was less fear in her those words and more resignation.
“What makes you so sure, Luna?” Celestia asked, an edge of worry now creeping into her voice.
“When I went to her I did not simply wrest what she had taken from her grasp. I had to make a deal for it.”
Icy dread crept into Celestia's body upon hearing her sister's words. "What sort of deal Luna?"
Luna worked her mouth soundlessly, her words failing her as a wave of fresh tears prepared to roll down her face.
"What did you do Luna?" Celestia pressed, immediately realising she likely sounded much more harsh than she meant.
"So the truth comes out. I'm surprised Luna, I thought you could keep our pact a secret for at least half a century. Here it is only a few years after the fact and already you contemplate your end." It was a voice Celestia was not familiar with, yet as it spoke it felt as though she'd heard its dry rasping in her ear every day of her life. Then it was nothing more than a whisper; now that she acknowledged it, it made her fear like she never had before.
"No." Luna whimpered, trying in vain to shy away from a voice that came from everywhere at once.
“Yes.” The voice croaked with gleeful malice. The far end of the room was suddenly enveloped by a wall of darkness that was rapidly advancing. Celestia reacted quickly throwing up a barrier of pure light eight feet from the wall they sat against. The wall of light extended all the way over to the stairs Celestia was already struggling to pull Luna towards. When the wall of darkness collided with Celestia’s own wall Celestia felt a force against her magic so massive that she had to reduce her spell to the dimensions of a box just large enough to fit her and her sister in. Shrinking her barrier had made it easier to maintain against the darkness, but it left her with a massive headache.
“Go on Luna, tell her everything.” The voice whispered, followed by an evil laughter. All the while the pressure on Celestia’s barrier only increased.
“I- I’m sorry sister, but I had to make things right. No matter the cost.”
“How?” The voice said slowly.
“For your divine essence I traded my own soul. Whenever I die and move on, she will claim me.” Luna spoke to the floor, expecting at any second to be reprimanded by her sister or mocked further by the Nightmare; the horrid knot in her stomach came from not knowing which she prefered more.
There was only silence for a moment that seemed to stretch on into eternity.
Celestia’s grip on her sister tightened with a new vigor.
“Then we have the rest of our lives to beat this together.” Celestia declared with a grunt of effort. A surge of her magic pushed back the darkness. The elder alicorn sent out wave after wave of magic strengthening her barrier and making it larger.
“Help me Luna, I will fight for you if you will fight for yourself!” Celestia urged her sister before releasing her from the embrace.
Luna finally blinked away the tears and actually looked at her surroundings she was overcome with despair over the familiarity of the situation. During the peak of her hatred she had become familiar with this darkness. It had clouded her thoughts for centuries leading up to her return. She had not been allowed to see for herself, but the Nightmare had told her the state of everything. It had created its version of the truth to feed Luna’s lust for a vengeful return. She had accepted it, because she’d wanted to and because she had no other choice by then. Now it evoked a soul paralyzing despair and she found herself barely able to move.
Celestia fought against the darkness, but she could feel something beyond it. She quickly came to the realisation that whatever she was fighting was merely a stiff breeze before a hurricane. If Luna did not aid her soon the presence behind the darkness would consume them, they had to escape.
“Please Luna!” Celestia shouted, jarring Luna from her downed emotional state.
For a brief moment the old, proud Luna, returned to smack this weak, scared Luna upside the head.
“I will fight!” Luna said suddenly her own horn taking on a deep blue glow. She conjured her own barrier inside of her sister’s. Luna pushed against Celestia’s barrier, slowly merging the midnight blue of her magic with the golden radiance of Celestia’s magic.
Luna suddenly sharing the burden allowed Celestia to relax somewhat. Celestia beamed a strained smile at her sister, glad to see her at least slightly recovered. Luna came up next to her sister and as one they began to walk towards the exit, moving their conjoined barrier with them.
“I am not yours and you have no real power here!” Luna shouted defiantly.
As if reacting to Luna’s words the darkness suddenly retreated causing all of Luna and Celestia’s combined effort to radiate towards every corner of the room. Their barrier of magic expanded outwards forcing all of the debris away from them towards the walls. Everything in the room was reduced to dust, and the walls themselves cracked from the magical impact.
Celestia almost collapsed to her knees, but the stairs were only a couple paces away now. She only had to keep on her hooves for a little while longer.
“I’m sorry I was so weak, sister.” Luna spoke quietly to Celestia’s right. Celestia looked back towards the now completely empty room, the knife lay against a far wall. The only item strong enough to withstand such powerful magic.
Celestia gasped and clutched her head as the ache of recently ended power struggle came back with a vengeance. Luna was there to help her up in an instant, but Celestia pushed her away. Fearful eyes scanned the room again. The presence beyond the darkness was with them, now surrounding them. Celestia knew could barely perceive it, but what she felt was leagues beyond what she had just fought.
“So this I offer to you Luna, should you face your sister and renounce our bargain your soul will be spared. Celestia however, will live the life of a mortal; extending it with her magic as long as she can, as she has in the past. If you confess your cowardice to her then you will be saved.” It was the same voice from before, but it felt as if it was speaking from a point within the room now.
Luna looked wide eyed at her sister and slowly shook her head, as if to reassure her that no such thing would ever happen.
“As for you Mistress of the Sun, your beloved sister’s, weakness...” The voice cut off suddenly. Both Luna and Celestia were on edge, waiting for the rest.
Celestia’s fur was suddenly on end. Right in her ear, the voice finished speaking, “will be your death in the end.”
The alabaster alicorn turned her head to see her sister right in her face, bearing the full visage of Nightmare Moon.
A wicked grin spread across Nightmare Moon’s face as Celestia tried in vain to bring the tool of divine destruction to bear. In a flash of razor sharp teeth everything went dark. It was a darkness Celestia strangely welcomed.
Author's Note
Hope you enjoyed the read. If you did let me know. If you didn't let me know why. If you're going to criticize my use of commas go ahead, but I know I have a problem.
