Moon Fall

by 007Delta

Rating: teen
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Sad, Nightmare Moon, Princess Luna, Adventure, Princess Celestia, Tragedy, Gore
Length: 44283

Nightmare Moon haunts Luna in her sleep, threatening to take control of the princess once more. There is no telling whether she will succeed and overthrow Celestia, or be doomed to another millennium on the moon.

Nightmare Moon's ghost haunts Luna's mind, threatening to once again return and wreak havoc in Equestria. The only thing standing in her way is Luna's sheer power of mind, and it is only a matter of time before the princess of the moon's darker side finally blots out the light. Equestria may never recover from the damage that could be done, and the land may once again be plunged into something far worse than nightime eternal.

Published 2013-12-08 12:10:02 UTC
Last updated 2014-01-29 07:49:08 UTC

The Weight of Gravity

Rainbow Dash snuggled into her large cloud and watched as the enormous fireball that was the Sun gracefully dip beneath the edge of the earth. On the other side of the sky, she saw a pristine alabaster moon swing from behind Canterlot in the mountain range beyond.

"The sunset sure is pretty up here," said a light yellow Pegasus perched beside her. "I don't come up here often enough to see it happen,".

The rainbow maned pony turned to her with a confident smirk. "I told you it was awesome, sunsets from the clouds are always better than the ones on the ground. Why don't you ever come up to watch them?"

Fluttershy suddenly looked worried as she began to speak. "Well n-normally I make Angel Bunny his special carrot soufflé, and after that he has to have his tail fluffed, then I have to roll his ears and groom his fur, and then-"

Rainbow dash put her hoof to Fluttershy's muzzle. "Whoa, whoa, whoa Fluttershy, relax! This is supposed to be peaceful! You don't need to fret about your rabbit-"

"Bunny!"

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "You don't need to worry about your bunny up here. We're higher than Cloudsdale!"

"R-really? Are we that high up?"

Fluttershy slowly peeked over the edge of the cloud, and reeled back at the sight of Ponyville being but a few colored specks below. She bumped into Rainbow Dash who fell face first into the puffy white cumulus. Fluttershy began to shiver, which caused the entire cloud to shake slightly. "I w-want to g-go home now Rainbow D-Dash, please take us d-down!" Dash lifted her face from the cloud and shook off the condensation from her coat. She then turned to Fluttershy. "I don't understand you sometimes, your a Pegasus who's scared of heights. It's not like falling is a danger to you,".

Fluttershy continued to shiver pitifully, as she cried softly in the center of the cloud.

Rainbow Dash looked at her with a half smile. "Oh come on Fluttershy, don't be so scared of the world. If anything happens, I'll protect you." She looked up, her eyes as puffy as the cloud.

"You promise?"

Rainbow dash hovered over the cloud. "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye". Fluttershy paused for a few moments, before she stood up. She was still a little disoriented due to the height, but she managed to keep herself on all fours. She smiled and giggled to herself a little, but it was obvious that she was still terrified. She began to move her wings, and she gently floated above the cloud before she landed and laid down just a few seconds later.

"See, was that so hard?" Said Rainbow Dash as she hovered toward Fluttershy,

"Well... A little,"

"You did great! You faced your fear!"

Rainbow Dash landed next to the shaken yellow mare and looked at the moon. It glistened brightly among the many stars that littered the sky, casting a dim white light on the land below.

"We really should come up here more often." Said a peaceful Rainbow Dash.

Fluttershy nodded, "But next time, could we... Maybe not go so high up?" Rainbow Dash laughed and snuggled next to her. She stared dreamily at the moon, studying it's cratered facade. It truly was a beautiful thing to behold, complimented by the mesmerizing purples of the sky and the beautiful greens of the hills below. Her eyes began to droop and sink with each passing minute leaving her yearning for sleep. Fluttershy's breathing had already become slow and even, her soft gentle snores muffled by the clouds noise canceling texture, but Rainbow Dash's eyes opened when a loud roar like thunder came echoing around the sky. As she looked up, a brilliant ring of sherbet colored lights was widening and slowly dissipating, when against he bright white of the moon, she spotted a figure darting toward them.

Dash's magenta colored eyes narrowed as she realized what was about to happen.

"Fluttershy! Get up! There is something coming our-"

Her eyes flashed a bright white as something metallic smashed against her head, and left her hurtling through the air, unconscious.

As the figure collided with Rainbow Dash, an entire half of the cloud was knocked away, and Fluttershy's segment was sent spinning from the collision. Dash's whole body was limp as she plummeted lifelessly though the air, her polychromatic mane blasting behind her as she rolled and twisted her way to the ground.

Fluttershy looked around dizzily. "Rainbow dash?! Rainbow Dash! Where are you!" She looked around the cloud frantically before spotting the rainbow colored pony sinking through the air like a stone in a pond.

She jumped off of the cloud straight into nosedive, her wings folded back slightly as she gritted her teeth all while she picked up speed rapidly. Every fiber in her being told her to back out, to open her wings and slow down. She didn't have the precision and muscle of Rainbow Dash, and she knew that even if she reached her, that she wouldn't have the strength to stop the fall. But she couldn't abandon her friend in the time she needed her most. The wind whistled past her ears and the air began to sting her eyes, but Dash was too far down to be reached.

In Fluttershy's mind, she knew the truth. No one was hiding it from her but herself, and if she continued to plummet after Rainbow Dash, she would surely crash alongside her. She quickly considered her options, looking around the sky for what swiped the high flying mare out of the sky. She saw a tall white figure somersaulting through the air, before it spread it's wings and leveled itself out. Just as it did so, a shiny object fell from the tall silhouette. Fluttershy couldn't make out what it was in the soft light of nighttime and in the fading ring of color, but she could see the street lights of Ponyville as she came dangerously close to the town.

Fluttershy closed her eyes as a stream of tears blew from her face. She knew that it would be foolish to fall any further, so she closed her eyes before opening her wings and gliding through the air, abandoning her friend to die.

"I'm sorry Dashie, I'm sorry..." She repeated to herself as she began to sob mid flight. She reopened her eyes to watch a teal figure become a speck, before she fell from her sight completely.

The little yellow pony just couldn't come to terms with what had just happened. Dashie's domain was the sky, and her wings helped her none. After Dash had sworn to protect her, she sacrificed herself, trying to keep Fluttershy out of harms way. She descended in a field just outside of the town, and immediately collapsed in the grass, sobbing loudly over her friends death.

"I'm sorry Dashie! I'm so sorry Dashie..."

She stood up and began to scream into the sky

"Why have you taken her away from me?! Why?" She stomped the grass below. "Bring her back!!! Bring her back! Bring her back!" She threw herself into the now trampled dirt . She let out a few silent yelps before she spoke to herself.

"Goodbye Dashie, I'll miss you,"

She stood up weakly, looking around the field. Her eyes were beginning to dry, as she had run out of tears to shed.

When she spotted a messy mane floating 20 feet or so in the air.

Fluttershy did not understand. She had no words left to utter, she simply stared at the floating pony with a face of sheer disbelief. She slowly started to walk toward it, her hooves patting the soft ground. In her head, she was sure that this was what losing your mind must have felt like. An endless string of events that only serve to confuse you further, And when she herself was lifted off the ground, she silently confirmed that her brain had reached it's breaking point. She wobbled up and down for a few seconds before settling at the same level as Rainbow Dash. She drifted slowly toward her before she grabbed her head and held it in her hooves. There were no signs of injury except for a cut towards the back of her head, but it looked as if she hadn't hit the ground at all.

"You're lucky the Great and Powerful Trixie had intervened when she did, otherwise this meadow would have been an ugly shade of crimson."

Fluttershy turned toward the voice to find a rich blue unicorn with a purple conical hat and cloak looking at her from about 10 yards away

"Before you ask, I, the Great and Powerful Trixie had turned the area around us into a Float Zone. Instead of falling down, you rise up. I caught your earthbound friend before she turned into a Pegasus pony pancake." Trixie removed her hat and lit her horn a deep shade of purple, and the two Pegasi gently descended toward the dirt.

"May I ask how you landed yourself in such a precarious predicament?"

Fluttershy looked at her with distant eyes. She stepped forward uneasily before she stumbled by her and began to vomit.

Trixie looked away with a queasy look of her own.

"Perhaps red wasn't the color Trixie had anticipated."

Fluttershy had been on an emotional roller coaster for the last few minutes, and it all made her sick to her stomach. After she finished staining the grass, she turned towards Trixie, walked right up to her and gave her a large and gracious hug. "Thank you Trixie," she whispered silently in the embrace.

"Don't mention it," she said a bit uncomfortably as she magically wiped off some sickly looking stains on Fluttershy's mouth. "I'll ask once more, what exactly happened up there?"

Fluttershy looked at her worriedly. "I don't know.". She racked her brain to try and piece together the events of the last few minutes. "she was trying to warn me about something before she got swiped off, but I was half asleep. I think she took the hit to save me,"

Trixie walked over to the unconscious Rainbow Dash, who was breathing weakly. She looked at the wound in the back of her head and examined it closely.

"The gash is deep, and she may have experienced some other internal injuries besides the laceration, but I will be able to heal her since they both are fresh." She bent down, readied herself, and her horn exploded into a short pillar of red light that made the air around them buzz. She aimed the beam at a Rainbow Dash's wound. Fluttershy couldn't help but to yell in fright a little.

She let out a forceful grunt as she focused her mind on welding the two pieces of flesh together, before coaxing Dash's body to expedite the natural healing process. Trixie managed to keep the spell going for 15 seconds before her horn sparked out and she fell to the ground.

"The Float Spell drained my energy. I won't be able to perform any magic for awhile, but I did manage to fix her a little. However, she may still experience some mild head pains when she comes to"

Fluttershy looked at where the wound used to be. There was now only a little bald line where the cut formerly resided.

"For now she is beyond Trixie's help. You will need to find another magically gifted pony if you want to finish the hea-"

"Twilight!" Interjected Fluttershy loudly, before she lowered her head and spoke softly. "Sorry,"

Trixie turned away indifferently. "Though Trixie may not have any quarrel with your purple friend, I prefer to avoid her... As our personalities tend to clash." Trixie felt her neck with her hoof, remembering the feel of a certain amulet. Fluttershy looked at her with a distraught face before she sighed sadly. She turned around and struggled to lift Rainbow Dash onto her back, but she couldn't seem to place her correctly. She kept sliding off and and tipping over, inciting many quiet apologies from the yellow Pegasus.

Trixie looked at her pitifully. "Perhaps I shouldn't be so quick to abandon her". She thought. "Twilight did forgive me after the incident with the Alicorn Amulet, but something tells me I wouldn't be welcome. Plus I don't think her rainbow friend likes me very much." She watched as Fluttershy eyeballed Rainbow Dash, with a look of thought and frustration painted on her face.

Trixie sighed heavily before she trotted next to her and helped hoist the unconscious sky blue mare onto Fluttershy's back.

"The Great and Sympathetic Trixie, has... Reluctantly decided to help."

Fluttershy's face immediately brightened. "Oh thank goodness! I was worried I'd never get her to Twilight's,"

Trixie let out a small chuckle. "If I hadn't spotted that rainboom in the sky, I don't think I would have caught sight of your friend here."

Fluttershy looked at her with confusion and shock. "What are you talking about, Dash never did a rainboom,"

Trixie looked at Fluttershy, her face unchanged. "I know she didn't. I've seen your friend do several, and I could tell that it certainly wasn't hers, the colors were all wrong. I wasn't aware that somepony else was capable of performing such a physically demanding aerobatic."

"Fluttershy looked at her with her big blue eyes. "Then who else could have possibly done it?"

Trixie thought for a moment. "Perhaps a Wonderbolt. They are the premier flyers of Equestria, but I have never heard of them ever pulling one off. If I have my facts straight, Rainbow Dash is the only pony to ever perform a successful rainboom." Her faced twisted into confusion. "Though I can't imagine why the Wonderbolts would be flying over Ponyville at this hour,".

Fluttershy looked over at her friend. "Wow, I never thought of Rainbow Dash like that. She's almost sort of... Legendary,". The yellow Pegasus looked into the sky with eyes of wonder.

Just as she stopped, Rainbow dash slid from her back and landed squarely on her head.

"Aargh!" She yelled out as she fell onto her back, her eyes squinted together as she writhed painfully in the grass. "My head! Sweet Celestia my head!"

"Your alive!" Shrieked Fluttershy with happiness, though she felt bad that she couldn't save her friend by herself.

"You need to stay still," said Trixie nervously,

Rainbow Dash stopped and put her hooves to her skull while her face lay in the grass. Something about the voice that spoke seemed familiar... She looked up slowly, and was confused by what she saw.

"Trixie?". She asked flatly, "What are you doing here?

Trixie looked over at Fluttershy. "I was helping her bring you to Twilight's. You had a nasty hit on your head, and I thought it would be cruel not to assist her". Trixie tried to offer a hoof to help her to her feet, but Rainbow Dash stood up on her own.

"How did I survive that fall, what was that huge noise, and what the heck swiped me off of my cloud!"

"I saved you Rainbow Dash," Trixie explained. "Trixie heard the thundering blast in the sky, and I looked up to see a colorful ring of lights.

"What, are you saying that noise was a rainboom? Please, I'm the only pony who can do one. Not even the Wonderbolts can pull one off! The noise and ring are just a coincidence."

Trixie butted in without paying much mind to what Dash had said. "There was a big boom, and a ring of colored lights. It couldn't have been anything else, Rainbow Dash,"

"I must have done one as I fell." Dash stopped and smiled to herself. "Wow, I didn't realize I was that awesome,". She tried to walk but once again winced in pain.

Rainbow Dash's hubris aggravated Trixie immensely. "Listen, after I looked up, I spotted you plummeting. Oh so gracefully, might I add,"

Dash's expression turned bitter as she spoke.

"The Great and Benevolent Trixie then decided to take mercy on your life,"

Dash spread her wings aggressively. "If I didn't have this headache, I would enjoy landing on you for a change,"

Trixie spat back, "Perhaps it isn't too late for red grass,"

Fluttershy jumped in between the two and glared quickly into Rainbow Dash's eyes.

Immediately the cyan mare's expression softened, and her head began to ache even harder. Fluttershy narrowed her eyes as she focused her stare much deeper than just Dash's eyes. As she began to bore into them, Dash began to yelp in pain, however she couldn't make her body break the stare. Fluttershy closed her eyes and turned towards Trixie.

"Ok ok! I'm sorry! I didn't mean any of those things I said, I was just a little angry!" Trixie blurted out as Fluttershy turned toward her.

Rainbow Dash's head pains had been augmented by Fluttershy's stare, but she managed to speak. "I'm sorry too, I'm sorry too! Please don't ever do that again, Fluttershy, whatever you do, don't use The Stare!"

Fluttershy stepped out from in between them and allowed the two to resume their conversation.

Rainbow Dash was the first to speak. "Ok listen, I heard the noise, and saw the ring of color. If it was a rainboom, not saying it was,". She paused and looked around, just as Fluttershy put her hoof to her face. "But if that display was a legit rainboom, then I took the hit at over the speed of sound. I should have been killed by just the impact alone, so what gives?"

Trixie and Fluttershy turned to each other.

"I didn't think about that,". Said Trixie.

"Neither did I,". Admitted Fluttershy.

Rainbow Dash started to painfully walk. "Let's hurry up to Twilight's house. She'll be able to figure this whole thing out. Not to mention make my head stop hurting. Speaking of which, couldn't you do that Trixie?"

"The Great and Powerful Trixie has used up all her magic. That is why we are heading to Twilight's in the first place."

"Right, so lets start moving." Rainbow Dash announced as she began walking to Twilight's once more. She stopped and turned back, "And Trixie,". The royal blue mare looked her way, "Thanks for saving my life."

Author's Note

Chapter two is finally out! After examining the two comments left on my previous chapter, I decided to tone down the pace a bit. However, I didn't want to write a chapter that was completely actionless, so I tied up a few loose ends by keeping both chapters relevant to each other.

Thank you for supporting and reading my fan fiction, and leaving your thoughts and ideas in the comment section!

Right Out the Window

"Dear Celestia, if my head doesn't stop hurting My brain is going to do a sonic rainboom." Complained Rainbow Dash as she smoothly hovered in the air beside Trixie and Fluttershy. "How long have we been walking?"

"Three minutes," said Fluttershy with a small giggle. Even though she had nearly lost her friend this evening, she simply couldn't feel sad. Not only did she survive, but now Trixie seemed to be warming up to her. Fluttershy couldn't help but walk with a skip in her step. "It's so beautiful out tonight, isn't it girls? It makes me want to sing! Oh, but I wouldn't want to be too loud because of Dash's headache... Maybe I could hum!" She began humming to herself quietly.

Rainbow Dash looked over at Trixie. "How much longer do you think it will take?"

"Be patient Dash, we will arrive shor- Oow!" Trixie tripped and fell forward. "Gaah! My hoof!"

Fluttershy looked over. "Hmmmoh my gosh! Are you alright?"

Trixie's face showed pure annoyance. "Yes, the Great and Powerful Trixie is fine,". She stood up and hopped on three of her legs to the object she had fallen over on. "What in the name of Trixie? Is this what I think it is?"

The other two ponies crowded around the object, and were immediately shocked, and a bit grossed out. There in between them, sat a shining auriferous horseshoe. It was bent and covered in blood, and they all recognized who it rightfully belonged to. This horseshoe belonged to princess Celestia, and both Dash and Trixie couldn't figure out what it was doing here.

But Fluttershy knew. "Oh my goodness, I think I just figured out what happened!" She quickly turned to Trixie. "What colors were the in the rainboom?"

"There was no rainboom," chided Dash defensively.

Trixie looked at the rainbow maned pony with another face of irritation before she thought for a moment. "I believe it was a light blue, mint green, and a bright fuchsia."

Fluttershy began to hop up and down a little out of excitement. "Those are the same colors as Celestia's mane!" The other two ponies looked at her incredulously. "And when I went chasing after Rainbow Dash, I saw a silhouette of the pony that hit you, and something dropped from it as it fell. This is what it must have lost!"

Trixie still didn't look totally convinced. "Well that would explain the blood..."

Rainbow Dash butted in. "Then why wouldn't she have stopped? It's not like her to knock people out of the sky and ignore them." She rubbed her head gently as she talked. "It's more likely to be a robber who dropped some of his ill gotten loot! Like in "Daring Do and the Stable of Doom", when the evil Professor Trotswell stole the-"

"Um, Trixie's not so sure that's the case."

Rainbow Dash landed next to Fluttershy. "Well, Twilight's house is just up ahead, well ask her what she thinks." She turned away from the group.

"I still like my Daring Do idea better," muttered Rainbow Dash under her breath.

o.0.O== Meanwhile ==O.0.o

Luna was asleep once again, and like always, Nightmare Mare Moon was there to greet her.

But this time was very different. Instead of lambasting Luna for endless hours, she began to recite a quick and strange poem.

"Tick goes the clock, while the moon is still in lock,

the sun and night's sky will lose a friend over a talk.

Inch by subtle inch the future closes from atop

Not your sister or her friends will live to carry what I drop."

Nightmare moon looked at her with a satisfied grin, before she once again walked into the darkness of her mind. She felt the air rush around her, and she woke up gasping for air.

At first, Luna was a bit startled not see the familiar ceiling of her room, but as she looked up at her surroundings, she realized that she was in a hospital. The walls were a dull grey, and the ceiling was a boring white. The only thing to break the monotony of the colorless room was a large square window. There were a few newspapers on a stand next to her bed, and she tried to pick one up with her magic, but her horn sparked out and nearly caused her to lose consciousness once again.

She was bewildered. Luna hadn't regained any of her magical energy after collapsing in her sisters room, but she had barely used any at all. Where was it all going?

Luna's hair was still in it's natural form, which meant her body was completely deprived of magic, and she couldn't sustain her normal ethereal one. She kept thinking.

"Why have I stopped generating magic?" She pondered the question. Then she had a disturbing realization. "I have to be generating magic. But something is using it... Stealing it," she grimaced to herself. She didn't want to believe that Nightmare Moon could use her energy... But what if she could?

This would explain why she ran out of magic so quickly, and now, she was just a ticking time bomb. As soon as Nightmare Moon had enough energy, she could overtake Luna and reassume control.

Luna thought about what she should do in her predicament. The Elements of Harmony couldn't fix her, and it was only a matter of time before the dark side of Luna took over. The princess would have to make sure that Nightmare Moon was as far away from civilization as possible when it happened. That way she could give her sister whatever precious time she could to figure this whole mess out, which Luna knew she must have been doing.

She looked out of the window once more, and stood up. Though she was magically exhausted, she felt physically fine. She stepped out of her bed and checked the room. She had it all to herself, like she had expected, but there were two figures outside the door. Presumably guards posted to protect the princess. What they may not have realized is that it was they who would need protection from Luna.

Luna turned toward the window for the final time, before she opened her wings and glided gently to the ground. As soon as she had left the comfort of the hospital, she realized the air outside was frigid. From what she could tell, it was around 40 degrees Fahrenheit, which meant that she was pretty far north. Celestia must have sent her to the relief institution up in Vanhoover, which was a hospital reserved for royalty and the very apex of aristocracy.

In the distance, she could see the vast sprawling city that was Vanhoover, with the Frozen North being but a blur in the clouds beyond.

She paused for a moment as she considered her course of action. Did she really need to flee? Was it even the smartest thing to do? She pondered these thoughts for a very long while, before deciding that she would have to delay Nightmare Moon for as long as she could. No matter the cost.

She took flight in the soft light of nighttime and began to make her way to the icy wastelands beyond.

o.0.O== Meanwhile ==O.0.o

Trixie stood in front of the residence that belonged to her former nemesis. The large peaceful looking tree billowed softly in the wind, it's leaves singing like an arboreal choir, but Trixie only heard the ominous creaking as the trunk screamed at her to turn back. She dreaded getting dragged along this far.

She stared feebly at the hollowed oak while Rainbow Dash walked right to the door and turned around. She then knocked loudly on the door with her hind legs. "Twilight! It's Dash! Let me insiiiiide!"

Trixie looked at her like she was crazy. "Dash, be quiet! It's nighttime, some ponies are trying to go to sleep! You don't suppose your friend might be resting?"

Fluttershy sat next to the shocked purple clad mare. "It's OK, Twilight ought to be used to her doing this by now,"

Trixie turned toward her. "You mean to tell me she does this regularly?"

Fluttershy began to paw the ground. "Well, with the new Daring Do book coming out next month... 2 Or 3 times."

"A day?" Trixie responded incredulously,

"An hour". Fluttershy said softly. " Even more during the daytime,"

"C'mon Twi! This is gah!" She gripped her head in between her hooves before she continued her sentence. "Serious!!!" She banged with her hind feet a few more times, before the door swung open and revealed a tall white princess, standing over them with a stoic expression.

If it weren't for Rainbow Dash's quick reflexes, she would have kicked her leg out right at Celestia.

"Princess!" The three shouted in unison.

In her mind, Trixie wanted to scream. She knew coming to Twilight's was a bad idea, but it was her trademark vicissitude for it to get as worse as the world could make it.

"What," the Princess mumbled a bit impolitely as she forced a gentle smile to her face.

Rainbow dash was the first to speak. "Um, princess... We just wanted to see Twilight. Is she here?"

Celestia nodded. "She is, but what is your business?" She stated flatly.

"We just need to borrow some of her magical expertise, your highness,". Said Fluttershy quietly.

"She is occupied, however I am capable of fulfilling whatever magic you may require."

"You see princess, I was mysteriously swiped out of the sky,". Rainbow Dash paused for a reaction, but Celestia's face betrayed nothing. "Whatever hit me left a nasty cut in my head, but Trixie here was able to fix that." Celestia looked strangely at the royal blue unicorn. "But I still have this personality splitting headache from the impact, and I was wondering if you could help me with it".

The princess wasted no time in getting to work. A pure white beam erupted from Celestia's horn, and snaked it's way to the teal Pegasus. Within a few seconds, Dash's head began to clear of all pain.

"Aahhhhhhh,". She sighed dreamily as she fell to the ground. "Thank you princess, you have no idea how good I feel right now. It's almost like I never fe-". Rainbow Dash caught sight of Celestia's hooves from her spot on the ground. And just as Fluttershy had predicted, one of her back hooves was bare and slightly bruised.

"Princess, where is your other horseshoe?" Asked Rainbow Dash as she looked up at Celestia.

"Now is not the time for discussion, I will consult with you later,"

"I know where it is princess. Why are you avoiding the question?"

"Listen, there are more pressing matters in Equestria at this moment, and I require princess Twilight to stay, and for you to kindly leave. I'm sorry my little ponies,"

"No princess! I was nearly killed! By You! I deserve an answer, and I will not leave until I get one!"

"Rainbow Dash!" The princess was now using her Royal Canterlot Voice, point blank at the teal Pegasus. "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, and I'm not sure how long Luna will last before she turns back into Nightmare Moon!" All three of the smaller ponies stood before their princess in fright, before Celestia opened her eyes and realized that she had shouted her secret loud enough for all of Ponyville to hear it.

Fluttershy was cowering in the grass, and Trixie was flinching, trying her best to hide behind her purple attire. But Rainbow Dash looked shocked and on the verge of tears.

Celestia lowered her head and let out a long weary breath. "Well now you're aware of the issue. And if I'm lucky, so is Cloudsdale. I no longer see a point in keeping any of this from you, so I humbly invite you inside, should you wish to aid your princess in our situation."

All of the ponies were still shell shocked from the sheer stentorian bellow that exploded from Celestia, but Rainbow Dash was the first to recover.

"I'll help, just as long as you don't scream like that again,". Said Dash weakly, before Celestia stepped aside, and Rainbow Dash entered the house.

Celestia turned to Trixie with a face full of thought. "You had some bad blood with Twilight, am I correct?" Trixie lowered her head and nodded slowly. "I assumed so, Twilight could have filled a novel with all of the letters she wrote me about you."

Trixie turned her head away from the princess shamefully. "I'm is sorry for bothering you princess, I'll head home."

"Not so fast," interjected Celestia. "Perhaps this could be your chance to clear up any animosity between the two of you." Trixie turned back toward her. "I will not force you to aid us, but I strongly recommend you do."

Trixie was arguing with herself in her mind once again. One does not simply say no to the princess, and it's not like she had much to go back to. Ever since Twilight out-dueled her twice, her magic show had become the laughingstock of Equestria. Nopony would take her seriously, and as a result she had fallen into some treacherous financial ground. She slept in her traveling caravan for a while, but after a pack of Timberwolves ravaged the vehicle, she had been sleeping wherever she could find shelter.

She looked up at the princess before sighing and nodding her head. She walked inside slowly.

The only pony that was still standing outside was Fluttershy, and once she realized there was nopony left standing beside her, she galloped frantically into the house without paying any mind to Celestia.

Once inside, they found Twilight sitting in a table that had been set in the center of the library. The purple unicorn's eyes were wide, and her pupils were narrow. A cup of tea sat in front of her, but her hooves made no move to touch it. They instead lay on the table in front of her, shaking slightly. Spike was next to her, but he looked distraught. His claws had left grooves in the brown wood, and his face showed nothing but worry.

The three ponies took their seats around the table while Celestia paced around the room. There was a long silence that hung like lead between them, before Dash's voice broke the stiff air.

"So Luna is going to have to go back to the moon."

Everyone turned to her immediately.

"No," Celestia said evenly. "She won't be banished to the moon again, Nightmare is too strong for me to overcome."

Dash looked around strangely. "Are we just going to use the Elements? Zap her and then everything goes back to normal?"

Celestia turned toward Dash once again.

"Nope." She said quickly. "Elements won't work." She lifted them to the table with her magic and threw them roughly on the wood, causing sparks of all colors to shower over the sides. "They broke! Our ace in the hole is completely useless! Reduced to a few pieces of tasteless jewelry." She put her two front hooves on the table. "This fight can't be won like all the others. We need a plan, and quickly. There isn't enough time to mobilize the Canterlot Royal Guard, there isn't enough time to evacuate any of the major cities, and there certainly isn't enough time to prepare for a head on battle!"

Everyone in the room was a bit frightened by Celestia's violent demeanor. She was normally composed, level headed, and reasonable, but the severity of the situation simply left no time to be wasted.

"Our only option is to intercept Luna before she is overcome by Nightmare Moon, and... And,". Celestia's lip began trembling, as a singular tear fell to the library's wooden floor. "Then we have to take her life before Nightmare Moon can return."

The room fell silent once again. Everyone looked around sadly as the princess spoke of having to murder her own sister. "Right now, she is being hospitalized just south of Vanhoover, we will travel there tonight and finish the job."

No one had words to speak for what seemed like ages. They simply exchanged incredulously glances with each other, with the exception of Twilight and Spike.

Trixie looked at the princess. "Why does she have to die? Is there no other way?"

"I have known of her corruption for a long time. Discord had informed me long before the signs began showing, and even then I had my suspicions. I know for sure that Nightmare is gathering her energy, it's the only way she could break Luna's control."

Twilight suddenly sat up in her chair. "Princess, if you knew so early on, why have you chosen to do nothing up until now?" Her voice was shaky and disbelieving.

"I was afraid that Nightmare Moon held the power to simply kill her on command. If she thought that there was a chance of her retaking control of Luna, she would have kept her alive. But if she knew I was onto her, she could have cut her losses and simply killed Luna the moment she knew. But now I realize that she had no such powers, and that I have made the grave error of waiting for too long..."

She turned away for the group.

"Now it is no longer a matter of keeping her alive... It's a matter of landing the blow in time."

The entire room looked toward the floor sadly.

"We leave in thirty minutes. Pack warm, as we will be heading far north." She walked to Twilight's fireplace and lit a small ember. She then sat and stared with a melancholy expression into the small blooming flame.

Celestia's words echoed in everyone's mind as they tried to let the emotional speech sink in. Fluttershy was sobbing quietly as she thought of the innocent pony that would have to die. Suddenly, she didn't feel so keen on humming. Rainbow Dash cast her eyes on the golden necklace that represented loyalty. It sat like an overpriced rock on the cold wooden floor, simply staring back up at her. She didn't think that she could represent her element in a mission that involved killing a friend.

Trixie didn't believe why she had heard. She was sure it was all a horrible dream that she would wake up from in any moment. All of these horrors were just her questionably dark imagination, venting it's jealousy, hatred, and other unpleasant emotions in a fantasy as evil as it's protagonist. But she knew that there was no escape from this nightmare. There was no escape from life, unless she grew weary of it herself.

Twilight was the first to get out of her seat and walk upstairs. She gathered a small saddlebag and began to pack a few coats and other winter wear. It would be a cold night that far north, and she wouldn't want to be shivering when Celestia put to rest her own sister.

Twilight paced around her bedroom. She felt so sorry for Luna... After she returned from her banishment, they had gotten to know each other pretty well. Whenever she would find herself in the castle, Luna was always there to offer a helping hoof. She had aided her through some of the nuances of royal conduct, and even began to teach her the royal Canterlot voice. She didn't think she would be able to stand by and allow her friend to die.

The other's were just getting out of their seats before Twilight's front door burst open and a Royal guard came bolting into the house.

His armor was slightly askew, his eyes were wide, and his wings were slightly extended.

"Princess! Princess! Terrible news!"

Celestia jumped up from her perch on the floor

"Luna has gone missing! She disappeared from her room in the hospital!"

Celestia's mane billowed ominously as she stared into the guards eyes. It was a long time before she answered.

"I have once again made the error of waiting for too long."

The guard looked at her expectantly, silently awaiting orders.

"Do not send any search parties to look for her"

"What, but princess-"

"She will return... But not as Luna"

The guard paused before he closed the door and left.

Everyone looked at the princess. The only noise that could be heard in the library was the crackling of a fire that burned behind Celestia. Her mane began to droop and wilt towards the floor, as her head dipped in hopelessness.

"Now, we are truly out of options."

Dark Fantasies

The cold and bitter winds numbed Luna's face as she flew past the outskirts of Vanhoover. She had been airborne for about three hours now, and her wings were already weary. It would be a long time before she reached the Frozen North.

She watched the landscape below change gradually overtime. Out here, the snow piled up and hugged the gentle landscape, as pine trees began to litter the ground more frequently. Her destination was the Crystal Mountains, which acted as a natural demarcation between the territories of the Crystal Empire and the gentle hills of Southern Equestria. Once she arrived there, she planned on living off of the land before Nightmare Moon inevitably stole her body.

But for now, she needed to give her wings a break. She scanned the ground below and began to search for a place to rest, when she spotted a large log cabin situated against a small, lone mountain. She began descending towards it.

As she lowered in altitude, she could see in more detail, her surroundings. The mountain itself was tall and sharp, with the log cabin seemingly built right into the cliff face. She touched down a few hundred feet outside from the base of the mountain, her hooves digging gently into the snow... Before she fell face first into the deep, chilly quagmire of powdery white. Out here, the weather ponies didn't keep tabs on how high the snow piled up, and the result was a seemingly even surface with areas of varying depth. She took a gentle step out of the rather deep pitfall she had stumbled in and began to wade in the cold sea toward the cabin. She dreaded having landed so far away from it.

As she came near the wide front doors, a surprised looking doorpony quickly opened the door with his magic and with a shocked sputter, he managed to vocalize the word, "princess!" Before he was too dumbstruck to say anything else. Normally, Luna would have addressed her subject dutifully and systematically, but she was so tired from her flight, that she simply nodded at him and entered the structure.

Luna walked wearily toward what looked like the front desk to a hotel. There sat a bored looking, mint green mare with with a creamy white mane, who was buried in a stack of paperwork. She had a pencil in between her teeth as she scribbled on the paper's and moved them around her workspace with her hooves. As Luna reached the front desk, she looked up nonchalantly, before her ears folded back, her eyes widened, and her pencil fell to the floor unceremoniously. Her jaw hung half opened, as an exhausted Luna leaned against the desk tiredly.

"Hello," said the princess awkwardly.

It took a moment for the pony behind the desk to come back down to earth. "Uh-hello! Your highness," She stammered out quickly. Her voice was a high and a bit squeaky. "What brings you to the Cold Point Cabin?"

"I have been flying for ages,". She said a bit more dramatically than she had intended. "I just need a place to rest my wings for a few hours,"

In her exhaustion, she had dropped her typical usage of the royal we.

The pony at the desk was still a little star struck from having such a close and unexpected encounter with royalty. "Um, of course! My name is Windsong Chilliver!" She stammered out with her adorable squeak of a voice. "I'll guide you up to the penthouse! It's the nicest room we have here at Cold Point,"

Luna normally would have objected being given the best of the best, simply because she was a princess, but she was far too tired to resist. As Windsong jumped from behind the counter, she noticed her Cutie Mark. It was a fireplace with what looked like a blizzard surrounding it.

She guided the princess to what looked like an elevator. Two unicorns dressed in matching uniforms stood posted in front of the doors, and opened the sliding gates for the two ponies. They stepped inside and the doors closed, forcing Luna and Chilliver to stand uncomfortably close to each other, especially due the princess's rather towering height. Windsong forced a smile to her face as they magically ascended several floors.

Luna had only been awake for a few hours, but she felt like she had been up the whole day. Without her magic, Luna was using much more physical energy than she was used to. It would be a long time before her body became accustomed to the strain it was being introduced to. Normally, she could fuel her physical activities with her magic, simply converting the energy with her horn, but now that she didn't have that luxury, she tired easily. She looked over at Windsong, who had been staring at her intently as they slowly rode up the elevator. Luna couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable.

The wooden lift came to a stop, and the sliding doors opened once again. They stepped into a large ornate living room, with a lavish fire pit in the centre. Around the indoor fireplace was a long square sofa, the same color as Windsong's mane.

They both stepped out of the elevator and into the beautiful living room.

"Princess Luna,". Said the little mint mare, "you look exhausted, are you alright?"

Luna looked her way. "Yes, I'm fine."

Chilliver looked worried. "I don't mean any disrespect princess, but I know that's not true,". Her voice was gentle and kind. "What's wrong princess? Why have you come so far north all alone?"

Luna wanted to tell Windsong everything. She needed someone to keep her company, someone to help her deal with everything that has been happening to her... But Luna knew that it would only put her at risk.

"I'm just out here to enjoy the snow,". She reassured her through a false smile.

Windsong looked saddened. "Princess, I can see your pain. You may be trying to ignore it, but it's as clear as a frozen pond." She took a step toward the princess. "No one is hiding it from you but yourself, now please princess, get it off your mind." She smiled gently. "I'm all ears,"

Luna could tell that holding out any longer was useless.

"Nightmare Moon". She said sadly. "She still lives within me. She haunts me in my sleep and has taken residence in my mind. I suspect that she will retake control within the next few days." She looked up at the sky. "Now I am unable to move the moon, as she steals all of the magic my body can generate, and my sister will be forced to banish me once again..." She turned her head sadly to the floor. "But I doubt Nightmare Moon will be contained... She has freed herself from that prison once before." She turned directly toward Windsong, who had her hooves over her mouth. "My only option left is to flee. The farther I get from civilization, the more time I can give my sister to figure this whole mess out. That's why I've come so far north all alone."

Chilliver said nothing for a few moments. She only stared at the wooden floor and thought about everything Luna had said.

"Wow,". She finally said distantly. "I'm... Sorry,"

"It's alright,". Said Luna. "Thank you for showing such genuine concern, most ponies tend to avoid me due to my rather... Checkered past. It's not often I have someone to talk to."

"Your welcome princess. I'll leave you to rest, you have a rough few days ahead of you." Windsong put her hoof on her shoulder. "Stay strong, Luna"

She walked back to elevator and gave her a gentle smile as the two doors closed.

Luna didn't have enough energy to walk over to the bedroom. She instead fell over onto the couch and landed on her back, falling asleep shortly after.

In the darkness of her mind, Nightmare Moon appeared. But instead of insulting or berating her like usual, she greeted her.

"Good evening Luna,". She cooed

Luna was taken aback. "Good evening to you as well,".

Nightmare moon smiled at her devilishly. "Making friends? A little late for that I'd say. You don't have nearly as much time as you think you do."

Luna looked at her strangely

"A couple days? Ha! Have a little more faith in me than that princess, I have enough power to take control of you now."

"I don't believe you. You would have taken over the moment you were able." Luna scoffed

Nightmare Moon rolled her eyes. "I've had plenty of time to think this out. I would rather wait and make sure I have enough energy to take control of you permanently. Should I try anything before I am ready there is a good chance that I will not succeed, and it may be another thousand years before I have this opportunity again. I learned that the hard way during the Summer Sun Celebration."

She began to pace around in the darkness. "Fortunately for me, the elements failed to eliminate my presence within your body, and I have been graced with a second chance. This time, I won't fail."

As Nightmare Moon spoke, Luna hatched a plan. If what she said was true, then perhaps Luna could trick her into assuming control prematurely. That way she could at least buy her sister some time, as Nightmare Moon would certainly have to replenish the energy she would no doubt expend.

Luna looked at her with a confident smirk. "Lies. You speak only to get under my skin, and I will not let your hollow words breach my conscious. Take your threats and eat them like a rotten apple"

Nightmare mooned turned to Luna with an offended look.

"What did you say, you little insignificant whelp?"

"Go to hell, Nightmare Moon. Sombra will be happy to welcome you."

Nightmare moon's eye twitched. "Perhaps you could do with a lesson,". Her eyes flashed purple and her horn flared a deep lavender. "I will prove to you that I am more than capable of control now!" She exploded into wicked laughter.

Nightmare moon disappeared in a purple whirlwind which knocked Luna off of her feet, and onto her side. She woke abruptly and tumbled off of her couch. The side of her face smashed into the cold wooden floor, as she began to hyperventilate. Her lungs burned for oxygen, but no matter how hard she breathed, she couldn't satiate the feeling. Her heart rate began to spasm like a vibrating flesh balloon, as her mouth began to salivate profusely. Then there was a loud pop, and suddenly she couldn't hear anything but a faint high pitched ringing noise. Just as abruptly as her hearing vanished, there were no more scents in the air, and her tongue could no longer taste the roof her mouth. Her vision began to get thinner and thinner until it was no bigger than a golden bit, before she stopped perceiving color and the little pinprick of vision disappeared.

She had lost all of her senses except for one... And she could already feel herself losing it. Her entire body felt as if it were being stripped of it's skin, Like some force was simply ripping it away in all directions. She could no longer hear, but she was sure that she was screaming. Then the pain faded away completely, and her entire body was numbed. Except that it wasn't her body anymore, it was Nightmare Moon's.

Suddenly, a dark spatial mane spilled from royal blue pony's skull, as her coat began to stain itself black. She let out a loud, triumphant laugh as she stretched her muscles.

It had been so long since she was able to experience life again, and she knew that it would have to be short lived. She only wanted to teach that insufferable princess a lesson she would never forget, then she could live with the carnage that Nightmare Moon will have created. With a jet black glow of her horn, Nightmare Moon sent a black, pulsing wave of energy that ripped through the floor of the penthouse, before crashing through the subsequent floors below. Each time the black bolt touched the wood, it would explode violently, sending razor sharp shards of wood flying like shrapnel in every direction. Nightmare Moon jumped down the enormous hole in the penthouse and down into the floor below her.

It wasn't as well designed as the luxurious penthouse, but that didn't matter to Nightmare. Her only focus was three cowering ponies who only stared at her from the corner. It was a chestnut colored Pegasus and her two fillies, but Nightmare Moon only saw three targets, and with a blast of black electricity from her horn, one of the fillies was reduced to nothing but a charred skeleton. The mother looked on in horror as the black heap of bones clattered to the ground, becoming nothing more than a mess of marrow and ash. Nightmare Moon didn't stop there, she blasted the other filly with a bolt of black lightning as it stood up defiantly to protect it's mother. The little filly's coat turned grey, as his skin began to wrinkle and fall apart. She was rotting and decaying at an advanced rate, and soon, she was nothing more than a pile of furry gel in front of her mother, who was now crying in shock as her foal turned into a fetid liquid. Nightmare Moon strutted blissfully to the massacre and stood over the mother, who stared up at her distantly. Nightmare Moon beamed evilly as she took some of the disintegrated foal and wiped it into her face, making sure to drip as much of the rotted liquid into her mouth as she could manage, before she walked away and jumped down to the next floor.

Nightmare Moon committed murder after murder, each as horrific as the last while she progressed down Cold Point Cabin. Among the deceased were, an elderly stallion, who only stared sadly at Nightmare Moon as she flayed him magically, a lone colt who soiled himself as he died, two adolescent mares, whom she gutted and fed to each other, and a small newborn pony, who's mother died of a heart attack as Nightmare Moon set it ablaze.

Joy and happiness rippled through Nightmare's body as she heard the sweet harmonies of screams echo though her conscious. The pleasure she received from the death that littered the hotel made her spine shiver with lust and her mouth drip with saliva. She stepped down to what would be the final floor of her killing spree.

The Lobby.

As she landed, she noticed that the spacious entrance area was eerily empty. The only sound that could be heard was the screaming brown Pegasus somewhere in the uppermost floors floor. She walked around slowly, searching for any signs of the one pony she yearned to kill most.

"Luna?" Called a frightened high pitched voice from behind the front desk. Nightmare Moon turned around abruptly, smiling distantly as she fantasized about the many brutal deaths she could inflict upon the pony.

But this death had to be subtle. It had to be a reminder to Luna that Nightmare Moon was not to be wronged. Never again would the princess insult her so casually.

She strutted toward front desk and made it evaporate with her magic. Out from the mist of evanescing wood tumbled a mint green mare, who had been leaning against the inside as a hiding spot. Nightmare Moon stopped in front of her and pinned her down with a hoof. Windsong struggled under her immense strength, but she could not escape.

Nightmare Moon used her magic to flip her onto her back, before she laid down on top of the pony, putting her face dangerously close to Chilliver's.

"Good evening Windsong,". Crooned Nightmare Moon as she began to nibble on her ear. Windsong shuttered and tried to move away, but Nightmare moon had her pinned. "Where are you running off to my little pony? You should stay awhile." Windsong felt a tongue snake it's way from her chin, over her lips, and onto her forehead. "The weather outside is frightful dear, I'd rather you stay and keep me company." Windsong began to scream and sob at the same time, while Nightmare Moon pushed her muzzle to Windsong's neck.

"Luna!" Windsong screamed through tears. "Wake up!" Windsong took in a shaky breath as Nightmare Moon lustfully humiliated her. "This isn't you! This isn't you!" She repeated as she felt an unwanted hoof rub up her side and swirl on her chest. "This isn't you..." She let her head rest against the ground as she finally gave up.

As soon as Nightmare Moon realized Windsong was no longer resisting, she put her two hooves on her neck, and choked her. She watched as Windsong barely fought her attempt on her life, and simply closed her eyes and let the tears come rolling down her face. They only stopped when she finally went limp after about a minute, and Nightmare Moon stepped back to appreciate her handiwork.

Luna would absolutely love the gift that she had left her. She watched as an orange glow began to illuminate the lobby. The fire from the baby had begun to spread, and was now consuming the upper layers of the large cottage. Soon, Cold Point Cabin would be nothing but a charcoal foundation. Nightmare Moon stepped outside of the collapsing structure and turned around to witness the grand finale. As she waited for the cabin to collapse, she saw a brown figure fall from the hole in the Lobby ceiling. The Pegasus mother had jumped to her own death, landing in a limp pile on the floor. Finally, the top of the cabin began to slide off, as the penthouse and about 4 floors beneath it disconnected itself from the rest of the building, causing it to fall into the snow and extinguish most of the flames. Nightmare Moon smiled and laughed softly as she looked at the morbid piece of art she had created. Today was a good day, and now it was time for Luna to experience her joy.

She relaxed her body and allowed herself to slip back into a memory, pushing Luna into control. However, Luna's body was so physically exhausted, that she regained control and immediately went to sleep. Nightmare Moon didn't even disturb Luna's dreams that night.

She wouldn't want to spoil the surprise.

Author's Note

I think this is the chapter that earns this story a gore tag, however I am unsure if one is really necessary. I am new to this sight, and would appreciate if a more experienced person could aid me in my decision, though I may keep it there just to play it safe. Let me know what you think in the comments, as I can always appreciate the feedback :)

Thank you for sticking with me so far!

-007Delta.

The Final Hours

The morning rays washed Dash's face as she flew over the rooftops of Ponyville. Celestia's gloomy words to her replayed in her mind over and over.

These hours may possibly be our last, so I advise you to spend them on your own terms.'

Nightmare Moon is capable of bringing about the extinction of pony kind, her power and hatred eradicating Pegasi, Unicorns and Earth Ponies alike, leaving no one left to survive in her wake. As Rainbow Dash thought about it, she realized that no one but the few ponies present at Twilight's house were aware of the impending massacre, and that it might be best if she didn't notify anyone of the oncoming hell. Should the danger become publicly known, it could throw the cities into a state of panic. Ponies would betray each other to ensure their own survival, there would be suicides, and the resulting chaos would do nothing but make everyone's last days unbearable.

She continued flying until the rooftops stopped and the city turned to a meadow. In the centre of this meadow, stood a red schoolhouse, where a class of young colts and fillies were surely starting a lesson, and among these fillies was a young orange Pegasus.

Rainbow Dash landed on the step of the wooden schoolhouse and hastily opened the door. Immediately, a dozen pairs of eyes fell on her as the purple earth pony that Dash assumed to be the teacher approached her.

"Rainbow Dash!" Exclaimed a gleeful voice from the back. Dash turned to see Scootaloo jump from behind her desk. She galloped around the side of the class and jumped at Rainbow Dash. She caught her and held her in a tight hug, forcing herself not to tear up.

"I missed you so much! Where were you yesterday? I didn't see you at all after school!" Scolded Scootaloo

"I was a bit hung up with the weather team Scoots, I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to see you,". She said, holding the small orange Pegasus close.

"Eh-hem,". Said the school teacher politely, "Hello miss Dash, how can I help you?"

"I want to take Scootaloo out of school today,". Said Rainbow Dash, with the tiniest quaver in her voice.

"Do you have permission from either of her parents?"

"No, but it's important that she comes with me."

"I'm sorry Miss Dash, but I'm afraid I cannot let you take her out of school without their permission." She put a hoof in front of Scootaloo. "May I ask why she needs to come with you?"

Dash thought about Nightmare Moon setting fire to the schoolhouse. Images of Ponyville being burned like a large bonfire flashed across Dash's mind as Cheerilee questioned Dash.

She looked down and shook her head slowly and sadly as she spoke slowly and carefully, "I can't tell you why, but believe me when I say that she is best off with me."

Cheerilee stepped in front of Scootaloo and took a defensive posture. "If you cannot even give a good reason for her departure, then I cannot allow my student to leave. It is my duty to protect her."

Dash was silent as she looked at the schoolhouse's wooden floor. Why couldn't she just lie? Something inside her just wouldn't let her. She merely gazed sadly into the grain of each long plank making up the schoolhouse floor.

"Miss Cheerilee," said Scootaloo from behind her teacher. "May I talk with Rainbow Dash outside?" She asked as she walked around the purple mare

Cheerilee looked at Scootaloo with a hint of suspicion, before she slowly nodded. Scootaloo trotted over to Rainbow Dash who smiled at her gently as they walked outside. Rainbow Dash waited for Cheerilee to begin teaching again before she spoke.

"Hey Scoots, how are things at home?"

The orange filly looked away sadly. "Not so good sis, Mom's been having trouble at work, and she might not be able to make rent this month." Scootaloo looked at Dash with a frown. "She hasn't been real nice about it,".

"Has she hurt you?" Said Dash quickly, examining Scootaloo for bruises.

"Not seriously,". She replied. "She's been yelling at me a whole lot, but that'll stop once we get enough money to pay the landlord."

Dash could only feel sorrow for Scootaloo's situation at home. Her father had long since abandoned her family, and her mother had been left torn and hateful. As a result, Scootaloo was verbally and physically abused. She never told anyone about her problems at home except for Dash, who had become the only true pony she could confide in. Her friends simply weren't mature enough to understand Scootaloo's issues, and she didn't dare say anything at school for fear of giving Diamond Tiara something so personal to make fun of her for.

Dash had come to give the last few hours she had to Scootaloo, to try and give her a happy home for what might be the last day she had to live.

"Hey Scootaloo," said Dash with a sudden smile.

"Yeah sis?"

"If you could spend the rest of your life with somepony, who would it be?"

Scootaloo didn't even blink. "You sis! Wait, can the Crusaders tag along? Because I don't want to live the rest of my life without them,".

Dash laughed and bent down. "Climb on, Scoots,". Said dash, motioning to her back.

"Wait, you want me to skip school?" She said, gradually working down into a whisper.

"Shh!" Said Dash through a sly smile,

Scootaloo beamed from ear to ear as she jumped on Dash's back, who prepared to lift off. When suddenly, the door to the schoolhouse opened, as Cheerilee caught sight of the two about to play hooky.

"Hey! Where do you think you're go-!"

Dash took off quickly, leaving a rainbow colored trail of light behind her as Cheerilee yelled for them to come back. Dash and Scootaloo giggled all the way up into the cloudless sky.

"So sis, where do you want to go?" Dash began,

"Can we go practice flying at the treehouse? There's plenty of places around Sweet Apple Acres to fly."

"Sure thing Scoots,". Said Dash, saluting as she flew.

Dash turned a bit sharply and listened as Scootaloo laughed in the wind. The little filly's wings were underdeveloped for her age, and she yearned for nothing more than flight. She always enjoyed riding on Dash's back as she twisted and turned in the air.

Dash smiled to herself, whenever Scootaloo laughed, she couldn't help but feel warm and happy inside. Scootaloo saw Dash as a sister, but Dash couldn't help but think of herself as a mother. For these next few hours, Rainbow Dash would adopt Scootaloo, regardless of what her real mother thought. Scootaloo deserved better, and Dash was going to make sure she received the family she truly warranted.

As Rainbow Dash sped in the wind, her house began to appear along the horizon.

"Hey sis, why do you have a big bald spot on the back of your head?" Scootaloo looked closer. "Whoa, it's a scar! How'd you get that?"

Rainbow Dash thought for a moment before she answered. "Just a little cut I got when I was racing with the princess."

"You've raced with the princess?" She said in awe.

"I'll tell you all about it when we touch down."

o.0.O== Meanwhile ==O.0.o

Fluttershy looked over Twilight's shoulder as her friend read a dreary note sent from the sun princess herself.

"Dearest Twilight...

With a great pain in my heart, I must bid you farewell. My reign in Equestria will soon draw to a close, and I have finally come to terms with that. I will confront Nightmare Moon in battle, and do my best to rid her evil from the world, but the only way to do so requires me to merge with Nightmare Moon and battle her mind. From the inside, I will be able to kill Her and assure that Luna lives, but it comes at the cost of my own life.

While in her mind, Luna and I will exist as memories. By eradicating Luna's Dark Side, I will be lost, along with all of Nightmare's other recollections. I will use what remaining power I have to make sure Luna is the only thing not forgotten, allowing her to retake control of her body.

This is where my journey ends, and yours continues alone. You are the new co-ruler of Equestria Twilight, keep my ponies safe.

Celestia."

Twilight stared blankly at the parchment in front if her, eyes unblinking. Celestia planned to sacrifice herself for the good of Equestria. A noble, honorable, and respectable death, her life lost to set everything right.

Twilight didn't believe a word of it. Celestia was brilliant thinker and masterful tactician. She overthrew the Crystal Empire alongside her sister and rid the world of King Sombra. She defeated Discord with Luna and banished him underneath a thick layer of stone. Celestia knew how to win battles, especially ones where her opponents had stupendous advantages. Gambling her own life to kill Nightmare Moon was a fools mistake, especially if Luna's Dark Half somehow managed to survive the endeavor. Twilight wouldn't put it past her either, as the Elements already proved useless. Whatever it is Celestia planned to accomplish, it didn't involve sacrificing herself.

Twilight looked around her house. On the floor, six pieces of beautiful jewelry lay scattered about. Twilight stared thoughtfully at the six magical relics that suddenly failed to work, wondering what could have caused them to stop functioning. They couldn't have run out of magic, Twilight knew that gems imbued with even a weak power retained their enchantments for hundreds of years. The incredible amount of energy stored within the Elements weren't likely to fade for thousands of millennia. They couldn't have been sabotaged, as that would have been easily detected with any scanning spell, many of which were performed by herself and Celestia before their friends came knocking on her door.

As far as Twilight could tell, there was nothing out of the ordinary with the elements. The only proof of their incompetence was the failure to remove Nightmare Moon.

Twilight scooped the six jewels in a telekinetic field and placed them on the meeting table in the center of the library. Trixie noticed Twilight's actions and began to study her movements.

"May Trixie ask what it is your doing?"

"Nightmare Moon could awaken at any moment, and we don't have any way of stopping her, so I plan on finding one."

"How do you suppose you'll accomplish this? We may possibly have little more than a day left."

"I don't know Trixie, but we aren't going to figure anything out by moping around for our last few hours,"

Trixie smirked at her newfound friend. "Perhaps that potion may have cleared your head after all." The royal blue unicorn began to trot her way down the stairs. "I suppose you want to try and fix the elements?"

Twilight nodded slowly as she magically grasped several books from around the library. "The Elements of Harmony may very well be our last hope, because Celestia has already admitted that she isn't strong enough alone to take on Nightmare Moon." Fluttershy nervously dodged a few tomes as they flew by and landed in a neat stack beside the Elements. "I plan on repairing the six stones and intercepting Nightmare before Celestia faces off with her, as I am not completely sure she will win this fight."

"Have you any clue what might ail the six stones Twilight?"

"I can't say I do, though with some careful examination, I'm sure we could work it out." She flipped open the top book and began to scan through the pages. There seems to be no physical damage to the elements. Perhaps the failure was a product of circumstance?.

Trixie looked away in thought. "What differences are there between now and previous usages of the Elements?" She asked.

"Good question Trixie..." Twilight looked up from her book. "The Elements stopped Discord by turning him to stone..."

Trixie walked towards Twilight. "The Elements stopped Nightmare by banishing her to the moon," added Trixie.

"They overturned Sombra by banishing him to the Frozen North,". Said Twilight

"And most recently, they cleansed Luna and gave her control over Nightmare Moon." Answered Trixie resolutely. "Why will they not rid Nightmare Moon from Luna entirely?"

Trixie and Twilight both had their heads down in thought.

When suddenly, it all made sense. Not to Twilight or Trixie, but a quiet yellow Pegasus understood.

"The Elements of Harmony cannot kill,". She spoke quietly

Both ponies looked over at Fluttershy, their mouths open in surprise. "The only difference now, is that in order for Nightmare Moon to be defeated, she must be killed. She has proven she can escape from any imprisonment, therefore banishing is not a solution. The Elements of Harmony didn't work on Luna, because they didn't have a solution that was harmonious."

Twilight looked at Fluttershy for a few moments, before speaking. "You're a genius,"

Fluttershy smiled meekly and tried to hide behind her hair.

"So that means the Elements were never broken... They just won't work against a target like Nightmare Moon." Said Trixie, contemplating the new information.

"I can't believe I didn't think of that!" Exclaimed Twilight, putting her hooves to her head. "Gaah! That potion Trixie gave me made my mind all fuzzy. I can't remember anything after hitting the ground. Speaking of which, how long was I out of it?"

"10 minutes.". Said Trixie.

"That drink was quite strong though, I can't believe I've never heard of it before."

"It was a mixture invented in my family. They brewed in an attempt to improve their magic, but due to the rather... Numbing after effects of the drink, it became rather popular during our house parties. Everyone called it something different, but I never really acknowledged the drink until I was older."

"It needs an official name, because it has a pretty significant effect. I cast my vote for the Mind-Smear Mixture."

Trixie shrugged and thought. "I suppose it's a decent enough name,"

Twilight began to think once again. "If the elements won't kill Nightmare... What will?"

Trixie perked her ears up. She had an idea.

Twilight looked over at the unicorn. "Trixie, you have that face again,"

Trixie didn't even pay attention to Twilight's words. She galloped over to where Twilight had set down her note from Celestia. If she remembered right, Celestia said that Luna and herself would exist as memories while Nightmare was in control. That must surely mean that while Luna commanded her body, her Dark Half existed in her mind as a memory as well.

Trixie had just made a memory damaging potion not thirty minutes earlier. She ran her hoof through the text, and smiled.

"Trixie? What are you doing?"

The unicorn turned around with a satisfied grin.

"Trixie has a great and powerful plan."

o.0.O== 3 hours later ==O.0.o

Luna had finally arrived at the foot of the Crystal Mountain range. Hundreds of colossal peaks rose into the sky, piercing the very heavens and stabbing the clouds above. Snow covered nearly every inch of the icy apexes, save for a few cliffs too steep for snow to gather upon. Luna's plan was to get lost in these mountains to disorient Nightmare Moon, but first, she would have to rest yet again. As the last hours elapsed, Luna began to feel an immense power growing inside of her. Nightmare Moon had harvested impossible amounts of Luna's magic, and it was all being stockpiled to overthrow the one body that housed it all. Luna spotted a large cave that had eaten it's way into the mountainside. She trotted wearily toward the mouth.

Her mind lingered on Windsong and Cold Point Cabin. She couldn't believe the cruelty Nightmare Moon exhibited. So many innocent lives slaughtered without care. She knew that if Nightmare Moon was ever removed from her mind, the images of the massacre at the lodge would be a picture unable to be forgotten. As she walked into the cave, her legs began to shake with exhaustion. She hadn't eaten since yesterday, and her body was already in bad shape. She could eat the snow for water, but the temperature outside was frigid, and it was a risky gamble on her health, as she knew that if she got too cold internally, she could fall gravely ill in the snowy wastelands of the north.

She collapsed to the stone floor and drifted into a black sleep, and as always, Nightmare Moon was the only thing visible in her mental vision.

"It's almost time, Luna". Whistled Nightmare Moon. "You have until sunset princess, then I will make my grand entry into the world and take my rightful position as leader."

Luna was crestfallen. Time had run out so quickly.

"tick tock goes the clock, while the moon is still in lock,". Recited Nightmare.

Luna had been absolutely useless during this whole endeavor. She couldn't even raise the moon. Now her body was going to be hijacked, and her Dark Self would slaughter millions.

"I suggest you get some rest Luna, I don't want my body deprived of sleep during my big moment,". Nightmare Moon cackled loudly before disappearing into the darkness of Luna's mind.

Luna hoped for the sake of Equestria that her sister had a plan... Because Luna could help no further.

The Red Eclipse

The sun was nearing the end of it's arch. The tip of the glowing ball of light and fire was only a few minutes away from kissing the horizon, and the landscape was awash with the warm orange aura that emanated from the sky. Celestia stood silently, overlooking Canterlot from a cloud just outside the city. The anxiety of waiting for Nightmare Moon to emerge was causing her skin to crawl and her stomach to flutter, and now she had to lower the sun and raise the moon, knowing the princess in charge of the latter would soon be her adversary.

As the sun closed inch by subtle inch from atop landscape, Scootaloo attempted to fly with her underdeveloped wings while Dash coached her. So far, the little filly had only managed to hover off the ground for 7 seconds. It was a new record, and Scootaloo had been jubilant about it the whole time. Dash looked at the sunset nervously, and subconsciously put a hoof around Scootaloo, holding her close.

Just up the acres, a large red barn stood tall atop a hill. In a window somewhere above the first floor, Applebloom could be seen talking to her older sister in their living room. Applejack listened as the little farm filly told her about Scootaloo skipping school with Rainbow Dash, though neither of them knew why.

Bathed in the same sunlight, was an exhausted Pinkie Pie. She had finally gotten the cake's two foals to sleep, and she stared wearily out of the window. She had a satisfied grin on her face as she enjoyed the silence, letting the warmth of the sun caress her face and massage heat into her cheeks.

Just a ways down the streets of Ponyville, a tall, posh boutique stood prominently amongst the other buildings of the town. A white mare trudged wearily through her studio. She had been awake for nearly a day, assembling a very complex gown for a high end buyer. It was a frilly, cherry red dress with pieces of fabric that overlapped each other, much like a rose. Rarity could no longer keep herself on her feet, and collapsed wearily on her floor. She stared tiredly out of one of her many windows, the glowing orange sun staring back. In the distance, Canterlot was perched in the mountains as usual, and if Rarity hadn't fallen asleep, she might have even spotted a multicolored speck situated in an infinitesimal patch of cloud.

Celestia herself.

Her horn flared teal, and the sun began to slowly sink beneath the horizon. As she did so, she moved the Moon from it's hiding spot behind the world. They both crawled slowly across the sky. Celestia focused her mind on moving the two objects, but she couldn't stop thinking of her sister. Where was she now? How was she handling the situation? Wherever she was, she knew that Luna was surely thinking of her. She had already ordered the royal guards to evacuate the cities, and as she looked down, she noticed an enormous mob of people moving slowly out of Canterlot. It had been nearly a minute, and Celestia noticed that the sun and moon hadn't finished their cycles yet. In fact, the two objects had stopped moving entirely.

Celestia tried to move them magically once again, but the two celestial objects remained stalwart. Suddenly, the moon began to move all on it's own, and the sun rose from it's nearly completed cycle. The two slid across the heavens, repainting the atmosphere blue once again. Celestia could hear the worried chatter of he civilians below, and as she watched, her mouth fell agape. The sun and moon had almost reached each other, and Celestia had already figured out who was doing it.

Finally, the moon moved in front of the sun, and a blood red eclipse washed the land. The citizens below began yelling in fear, no one completely understanding the situation. As the princess looked up, she saw clouds as black as tar forming far above. They began blotting out the sky, and soon, there was a large cover of dark clouds, leaving a hole only for the eclipse to be visible. Shortly after the clouds appeared, there was a flash of purple light and an enormous gale of wind blasted from the north with what sounded like an enormous explosion rippling through the air. The gust swept down the mountainside and rolled across the landscape, nearly knocking the princess off of her cloud, but she managed to keep her purchase on the puffy platform.

The citizens of Equestria may not have known what this all meant, but Celestia knew. It was a message to her.

Nightmare Moon was coming.

"Rainbow Dash! What's happening to the clouds?" Yelled a scared little Pegasus. Dash merely stared at the eclipse, her shoulders low and her face somber.

"Times up,". Croaked Rainbow Dash. She turned slowly to Scootaloo, who only looked back with eyes of confusion. Tears began to fall from the teal Pegasus' face as she walked slowly toward the filly.

"W-What do you mean, sis?"

"We need to find shelter. I have to get you to safety,". She replied sadly. "We need to find Applejack's barn, which way is it?"

"That way,". Said Scootaloo, pointing hesitantly over a hill.

"Let's go Scoots, jump on,". Said Rainbow Dash, lowering herself for the little filly, who frowned sadly at her as she climbed on. Rainbow Dash took off and started towards Applejack's barn.

"Looks like it's time,". Said Trixie, a determined look on her face.

"Yes it is,". Replied Twilight, observing the eclipse with eyes of resolution

The two ponies opened the door to Twilight's house and departed. They had tried to convince Fluttershy to come with them, but the yellow Pegasus simply refused and ran upstairs. Normally, Twilight would have insisted that she come, but there simply wasn't enough time to do so.

The two ponies walked out the door, ready to face the endeavor. As soon as Fluttershy heard them leave, her head popped up from the balcony.

"Twilight?" She whispered loudly. "Trixie?"

When she heard no reply she deemed it safe to come downstairs. Though she wanted to help them, she simply couldn't do it. Her nerves simply wouldn't let her. She looked at the floor pitifully, her eyes filled with disappointment in herself. She caught sight of Spike, who was looking outside the window at the eclipse, anger painted on his face.

"I can't believe Twilight wouldn't let me go!" He complained. "I could totally be useful to the plan,". His voice sounded hurt.

Fluttershy looked at Spike. "Why do you want to go?" She said incredulously. "Nightmare Moon is somewhere out there, setting fire to trees, turning buildings to rubble,". She gasped with horror. "Turning living, breathing animals into... Not living breathing animals!"

Spike looked back at Fluttershy, his hand still on the window. "I have to protect Twilight! There's no telling what could happen to her, and I want to at least be there to try and help."

"So why don't you stop talking and start doing?" Said a voice that seemed to come from nowhere.

Spike recoiled out of fear. "Who's there?"

The voice laughed at Spike's fear. Fluttershy had already taken cover somewhere upstairs, and Spike was all alone to face the enigmatic voice, though the baby dragon had a hunch about it's origin.

"N-nightmare Moon?" Spike stammered out,

"Guess again, Puff."

"Show yourself!" Yelled Spike, forcing himself to be brave. "Stop being a coward!".

"Fine, but only because your trying so hard."

One of the books that Twilight had stacked earlier leapt off of the table and opened itself on the floor, and began to shake and spasm. Suddenly, a pillar of green light exploded from the pages and disembodied voices echoed of the walls. Shortly after, the tome exploded into a large amount of confetti

Then, a tall figure emerged from the balcony, carrying Fluttershy like a lapdog. "Good Evening, Spike." Said Discord casually. "Going somewhere?"

Spike looked back and forth between Discord and the book, struggling to understand what had just happened. "What did you blow up the book for?" He finally managed to sputter out. "That made no sense..."

"I'm the god of chaos. Nothing I do makes any sense."

Spike seemed to come out of his bewilderment for a second. "What are you doing here?" He called up, fear still evident in his voice.

"I came to say hi to my good friend here,". He held Fluttershy close to his face. "That's what friends do, right? They say hi to each other every now and again?".

Spike still looked worried, but Fluttershy seemed more uncomfortable than anything. "Umm, excuse me... Discord?"

"Yes Dusterfly?"

"Could you, umm... Put me down?"

The large Draconiquus set the yellow Pegasus on the ground as he talked. "Anyway, I've been looking for Buttercry here since yesterday! She wasn't at her house, so went looking in Everfree. After that turned up empty, I decided that I'd check her friends' houses, and naturally, I came here."

He snapped his fingers and the roof of Twilight's library became transparent. "I assume you've noticed the eclipse?"

Spike nodded slowly.

"That means Luna must have turned already." Discord looked around the room strangely. "So, where is everypony? I thought that you guys would be here with your magic necklaces to zap away the evil as usual. Unless..." Discord disappeared and materialized beside Spike. "They aren't working,". Discord had a mischievous grin on his face. "Oh goodness! That means I could get away with anything I like! There are no consequences!" He threw his hands into the air, and suddenly the room erupted with chaos.

There was a small tornado running rampant downstairs, and books began flying from the shelves and building themselves into various structures. Twilight's bed came flying downstairs, the mattress and bed spring twisted in a way that looked like a mouth. A red blanket hung from in between like a tongue, and the whole thing was spitting out pillows.

Discord was running around the room and laughing blissfully as the many inanimate objects of Twilight's house exploded to life, when he caught sight of Fluttershy's disapproving eyes. With a sigh, he snapped his finger, and everything went back to normal.

Fluttershy walked up to him. "Just for your information, the elements will still work on you, Nightmare Moon is just immune."

"Hmm, a pity." He retorted. "So I saw that Spike was ready to leave?"

Spike's face hardened. "I have to find Twilight and-"

"We'll, what are we waiting for? Lets go!" He teleported beside Spike with a large backpack slung over his shoulder.

"You coming Stutterfry?"

The yellow Pegasus looked away nervously. "Please guys, I really don't want to leave. It isn't safe out there! Nightmare Moon could turn you both into ashes if she sees you walking around!"

"Suit yourself,". Said Discord dismissively as he shut the door, leaving Fluttershy all alone. He then turned to spike, "So, any idea where your princess friend went?"

Spike lowered his head in thought. "Probably to find Celestia, who I imagine is in Canterlot."

"Let us start our journey then!" Exclaimed Discord as he began to walk in the direction of mountains.

"Wait, wouldn't it be easier to take a train?" Said Spike.

"Celestia has ordered all of the Royal Guards to evacuate the cities. There is no one at the train station, nor are there any trains to be caught."

"Well, can't you just teleport us there?"

"Of course I could! But what fun would that be?"

Spike scowled at Discord. "And you're just going to leave Fluttershy behind? Some reformed creature you are,". Spat Spike.

Discord merely smiled condescendingly at the baby dragon. "My, my, it hasn't even been a minute on our journey, and you've already taken to whining. Besides, I have Flusterdry right here,". Discord took off his backpack and stuck his lion paw inside. He reached around for a few seconds, before a muffled "eep!" Was heard and Fluttershy was pulled out of the bag.

Spike looked at Discord disapprovingly. He would never understand the creature of chaos, and he knew it was going to be a long walk.

"Hey! What are you doing!" Yelled Fluttershy as she flew out of a discord hands. "How did I get out here?"

Discord smiled at her deviously. "My dear Mutterguy, You didn't think I would leave my one true friend behind after spending a day looking for her, did you?"

"Her name is Fluttershy, you know,". Interjected Spike.

"Flutterdye?"

"Fluttershy!"

"Poltergeist?"

"FLUTTERSHY!"

"Swiffer Duster?"

Spike groaned loudly at Discord's teasing, who only laughed as he walked.

Fluttershy wanted to run back to the safety of Twilight's house, but she knew that Discord would just continue to bring her out. With a resigned sigh, Fluttershy began to walk alongside Spike and Discord.

o.0.O== A few minutes earlier ==O.0.o

Nightmare Moon looked up at the eclipsed sky. She smiled a toothy, satisfied grin as she appreciated her handiwork. Surely everyone in Equestria could see the frightening display she had created! And Celestia knew that the true successor to the throne was on her way. As the jet black mare looked around, she realized that she had no idea where she was. What was worse, is that she had no idea how to find civilization again. She was stuck somewhere in the North, and that was the only information she had.

No matter! She took flight and began to ascend. She stopped elevating just below the black cloud coverage and examined the distance. She could see a tiny group of lights some ways away, which she assumed was a city. She smiled evilly and began to fly towards it.

As she picked up speed, she began to build an aura of purple energy around herself, which buzzed and crackled as it charged. Her wings folded back as she prepared to break the sound barrier, and as she did, an enormous boom echoed through the air. If she created a rainboom, no one could see it against the black sky.

Nightmare Moon's aura grew brighter and brighter as she approached the city, which she then recognized as Vanhoover. Her eyes grew wide with excitement as she thought of what she was about to do.

Nightmare Moon was going so fast, that she could no longer make out her surroundings. All she could see was a jumbled blur of color as the wind blasted against her. The purple aura had grown large enough to cover the princess entirely, and left a deep violet trail as she streaked through the sky.

It was only a few seconds before she reached Vanhoover, and she had already exceeded speeds of over Mach 8. The aura had grown so bright and large, that she looked like a glowing purple comet streaking though the air.

When she finally made impact. She rolled her body into a ball and allowed all of the energy of her aura to release around her at once.

The effect was catastrophic.

An enormous mushroom cloud sprouted from the ground as buildings began to crumble. The sheer force of the impact began to dig a huge crater in the center of the city, and sent a shockwave outward that shattered windows and vaporized all life in it's reach.

Nightmare Moon stood in the center of the crater, panting as she listened to the explosion ripple outwards, and watching the blast from the inside. No screams could be heard, as the boom was far too loud. Even now, the explosion could be heard echoing off the mountains of the landscape, reverberating through the very earth itself.

Nopony in Equestria could have guessed Nightmare Moon's power would have been this strong, and the sprawling ruin that was Vanhoover stood only as a testament to Nightmare's true strength. However, the sheer energy that the explosion required her to expend was astronomical. She was winded, and her magical energy was depleted, but she no longer needed to stockpile it. Luna had successfully been turned into a memory, and was now floating around somewhere in her conscious. The tables had turned, and now Nightmare Moon was in complete control of Luna's body

She walked slowly before she fell over, but her smile never faded. The tragic amount of death she had created made her happy all over, plus she was awed by the immensity of her own power. She went unconscious in the middle of the deep crater, a smile still painted on her lips.

Vanhoover had been completely, and utterly destroyed.

Author's Note

Alas, Nightmare Moon has awoken... And a city lies in rubble. Not to mention, Discord finally meets up with Blusterfry after searching since chapter one. Hopefully I'll have the next chapter out within the next day or so, so stay tuned everypony!

Let me know what you think in the comments, as I always like to know what people think about the story, it helps me get better at writing them :P

Thank you for reading this far!!!

-Delta

The Cloudsdale Dive

Celestia walked through the empty Canterlot streets. Just about everyone had been evacuated, and the only ponies left walking the streets were her guards. As she walked, a letter appeared overhead. She began to open it, but another one came down before she could. She tried to grab that one as well, but two more letters came in place of that, and three in place of those. She ducked her head as letters continued to rain on top of her like a storm of parchment and ink, when finally, they stopped.

She magically grabbed a scroll from the large pile at her hooves and opened it with her magic. It was a status report form one of her guards, and by the look of the handwriting, it must have been urgent. In sloppy, rushed looking letters, it told of Nightmare's explosive entry on Vanhoover, which was now little more than a large pile of broken bricks and shattered glass. Luckily, there were very few casualties, as the citizens were well outside of the city when Nightmare Moon hit, but they were still fearful of being located by her. The guards have managed to sustain an invisibility spell around the ponies, but they aren't sure how long they will be able to keep it up.

As she opened each letter, she realized that several guards had written their reports all at once, trying to warn the princess that Nightmare Moon was much stronger than anyone had anticipated, but this worried the sun princess none. Destroying a city was a small task compared to the... regrettable things Celestia had done in the past. Before the world knew her as the princess of the sun, she was a much darker entity, and her hunger for power leveled far more than just a singular city. Though no one knew, Celestia was more than capable of killing Nightmare Moon with a single bolt from her horn. The only thing that kept Celestia from ending it all, was the fact that killing Nightmare meant killing her sister.

However, it looked as though it would all have to boil down to that. She couldn't let Nightmare Moon destroy any further.

Celestia began to think.

Nightmare Moon must have been pretty eager to kill if the first thing she did after reawakening was destroy a city. Surely she would continue on this rampage, and the closest city to Vanhoover was Cloudsdale. The princess took flight and headed towards the floating city.

o.0.O== Meanwhile ==O.0.o

Rainbow Dash knocked loudly on the front door to Applejack's barn, which was situated on the side of the house. She heard the sound of someone trotting around the house and up to the door, before a high pitched voice called out.

"Who is it?"

Scootaloo recognized it as Applebloom's voice, and immediately responded. "It's me Applebloom, can we come inside?"

Applebloom began to talk before she even opened the door. "Scootaloo! Whatcha doin' here,". She opened the door all the way. "With... Rainbow Dash?"

Applebloom paused as she noticed the gloomy look on Dash's face. "Come on in, y'all,". She said softly,

Scootaloo had been here hundreds of times with the Crusaders, and felt no different than when she did at her own house. She was comfortable here, and the Apple's practically thought of her as family as well. Dash however, had rarely ever been inside the Apple family barn, and despite being best friends with the residents, she couldn't help but feel slightly out of place.

The barn itself was spacious, though cluttered at the same time. Zounds of family photos littered the walls and covered countertops wherever Dash looked. It seemed as if the living space had been built around the actual barn area, with stairs leading to the bedrooms upstairs. The front door opened to a large living room, with a concerned looking red stallion sitting thoughtfully on the couch. There was a round rug in the center of the living room and a few antiquated lamps sitting around the room.

"Hey sis!" yelled Applebloom. "Come downstairs! We have company!"

Dash could hear Applejack's voice from upstairs. "Ah'm sorry Applebloom, but your gonna have to tell your friends to head on home, things don't look all that peaceful outside,"

"It's Rainbow Dash, ah think she wants to talk to ya!"

"Dash?" Applejack called back. Everyone could hear hoof beats in the ceiling as Applejack trotted downstairs.

"Hey," greeted Applejack, who was obviously caught off guard. Rainbow Dash was the last person she expected to show up at her house, and Scootaloo's presence only stirred questions in her mind.

"What's with the weather? You have any idea what's causin' all this ruckus outside?"

Dash bit her lip nervously. "Well, that's why I'm here..."

Applejack paused to let her friend continue.

"Uh, could we talk about this upstairs?" Dash finally said, "This may be a lot to take in,"

Applejack nodded slowly and headed back upstairs. Rainbow Dash started following her, when she noticed Scootaloo getting ready to climb the stairs alongside her. "Uhh, stay down here Scoots, Applejack and I need to talk alone,"

Scootaloo's face looked saddened.

"Don't worry,". Reassured Rainbow Dash quickly, "I'll be back down soon,"

Applejack led Dash to a long hallway upstairs. She opened a door on the left, and motioned for her friend to enter. Dash trotted inside and assumed they must have entered Applejack's room.

"Alright Dash, what's going on?"

the teal Pegasus forced herself to be strong. "Nightmare Moon," Dash finally said. Her words were quiet, but they echoed around in the silence of the room. "She's back, and we don't have a plan."

Applejack smiled worriedly. "What about the elements,". She said through a small laugh. "Don't tell me you forgot about the-"

"Elements stopped working," said Dash, her face contorting with sadness.

Applejacks face grew serious. "Well, Celestia could just banish her to th' moon again!"

"She can't!" Yelled Dash involuntarily, tears beginning to well in her eyes. "Celestia told me about it. We only have a few hours left before she reaches Ponyville, and I...". She breathed in a shaky breath. "And I don't think that everyone's going to make it out alive this time,"

"What...?". Said Applejack, her voice a strained whisper.

"I came here to make sure Scootaloo was in safe hands,"

"And where are you goin'?" Yelled out Applejack disbelievingly,

"I have to make amends... Just in case I don't make it. Please, make sure Scootaloo is safe,". Rainbow Dash wrapped her hooves sadly around Applejack. "Please..."

Applejack hugged back halfheartedly, her mind still trying to wrap itself around Dash's news.

"If we don't make it Applejack, know that I always revered you. Though I may have denied it in the past, I always thought you were the better pony out of us both."

Dash wiped her eyes and walked towards Applejack's bedroom window. "Tell Scootaloo I'll be back for her,". She called back before opening the window and flying out.

Applejack hadn't moved since Dash hugged her. "A few hours,". Applejack muttered to herself. If what Dash said was true, than she had a tiny amount of time to live the rest of her life. She couldn't believe it. She walked out of her bedroom slowly, before going downstairs.

Nightmare Moon soared through the air. She had regained consciousness a few minutes after fainting, and had decided her next target. As she approached Cloudsdale, she hatched her most evil idea yet.

She was a few minutes away from the city and noticed that there were still Pegasi flying around. Nightmare smiled at the soon to be graveyard, as she folded her wings back and lit her horn purple.

She landed in the middle of a highly populated plaza, and soon, several hundred eyes were on her. She prepared her Canterlot voice and spoke with a stentorian bellow.

"Come one, come all!" She announced. "I, Nightmare Moon, am here to present to you a show, the likes of which you have never seen!" Nightmare Moon spoke as if she was running a circus act.

The plaza was completely silent, everyone was frozen with fear at the figure that stood before them. Suddenly, an orange pegasus in the back took off, crying and yelling desperately as she prayed to escape.

Nightmare Moon smiled as she watched the mare zig zag sporadically in the air, and with a small bolt from her horn, the Pegasus exploded. Blood and chunks of red flesh rained down on the few ponies unfortunate enough to be beneath her. Gags and coughs could be heard as the ensanguinated Pegasi panicked and tried to wipe the blood off of their coats. Crying could be heard in multiple spots around the plaza.

If there were any notions of running away in anyone's mind, they were dispelled instantly.

"For my magnificent trick, I will take the glorious, flying city of Cloudsdale, and sink it through the air like a rock through water."

There were gasps of panic reverberating around the area. No one moved for fear of Nightmare Moon turning them into flying meat grenades, and they instead watched as the murderous pony's purple glowing horn pierced the puffy cloud floor.

Nightmare Moon withdrew herself from the cotton like surface, and watched as the soft white pillow of condensation became gray and hard. The dark area on the cloud expanded outward as more of the surface was infected by the grim looking stain. As the spot grew larger, the whole black section began to sag beneath the surface of the city.

The cloud was slowly but surely, turning to stone.

Nightmare Moon hovered in the air as Cloudsdale began it's slow descent, and the grey virus began to spread more rapidly. A few ponies winced as the stoney area spread to their respective patches of cloud, however, they never had the chance to scream, as they too had been turned into lifeless lumps of stone, their facial expressions forever frozen on their rock like facades. The virus was capable of spreading to ponies as well.

As everyone realized what had just happened, the hundreds of Pegasi in the plaza took off at once, desperately trying to escape he grim fate of the city. Nightmare Moon took off and laughed joyfully as she flew around and blasted whoever crossed her path. The dead bodies rained onto the sinking city floor, before being turned to stone by the infectious virus beneath.

The stone area had increased tenfold, and was expanding at a frightening speed. Buildings made of lightweight cloud were turned into heavy pieces of granite, adding to the increasing weight of Cloudsdale, and within a few minutes, the entire city was an enormous rock plummeting to the earth, with thousands of petrified bodies littered on the surface. Nightmare Moon cackled and laughed loudly as the city became smaller and smaller in her field of vision, doomed to hit the ground.

The bottom of the city began to catch fire as the bow shock from the sheer immensity of the falling object shot towards earth. Soon, the city was engulfed in flames as Cloudsdale became nothing more than a streaking ball of rock and heat.

The bottom of the city exploded against the ground, sending a huge shockwave of deafening sound rippling from out beneath, just as a huge pillar of dust engulfed the once floating city. The amount of deaths was tragic, and the time and effort spent into creating the vast city had been wasted. Nightmare Moon smiled and watched as the city was bathed in dust.

The next thing she planned on destroying would be Canterlot... But it would be different. She would do it as her 'dear' sister looked on in helpless horror. No matter how powerful Celestia was, Nightmare knew that her next surprise would be too much for even her sister to handle.

As Nightmare Moon looked around, she wondered why Cloudsdale hadn't been evacuated. She was sure that Vanhoover was desolate before she blew it up, but she was going far to fast to know for sure. Nightmare Moon shrugged. The reason was beyond her, but she simply didn't care. Look at all the wonderful bodies she had created! They were everywhere, and it was beautiful. She lustfully licked her lips as she thought about Celestia's own corpse joining the morbid parade.

Nightmare Moon smiled and zoomed towards Canterlot.

o.0.O== Meanwhile ==O.0.o

Derpy Hooves flew happily on her way to Cloudsdale. The guards had entrusted her with a special letter to deliver to the mayor there, and she couldn't wait to see the look of satisfaction on her face when she recieved her extra-special note from the princess.

Derpy looked around the sky searching for Cloudsdale, but it was nowhere to be found. She could have sworn that the city was around here somewhere, but it seemed as if the whole place just disappeared!

"Hmm,". Said the gray mailpony as she took out the letter. She wondered what could have been so important for her to deliver, and out of curiosity, she opened it.

In large red letters, it said

EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY.

Author's Note

Derpy is somewhat responsible for the lives of hundreds of Pegasi. I think I just depressed myself.

Let me know what you guys think of this chapter in the comments! I've been trying to keep these chapters coming rather quickly, as I know what a terrible feeling it is to wait for something.

Hopefully you guys like this one!

-Delta

Fallen Apples

Rainbow Dash flew over the sprawling Sweet Apple Orchard. As she streaked through the sky, she thought of every misdeed she had ever committed in the course of her life. Every small, slightly regrettable word that accidentally escaped her mouth, every time she argued with Applejack, every time she had made Fluttershy uncomfortable.

Though all these thoughts weighed in her mind like a two ton block of steel, one thing stuck out in her conscious the most.

The guilt she felt from making Fluttershy sad. The yellow Pegasus was so kind hearted and submissive, whereas Dash was competitive, brash, and protective of her independence. They got along well for the most part, but the sheer dichotomy of their personalities naturally caused clashes. It had never really escalated to anything beyond a few annoyed complaints, but one situation a few weeks back ate at the fabric of her soul.

Dash had struck Fluttershy out of sheer anger.

The moment it happened, she regretted it. As the hard hoof smashed into Fluttershy's soft cheek, she could feel the guilt traveling up her foreleg before settling itself in the pit of her stomach. The impact had left a small cut underneath Fluttershy's eye, and even though it had faded a while back, Dash would never stop seeing the red blemish on her unsuspecting face.

Fluttershy stormed out of Dash's house that day, and no one saw for the next few sunrises. Her friends searched frantically for her, but the yellow mare had simply vanished from existence.

After nearly a week had passed, Dash had come home from a long day with the weather team, she found Fluttershy sitting in her living room. The yellow Pegasus looked up at her teal friend, silently trotted up to her, and hugged her. She began to sob silently on Dash's shoulder, whispering apology after apology for what she had done, when Rainbow Dash knew that she only had herself to blame.

She didn't even want to think about that night. All she wanted to do was apologize to her, one final time. She had tried to a few days earlier when she took Fluttershy up into the clouds for a nice quiet evening, but then Dash received her comeuppance when Celestia swiped her off the cloud with a force harder than Dash could ever punch. Deep down inside, Rainbow Dash felt she deserved that hit. Her wound was healed and the damage repaired, but the dent that Rainbow's anger had left could never be buffered out. It would always remain between the two, and no matter how hard they both tried to pretend it never happened, it would always exist.

Now Rainbow Dash was unsure that she would ever be able to mend the one wound that cut her the deepest... But she was damn sure going to try.

Now where could that shy little Pegasus have gone off to?

o.0.O== Meanwhile ==O.0.o

Princess Celestia touched down in front of the fallen city of Cloudsdale. Her mouth hung slightly agape as she took in the tragic sight in front of her. Hundreds of ponies were frozen in time, their last moments captured for all the world to see. The bottom of the city had fallen into the earth at a strange angle, causing for the remaining rock to be cracked and jagged. The base of the cloud rose seven or so feet off the ground, and Celestia had to fly up to reach it. She landed in front of a tall stone arch that read in festive letters,

"Welcome to Cloudsdale!"

The arch opened up into a long sort of street, with vendors, salesponies, and customers alike, all frozen into stone statues. What Celestia found odd and slightly disturbing, was that no one had an expression of worry or despair on their faces. Everyone had a smile stretching from on ear to the other, as if they were completely unaware of their surroundings. Celestia made her way down the street and took in the terrible sight. After walking twenty feet or so down the street, she noticed one pony, who seemed like she was staring oddly at something in the sky. Celestia tried to follow her gaze, but whatever she was once looking at was gone now. She continued down the street and noticed more and more people with suspicious looking faces, until she had gone so far down the street, that people were actually frozen in a running position.

The long road finally ended at a large open plaza, and the sight Celestia saw was truly a sad one. There were hundreds of statues in this area alone, all of them terrified. Tears had solidified into grey stones that dripped down from some of their once crying eyes. Some of them had even been maimed. As Celestia walked through, she would catch sight of an errant leg frozen into the stone, or a severed hoof planted firmly into the ground. She even caught sight of a severed head, but Celestia didn't stare too long.

Celestia shook her head sadly as she strolled silently through the city sized stone sepulcher. So much death... She hated it. It made her feel as if her stomach had dried up, and her lungs were too small to breathe. So many lives ended prematurely. It just wasn't fair,

The stone had swallowed all of the Pegasi who touched the stone surface. Now that she thought about it, why wasn't the city turning her to stone? She looked down out of curiosity.

Her good horseshoes had turned to stone, and the entire bottom of her foot was glowing a faint blue. She realized what was happening, and suddenly took flight. She popped off the shoes with her magic, and they clattered to the ground before merging with the surface. The stone was trying to spread to Celestia, but her immense magical aura simply prevented it from progressing. She was simply too powerful for the stone to encase. That being said, she still didn't want to have to touch the infectious surface.

She had seen enough. Cloudsdale had fallen, and lives were taken, and Nightmare Moon was presumably on her way to Canterlot. It was time to protect Equestria, and it was time for Nightmare Moon to fall.

She flew away from the plaza and landed outside of the wreckage. She took a calm stance and focused her mind, taking several deep, calm breaths as she prepared herself magically, for the feat she was about to perform. Blue light began to radiate from her long white horn, as she closed her eyes and bent her knees, readying herself to jump. Her coat began to glow slightly, before her very body began to ripple and swirl with magical energy. She focused her mind on her throne room. More specifically, a spot in between the two large chairs. She imagined herself standing still in that very spot. Once she had a vivid mental picture of the area, she jumped, flapped her left wing to invert herself in midair, and phased through the ground, back first.

There was a short flash of light, before she was propelled upright into the space betwixt Canterlot Castle's two thrones. The spell she had used was one of Star Swirl the Bearded's strange and enigmatic Pseudo-physical manipulations, titled Transflection. By using the mind and magic, two locations could be selected. The first location had to be your current position, and the second locale being your desired destination. Using your horn, the two positions could be connected, placed next to each other momentarily, back to back. The resulting placement would cause "down" in one location to be "up" in the other, so by jumping into the point of transfer upside down, she will have carried enough momentum with her, to land right side up in the desired destination. The concept itself was mind numbingly confusing, and as Celestia struggled to comprehend the logic behind it, she could easily understand how Star Swirl went mad so young...

Celestia gathered her bearings and looked around her desolate throne room. Not a soul stirred in the large hall, and the silence of the area suggested that there wasn't anyone in the entire castle. Hopefully everypony was a safe distance away from Canterlot, because the fight that was about to transpire here would certainly be devastating. Celestia looked over at Luna's throne, frowned sadly, and climbed onto it. She laid down and rested her head on the arm, her face contorted with pain and inner turmoil, as she silently mourned for her sister.

o.0.O== Meanwhile ==O.0.o

"Fluttershy? Are you in there?" Rainbow Dash called as she briskly opened the door to Twilight's library. The dark silence of her house answered Dash's question. Rainbow sighed frantically. Why was she not here? Why wasn't everyone still here? Dash was frustrated and confused. She didn't have time for this. She needed to find her friend now, but she had no idea where she could have went!

Dash thought for a second. Fluttershy would have never left the safety of Twilight's library on her own, which means that someone must have gone out with her, or more accurately, forced her to leave. She must have gone off with Twilight! That would explain why Spike was missing, but what use would Fluttershy be to them? It's not like she can do magic, and her fearful demeanor would only slow them down... Perhaps there was something Dash didn't know.

Twilight must have gone to Canterlot, probably to aid the princess in her battle. Dash exited the library and shut the door behind her, before taking off towards the city in the mountain.

o.0.O== Meanwhile ==O.0.o

"Oh, isn't it wonderful?" Exclaimed Discord gleefully, "Walking together, on our way to save the world from certain destruction?"

Spike looked up at him, aggravation seeping from his eyes.

Discord ignored the gesture "The suspense is just killing me! I wonder how Nightmare will react when a baby dragon, the element of Kindness and the God of Chaos waltz in to stop her!" Discord laughed profusely. "It's going to be priceless!"

"Would it be any less priceless if it was just a baby dragon and the God of Chaos?" Said Fluttershy uncomfortably as she trailed behind the two.

"Oh come on Shutterfly, what's the point of hanging out if not being with your friends?"

Fluttershy sighed wearily and looked back. They were a about a half hour outside of Ponyville, and very far away from Canterlot. Discord had refused to aid in speeding up the journey in any way, and they had all been forced to walk to Equestria's Capitol.

"Discord, why are you being so difficult? Look at the sky!" Spike pointed at the dark cloud cover while glaring at Discord, but the God of Chaos jut kept strolling. "Nightmare Moon is here! She's transformed! Every second we spend walking, somepony could die! Don't you care?"

Discord looked back. "Spike, my little purple dragon, if I didn't care, I'd be up there with Nightmare Moon, spreading chaos like it was a disease. Not to mention, all of those dark, spooky clouds would be raining chocolate."

Spike stopped and thought for a moment, before his facial expression softened and he looked back a Discord, who only smiled slyly.

"Ok, I know your on our side, but... I just can't make myself trust you."

"That's OK, Blusterfly trusts me, right Stutterdry?"

Fluttershy looked at the ground. "Well, yes... Kind of,". She said that last piece under her breath.

"how long do you suppose it will take for us to reach Canterlot?" Asked Spike, his tone even.

"Approximately 4 Hours, 22 minutes, and thirty seconds." Said Discord resolutely.

"Uh, that's a little specific." Said Spike strangely.

"Would you prefer that I be vague? In that case, a really long time. Like a lot. Seriously,"

Spike grumbled, realizing how blatantly he set himself up for Discord's amusement.

They walked in silence for a few minutes. They had reached the outer northern orchards of Sweet Apple Acres, and began to navigate between the apple trees that spread for several miles.

Fluttershy had given up any thoughts of running away, as she knew that it would only lead to Discord bringing her back. No one had spoken for the last couple of minutes, and Fluttershy was beginning to enjoy the quiet, when she heard a soft sort of wailing noise coming from behind one of the trees. Fluttershy immediately froze. What could it have been? Oh dear sweet Celestia, please don't let it be Nightmare Moon, please don't let it be Nightmare Moon!

Spike heard the noise as well, and silently tugged on Discord's red lizard tail.

Discord turned around quickly and saw Spike put a singular claw to his lips. He then watched as the small dragon crept up onto one of the trees and quickly looked around it. The purple dragon found nothing behind it and continued to search. He began to creep up on the next tree and jumped in front of that one as well. Nothing behind this one either. He continued to look behind the trees this way as Discord and Fluttershy glanced at each other strangely. The wailing hadn't stopped, but something about it sounded familiar. Spike crept up on a large tree, stretching farther up than the others. He walked slowly around it, getting ready to spring out of the shadows, when he caught sight of a large brown hat laying against the trunk, a familiar Stetson worn by a certain orange pony...

Spike poked his head from behind the tree, and Lo and behold, Applejack was sitting against the base, sobbing. Spike stared sadly at the crying mare. She must have found out about Nightmare Moon, most likely Twilight or Dash must've told her. She didn't notice Spike as he watched her cry profusely, she only noticed him as he approached and sat down next to her, in hopes of cheering up the lachrymose farmpony.

Applejack took in a startled breath and hopped up from her seat, reeling away from Spike as he sat down, before she tripped and fell on her side.

"Dear Celestia! Applejack are you alright?" Spike yelled out.

Fluttershy heard Spike's faint words and rushed to large tree.

"W-What?! Spike?" Applejack was at a loss for words. "What are you doin' here!?" She scolded the little dragon as she maneuvered herself on her feet. "Can't ya see ah need a little privacy?" She had tears streaming down her face, which was contorted in pain and anger.

"Applejack! Calm down, I was trying to see if you were OK!"

"Oh yeah? Well Ah'm not!" She took in a shaky breath, the anger in her face leaving only pain. "Ah need to be alone right now! In case ya didn't know, we supposedly have only a few hours left to live!"

"You don't know that, Applejack,". Said Spike, trying his best to calm the emotionally broken pony.

"Yes ah do!" Applejack pointed a hoof towards the sky. "Look at that! It looks like a sea of rotten apples up there! And it ain't clearin' any time soon because Celestia can't do it!" She was screaming now, her eyes pouring tears again. "Now get off my farm!". Applejack stomped her hooves down right in front of Spike, scaring him off his feet, but Spike just laid there in shock. "Didn't ya hear me? I said get!" She stomped her hooves in front of Spike once again, and the little baby dragon began to scurry away on his claws and knees, until he hit his head against the legs of another pony. He looked up to see a concerned Fluttershy standing over him.

"Aw, it's this just great! Ah ask for privacy, and ah get more company! Get off my farm!" Applejack was screaming through sobs, her voice starting to sound hoarse.

Fluttershy slowly shook her head. "No,". She said gently, but seriously.

"What do ya mean no? Ya don't have a choice! Get off my farm!" Applejack's voice cracked and strained.

Fluttershy continued to shake her head. "No,". Came the same neutral, but endearing response. Fluttershy began to take a few steps forward.

"I'm warning you Fluttershy! Get...off...my...."

Applejack collapsed over Fluttershy's shoulder. Tears continued to pour from her face as she bawled, clinging to her friend. Fluttershy closed her eyes and held her back.

"It's alright, Applejack, it's alright,"

Applejack couldn't vocalize any words in between her sobs. The events of the last couple of hours had broken her. She ran from her family, and tried to drive away her friends, but thankfully, Fluttershy saw through her aggression. The shy Pegasus knew Applejack wouldn't hurt anyone, especially her friends, and she needed someone now more than she ever did.

Spike was just recovering from the shock of Applejack's sudden verbal assault, and had no idea what caused their usually happy, inviting, And amicable friend to simply lash out at them.

But Fluttershy knew what she was doing here. She recognized the tree, and she understood her pain. Applejack had only told a handful of ponies about what this tree's significance was to her... But few of them knew why it stood for what it did.

Many years ago, when Applejack was just a filly, a fire broke out in the orchard. No one was sure who or what caused it, but the Deflagration consumed the entire north orchard, and a small portion of the east. A couple was tragically burned along with the trees, and the two bodies were found at the base of a large apple tree which miraculously, remained not only intact, but with a full yield of fresh, ripe, apples.

A wave of past emotion came crashing over her as she recalled that terrible day.

o.0.O== 14 Years Earlier ==O.0.o

A small orange filly came bursting out of the schoolhouse, a smile spread from one white freckled cheek to the other. Her saddlebag bounced heavily against her back, filled to the brim with schoolbooks and other school supplies. She couldn't wait to get home, her mama promised she'd have a big plate of fritters waiting for her to eat, and her pa finally had a day off in the orchards. She looked over the hills and towards their farm, expecting to the sun as it began it's decent behind the landscape, but instead, she saw a long pillar of smoke billowing towards the sky.

Her face contorted with confusion as she tried to conjure up an idea that would explain the smoke. She racked her brain for a solution, when finally, one came.

"Wow, mama did say she was gonna make a big plate, I guess she really did mean a big plate!" Applejack only sped up her gallop towards her home. Her hooves dug up small clouds of dust as she zipped down the thin dirt path that led to the entrance of Sweet Apple Acres. She would have continued her breakneck pace, if she hadn't spotted a red figure, gloomily walking down the road. Applejack slammed her hooves into the ground, grinding to a cloudy halt, before losing her balance and falling clumsily onto her stomach. She could feel the saddlebag slam into her back, causing her to let out a painful, "oof!" As it hammered down upon her.

She quickly jumped to her feet, turned around and stood attentively toward the red, teenage figure.

"Big Mac! Her brother hadn't noticed Applejack running along the path. He looked up quickly, surprise and guilt in his eyes as he turned towards her sister. "What are you doin' walking along the road, all sulking and whatnot?" She took a quick whiff of the air, the pungent smell of smoke intruding into her nostrils. "And why do you smell like a bushel a burnin' apples?" Her eyebrow was raised inquisitively as she probed for answers.

Big Mac looked at her quickly before turning away, his eyes panicking for the right place to look. He started to open his mouth, but was quickly interrupted by his sister. "Oh! I know, you must've been helping momma cook the fritters!" She fell into a fit of laughter. "But it don't smell like you're any good!". Her laughter seemed to upset Big Mac, his face contorting with sadness as his sister mused about his less than reputable cooking abilities. Suddenly, a tear fell to the ground beneath the adolescent colt, a pained expression of guilt and fear looking shamefully towards his sister.

Applejack took notice of his sudden emotional breakdown, and stopped her laughter abruptly. "Ah'm sorry Big Mac, I didn't mean to hurt your feelin's,"

Big Mac only shook his head abruptly. "Sis, something happened at the farm,". His voice was airy and raspy, as it hadn't fully deepened into that of a stallion's.

Applejack suddenly took attention. "Like somethin' bad?" She asked, her voice suddenly serious.

Big Mac nodded slowly. "There... There was a fire." He looked away guiltily. "But we don't know... We don't know who done it," he didn't make eye contact with Applejack for a long time.

The little orange filly put her hooves to her mouth. "Is everyone alright?" She asked in a frantic whisper.

Big Mac wouldn't answer her question. Applejack looked into his sorrowful eyes, hoping that he would tell her that everyone was OK, but instead, only recieved a long silence. "Big Mac?" She asked worriedly. "Is everyone alright?!" Big Mac pursed his lips, before he reached around and grabbed hold of a brown object that Applejack didn't know he was carrying. He walked over to Applejack and placed it on her head, before he stopped to straighten it on her small crown.

Applejack only looked up at her brother, a look of despair slowly crawling it's way on her face as she slowly came to an answer. "This is pa's hat,". She stated, confusion and sadness ringing in her voice.

"Nope,". Said Big Mac, a tear rushing down his face. "It's your hat,"

Applejack never went a day without wearing it since.

Fluttershy patted Applejack's back before the orange farmer finally spoke.

"Thank you, Fluttershy..."

The yellow Pegasus broke the hug and grabbed the hat from beside the tree, before placing it gently on Applejack's head. "Your welcome,". She said with a smile.

Applejack took of her Stetson and held it gingerly in her hooves, before she placed it against the tree once again. With a small smile in her lips, she spoke softly.

"It's about time ah gave this back to ya, pa,"

Applejack then turned around and followed Fluttershy on their way to Canterlot

There, scratched into the bark above the hat, was an epitaph

"Jonathan and Jonagold Apple

No fire could burn their love"

Author's Note

So... Many.... Back stories....

Having....trouble.....developing....

Gwahh!

(Let me know in the comments what you guys think!)

-Delta

Dear Sister,

Nightmare Moon flew slowly to Canterlot. She smiled maliciously as the wind whistled past her ears and caressed her black coat. The calm before the kill was her favorite part of the hunt, the anxiety and suspense made her mouth water with lust and angst. She was so close to finally achieving all that she had ever hoped for, and it made her body feel as if it were weightless with anticipation. She licked her lips generously, and strands of saliva were beginning to hang between her tongue and mouth.

She approached the backside of the tall mountain that Canterlot had been built from, gliding gently toward the rough stony surface. She tilted her wings and swirled around the side of the mountain, before the grand city finally came into view, all of it's soon to be ruin just waiting to be brought upon by Nightmare.

She landed outside Canterlot, in the paved walkway that lead to the large front gate of the city, which had been closed with an enormous wooden door. She stood up straight, prepared her voice, and with a flash of ominous purple light from her horn, she spoke.

Suddenly, her voice boomed and echoed around the city, seemingly emanating from nowhere.

"Dear sister,". She began with a voice that sounded almost sweet. "I have come for you. These next few minutes will be the last ones you spend alive, so come out and spend them like a leader!" She yelled her last sentence, but there was no response. "Figures,". She muttered quietly to herself, though it was still amplified loud enough for all to hear. "You have the audacity to banish me to the moon when I step up to claim power I rightfully deserved, and yet you hide in your castle like coward, instead of defending your honor and right to rule!" Nightmare Moon stomped her hoof into the ground. "Come on out and face your sister like a queen, Celestia!"

As she spat the last word, the two large gates opened to reveal a tall white figure, standing alone, her head down and her ethereal mane dragging along the floor, it's figure as stiff as a board. She didn't move from her position at the gate, she only stared at Nightmare Moon.

There was a dead silence that the wind didn't even dare to break, and it hung between the two sisters as heavily as a block of iron. Only a mere 100 feet separated the two, and it would only be moments before the actual fight transpired. Nightmare Moon made no move to attack her sister just yet, she only examined and evaluated her opponent, trying to discern whether or not the crying was a battle tactic, or a genuine display of emotion, though it seemed like the latter. She couldn't make out much from her distance, but it was clear that Celestia was crushed. She didn't want to kill Nightmare Moon, simply because it would mean killing Luna as well. It was just too cruel of a circumstance, being that the only right thing to do, was to kill your sister. Nightmare Moon smiled. Celestia probably wouldn't even put up a fight! She had barely moved at all, in fact she was... Now sitting.

Celestia had lowered her back legs and was placed on her haunches, and it looked like she was sobbing, but Nightmare was too far away to tell.

It didn't matter though, Nightmare Moon opened her wings and began to run. As soon as she had reached a full gallop, she slammed her wings down and launched herself in a wide arc toward her sister, the horn on her head aimed to skewer.

Celestia let out a shrill sob the moment it happened.

Nightmare Moon closed her eyes as she felt a satisfying pressure against her head. Her mind jumped for joy as she realized she had finally finished her conquest, before she was sent reeling back, rag dolling through the dirt. She hit the ground multiple timed during her tumble and slid to a slow and grueling stop. Nightmare Moon looked up, surprise in her eyes, and spat out a mouthful of grass and mud. Celestia was still sitting and crying quietly.

Nightmare Moon was dazed, what the hell just happened? Surely that should have speared her like a shish kabob, yet she sat there untouched. Luna cursed under her breath as she mentally berated herself for her carelessness. She jumped up to her feet and let out a loud frustrated yell, stomping her hooves in the dirt with rage. Her fury was blinding her, and she wasn't fighting this battle carefully. She jumped at Celestia once again, only to be swatted away by an magic pillar of light that launched her high in the air. She tumbled uselessly through the sky, before she finally managed to open her wings... But she was only a few feet above the ground when she did so, and crashed unceremoniously into the earth.

Nightmare Moon rushed to her feet, but made no further advances to attack Celestia. What was happening? How was Celestia so blatantly overpowering her? Had she made the grievous mistake of underestimating her opponent? No, she couldn't have. How could she have? Nothing was making sense!

She raced through her mind for an answer, but came up with nothing. "Well". She thought. "I can't get close enough to hit her, so I might as well try this!"

Celestia glanced up sadly at her sister. Nightmare Moon was having trouble coming to terms with the fact that she was grievously outclassed, and stood no chance against her. Celestia didn't want to fight... But she was left no choice.

Nightmare Moon's horn erupted in purple and her eyes began to emit a dark billowing fog. A low pitched humming sound shook the air around them, before a pitch black beam erupted from the tip of Nightmare Moon's horn. The grass underneath began to shrivel and die as the pulsing wave of Dark Magic traveled from the corrupt Alicorn on it's way to the mare of the sun. As it was about to hit the princess, Celestia's horn glowed dimly, and the black beam of energy snaked round the sad white figure, before hurtling back at Nightmare.

Her evil eyes widened as she attempted to jump out of the way, but she simply wasn't fast enough. The beam grazed her hind leg and caused her to fall into the ground, once again. Pain burned through her body as she felt her back leg reast and rot like a corpse. She clenched her teeth and clamped her eyes shut, the stinging that rippled through her leg was unimaginable. Is this what others felt? This horrible, repulsive, miserable feeling of pain? It was so much easier to inflict it, rather than receive it.

She was writhing on the ground when Celestia walked to her slowly.

"Luna,". She said through a pained whisper.

Nightmare Moon wouldn't turn to face her. She had been humiliated, defeated, and seriously injured, and the shame and disappointment she felt was unimaginable.

Celestia stood over Nightmare. "I know you're in there, Luna,". She said sadly. "Please come out, please come out and end this foolishness," she pleaded. "It's only brought about misery and fear, and I know that deep within, your a good pony at heart. I know you can change..." Celestia struggled to talk through her tears. "I love you, Luna, please don't make me have to live without you again,"

Nightmare Moon's coat began to suddenly change color, as if it were reacting to her sister's words by turning from a pitch black to a deep navy. Her mane began to lighten and flow more calmly, before finally, she transformed back into the mare of the moon.

"Luna!" Cried Celestia. "You're... You're back!"

Luna began to struggle to her feet, taking special care not to use her injured limb, but she said nothing, instead, her head only hung low.

"...Luna?" Asked Celestia, her voice shaken.

Luna didn't respond.

Celestia knew what must be going through her mind. Even though it was Nightmare Moon that was responsible for the terrible events that had transpired, she had used Luna as a tool to her destruction. Luna couldn't help but feel responsible.

Celestia closed her eyes and put a gentle hoof around Luna, before drawing her sister into a hug. "It's all over now, Luna". She held her sister tight. "It's all over."

Luna began to hug back a little, before she opened her eyes, and set her horn ablaze with magic. Luna then pushed Celestia off of her, and with a bright flash from her horn, a purple light slashed down toward Celestia's head. Luna watched sadistically as the beam of light seared through her sister's horn, and sent it clattering to the ground. It landed in the grass at Luna's hooves, who only crushed it against the earth.

Celestia screamed in horror and pain as she clenched the area where her horn had been severed from her head. The sherbet colored mane began to sputter out of existence as Celestia lost control of her internal magic, and collapsed to the ground.

"You're right sister, it is over." Said Luna, glaring down at her sister, before she smiled a sinister smile and morphed back into Nightmare Moon.

Celestia looked up at Nightmare, her eyes showing crushing sadness and numbing pain. The pitch black Alicorn strutted slowly towards Celestia, who tried to use her magic, only for her conical nub to spark out and send shooting pains through her head.

"You were so close to victory,". Nightmare said, stifling a laugh. "You were so close to succeeding! But somehow, you managed to screw it up, and for that, I would like to thank you." Nightmare Moon used her hoof to turn Celestia's head towards her face so she could look into her eyes. "But now, you see, I have experienced a sudden change of heart." Celestia eyes stared unblinkingly into Nightmare's. "You see, I first set out to kill you in order to take the throne. My first motive was for power, and only for power. However, now that I have obtained what I yearned for so earnestly...I feel myself already growing weary of it. It is now that I realize, my destiny in this world is to destroy." She pointed to the moon that still eclipsed the sun. "And I will fulfill my destiny by destroying, everything."

Celestia looked at her, terror painted on her face as her pupils narrowed into points. Nightmare Moon walked away from Celestia, smirked at her, and closed her eyes to focus.

She then stomped the ground and began to yell, magical energy charging around her body and blasting off in waves. The magic began to form into a singular black ball above her, which started to expand and contract, much like a heart. She held her breath as she dumped the last of the charge into the the sphere, then released all of the energy in a thin, tenuous, streak of light, that headed towards the moon. There was a long silence as Nightmare smiled devilishly.

Celestia stared at the large object eclipsing her sun, waiting for something horrific to happen to it, like for it to explode, or turn into blood. But when nothing happened for nearly an entire minute, she couldn't help but wonder.

Suddenly, there was an earth shattering blast that sounded like bombs exploding in the air, which echoed off the mountains and reverberated in the plains below.

Celestia looked around in frantic confusion from her spot on the ground, asking herself what could have happened. Nightmare Moon then turned towards her sister and spoke.

"You have 3 hours before the moon hits Equestria. I hope you enjoyed your life, because it all ends here."

Nightmare shot an orb of magic at Celestia, which morphed around her body and formed shackles around her four legs, locking the sun princess in place.

"In the meantime, you enjoy the view."

Celestia struggled against the magical confines, but couldn't break herself free. She desperately tried to use what little horn she had to escape, but it only sparked and sputtered and sent skull shattering tremors through Celestia's head. She finally stopped struggling and turned her head to Nightmare

"...Luna, How could you?" She uttered in a defeated breath.

Nightmare Moon simply turned around and smiled at her. "Luna couldn't! That's why she needed me." She then turned her head to watch the oncoming moon as it slowly grew larger.

"Inch by subtle inch the future closes from atop,

And not your sister or her friends will live to carry what I drop."

Author's Note

Celestia and Luna face off, and Celestia ends up losing her ability to use magic.

We have reached the point of no return, my fellow ponies.

We have only hours before the moon will fall.

Let me know what you guys think in the comments! I know that this chapter is considerably shorter than the others, but I felt that this event was too important to be paired with the other sub plots, so I opted to give this one it's own chapter instead. Thank you so much for reading,

-Delta

A Dragon's Revenge

Dash was beginning to feel hopeless. She had checked everywhere she could think of, including all of her friends houses, Everfree, and a quick peek in the clouds. During her search, she found nothing. Ponyville was deserted, and Dash was looking for one Pegasus among of thousands of ponies.

Then she heard the boom. It scared the Pegasus half to death, as she covered her ears and let out a startled yelp, flapping her wings in defense. When she realized the noise had come from somewhere in the sky, she lowered her wings and continued walking. "What the hell was that?" She thought, "It certainly wasn't thunder,". She just happened to glance over at the Mountain that Canterlot resided upon, and noticed flashes of purple and black that seemed to come from the city. She knew it must be magical, and the caster would have to be powerful for the light to be visible from this far away.

Then it came to her.

The only casters powerful enough to do that were the princesses themselves, which meant that they were battling, just as Dash looked for Fluttershy. The teal mare bit her bottom lip as she realized just how small the amount of time she had left might turn out to be. If Celestia won, then everything would go back to normal given a little time. If Nightmare Moon won, then... Dash thought, trying her best to imagine what Nightmare Moon would do once she reached power. She couldn't help but wonder if she would banish Celestia to the sun, or perhaps enslave the population of Equestria, dooming them forever to build colossal monuments to her eternal and everlasting glory, like Haydolf Hitler and the Trotzi regime did when Daring Do-

Rainbow Dash shook her head. Even now, those books couldn't stay out of her mind.

As she thought about this, she looked up at the moon, and immediately, her face contorted in thought. Something had changed about it... She was sure of it. But she couldn't quite place what it was. It just seemed... Different.

She quickly turned her thoughts to Fluttershy once again, trying to envision what the the shy little pony would do in a time like this.

Then she had a horrible realization.

Fluttershy probably left with Twilight, who was almost certainly on her way to aid the princess, which meant...

"Oh no,". Dash said aloud.

Fluttershy was on her way to Canterlot, where two rulers of god like power were settling their differences like barbarians.

She stared at the mountain as the purple flashes began to grow and expand. Rainbow Dash didn't know a whole lot about magic, but she did know that every unicorn had their own different color to their spells, and as she stared at the lights, she only saw one; deep, ghostly, lavender. She never really paid a whole lot of a attention to details like this, but she was pretty sure that Celestia's aura wasn't purple.

This only made her stomach flutter as she contemplated her next decision. Somewhere between here and that war zone was her last chance at a clear conscious, and Dash wasn't going to let it walk away.

She began to fly towards the mountain, when suddenly the purple flashes began to brighten to blinding magnitudes. Dash had to turn her head away due to the sudden brightness of the lights, resulting in complete loss of visibility, which nearly caused her to crash into the ground. When the lights finally faded, she stared on in awed silence, watching the unbelievable sight before her.

The beautiful city of Canterlot was sliding down the mountain, crumbling and collapsing as it tumbled down the rocky slope. Dash put her hooves to her mouth as she watched the Capitol of Equestria roll into a pile of broken architecture. Several large sections of the city spilt off before the entire mass disappeared into a colossal, amorphous cloud of dust.

Dash was mortified. She had no idea that Nightmare Moon was that powerful, nor did she think she would do something as extreme as destroying a city. Now the teal Pegasus wasn't so sure that looking for Fluttershy was such a good idea, "what if Canterlot isn't the only city she's destroyed?" She began to worry in her head. "If Nightmare Moon even caught sight of me, she would kill me on the spot". She began to subconsciously hover backwards, her mind desperately trying to keep as much distance from the enemy as possible, but Dash merely shut her eyes and took a deep breath.

"I gotta do it, I gotta do it for Fluttershy."

o.0.O== Meanwhile ==O.0.o

The two ponies, one dragon and one Draconequus were only about a mile away when Canterlot came crashing into the earth like a meteor.

No one spoke. What could they possibly say? The Capitol had fallen, which meant that Celestia had failed, and was probably dead. Fluttershy looked on as tears began to fall from her large blue eyes, and Spike merely gazed into the wreckage, his brain trying to process the ineffable tragedy that played out before him. Applejack looked away, and even Discord had a face of sadness.

"Twilight..." Spike uttered. He knew that she and Trixie had traveled here to try and aid in the fight against Nightmare... But now they had failed,..."

Spike sat down and began to cry. He sobbed profusely as the one figure in his life that he could call a mother was presumed dead in the wreckage of Canterlot. The clear tears rolled down the purple scales beneath his eyes before falling from his cheek to the ground. His lonely, white eyes were closed shut as he tried to imagine a life without Twilight, only to find that deep inside, he was angry. The lividity glowed white hot inside him, boiling deep in his soul, marinating in his hatred. Applejack looked over at Spike, who had stopped crying and began hyperventilating.

"S-spike? Are you alri-"

Spike hopped to his feet and turned to Discord, completely disregarding Applejack's question.

"Teleport me now!" The little baby dragon screamed at Discord.

"What?" Said the Draconequus in complete confusion, which was an emotion he rarely felt.

"Teleport me up there!" He pointed to the cliff where Canterlot was once sitting.

"You can't be serious,". Said Discord with a sudden frown.

"Did I stutter?" Yelled the dragon at Discord.

The mismatched being in front of the tiny purple dragon scowled at him before he raised his left lion paw, preparing to fulfill Spikes request

Applejack stepped forward and looked into Discord's eyes. "Don't you dare,"

Discord smirked mischievously before he snapped his fingers, and disappeared abruptly, along with Spike.

o.0.O== A Few Minutes Earlier ==O.0.o

High above the spot where Canterlot formerly resided, two ponies sat nestled discreetly in a nearly invisible cloud. Twilight had cast a spell on Trixie that allowed her to walk in the puffy cotton like platform which they both dyed black, to camouflage it against the sky.

With a pair of binoculars, Twilight spectated on the battles, watching Celestia get tricked by Nightmare, and seeing the City of Canterlot fall like an oversized stone into a puddle. Twilight felt depressed and morose, as she watched her teacher struggle helplessly against her sadistic sister. Not only that, but the city she lived just a few years ago, sat in rubble several hundred feet below. She wanted to cry, but she knew the tears would travel down her face and into the binoculars, so she forced herself not to shed any. She needed to be alert for when Nightmare Noon did it. There was one mistake that Twilight was betting on Nightmare to make, and they could not miss it, no matter the cost.

Trixie was watching the battle as well from another section of the cloud, and for the entire course of the brawl, she had said next to nothing, when all of a sudden, she shrieked in despair.

Trixie managed to say one word before Twilight began tearing over the side of the cloud.

"Spike!"

Suddenly, something grabbed hold of her tail and pulled her back up to the black mass of condensation.

Twilight was desperately trying to fly down to the battle. She had just witnessed Spike teleport onto the cliff by himself, and from the look on his face, he was seeking revenge. The purple mare reeled around, trying to catch a glimpse of whatever was holding her, and she let out a surprised gasp when she saw the God of Chaos himself, where Trixie used to be.

"Oh no you don't, you little maverick you,". Said Discord with a mocking tone and a sly smile.

"Discord! Spike is in trouble! Let me go!

"No he isn't, I have a plan, and I need you to listen."

"Why should I trust you?" She yelled back at him, momentarily stopping her struggle.

"I don't have a reason to give you, Twilight, just know that I am on your side this time."

Twilight sat back down in her cloud, fidgeting and sweating, her nerves practically palpable. "You'd better be right,". She said through gritted teeth, before she practically stabbed the binoculars back into her eyes.

o.0.O== Meanwhile ==O.0.o

The colors around Spike warped and turned into a jumbled spiral, before rearranging themselves into a totally different view. He was now overlooking the edge of the cliff where Canterlot was previously fixed to the mountainside, and as he looked around, he noticed a few strange things. Celestia was shackled to the ground, and it looked as if her horn was gone. Nightmare Moon was standing over the sun princess, seemingly talking to her, and Celestia could do nothing but listen. Her eyes were fixed on the moon in the sky, while Nightmare carried on her monologue.

Discord was nowhere to be found, but Spike cared little for that. The absolute blinding hatred that had built in his body was about explode, when he opened his mouth to speak.

"Nightmare Moon, you black hearted, cruel and sick minded bitch!"

Nightmare Moon turned around, sheer surprise on her face, but it all turned to laughter as she witnessed the dragon that uttered these words of contempt.

"I'm going to kill you, and I'm going to avenge Twilight." Said the little purple dragon as he stared daggers into Nightmare Moon's eyes.

"Are you now?" Said Nightmare through a smile. "It seems a bit backwards doesn't it? The dragon comes to slay me?" Nightmare Moon laughed uncontrollably. "The only thing keeping you alive is your bravery, dragon, but be forewarned; my amusement won't last long." Is the only sentence she managed to sputter out before doubling over in another fit of ridiculous laughter..

Spike began to walk slowly toward her as she laughed and gasped for breath. Just as Spike was a few feet away from Nightmare, he wound up his arm and bared his claws. He jumped forward, using the momentum of his air time to launch the palm of his hand into the black cheek of the laughing villain.

Nightmare was caught completely off guard. Her eyes were open wide with shock as she felt the hard claw slam into her face before digging deep cuts into her skin. Spikes face was a hard scowl as he forced his sharp nails as deep as he could into her evil facade. The loud sound of a hard hand smacking against flesh drew even Celestia's attention while it was fixated against the moon, and she turned, slack jawed toward the baby dragon. That day, Celestia would have a new found respect for that little wyrm.

Nightmare Moon stood up and towered over the little dragon, her eye twitching with anger and annoyance. She was going to kill this little purple nuisance. She was going to make sure he died as painful of a death as she could manage to administer, and she was going to make him wish he never hatched out his wretched egg.

Nightmare Moon stood on her hind legs and prepared to stomp on the little dragon, who only readied himself and clenched his fists.

Suddenly, Nightmare Moon felt something touch her underbelly, before it pushed up on her, causing Nightmare to fall squarely on her back. She looked back, refusing to believe that the tiny dragon had managed to overpower her, but when she looked, she realized she was in much more trouble than that.

Discord had emerged in front of Spike, with a smirk on his face, and his finger on his lip, as if to say, "oopsie,".

Discord looked over at Celestia, noticing the shackles fixed to her body. The god of Chaos couldn't help but smile as he spoke.

"I'd ask you to join the fight, Celestia, but I see your a bit tied up at the moment,". A small drum set appeared overhead and played a loud sting to punctuate his joke.

Celestia looked at him, disappointment and disbelief written in her eyes. She spoke through a hoarse grunt. "You're making puns now?"

Discord threw his hands into the air. "Puns are beside the point, I see your horn just doesn't get it." Another sting from the drum set above.

"Here she comes!" Yelled Spike as Nightmare Moon charged at the two.

"I wouldn't worry about her so much,". Said Discord with a wave of his hand, "you see, her mind's just a bit scrambled,". Discord snapped his fingers and watched as a puff of smoke engulfed Nightmare Moon. She emerged from the cloud, only to have her limbs swapped with each other and rotated at strange angles, causing her to shuffle on her hooves, before toppling over. She let out a scream of frustration as Discord laughed maniacally.

"I guess you could say it'll take a while for her to get back on her feet!" the drum set exploded above him and began to rain purple kittens.

Discord was on his back rolling around, before Nightmare Moon used her magic to correct her limbs. Without Discord noticing, she launched a beam of black energy from her horn.

"Discord, watch out!" Yelled Celestia, but it was too late.

Discord turned toward Nightmare Moon, only to be zapped and engulfed in light. His figure stood incredibly still, and when the light dimmed, it was revealed that he had been once again imprisoned in stone.

Celestia sincerely hoped that this was another one of his games, because he was quite possibly the last person capable of ending this disaster. Everyone on the cliff looked at Discord's frozen body, waiting to see if it would show any signs of life underneath the rocky facade. When no such move was made, Nightmare Moon smiled a devilish grin.

"Now it's just you and me, little dragon."

All of the anger from Spike's face had drained to show fear. After seeing what she did to Discord, he realized just who he was up against, and how hopeless the fight had been for him all along. He backed away from the black mare, who only strutted slowly toward him, smiling her evil beam every step of the way.

"Where's all your startling bravado now? Is it because your pesky bodyguard has gone, you've taken to feeling... Vulnerable?" Nightmare Moon was only a few yards away from Spike, who backed up as far as he could, until his foot almost stepped over the edge of the cliff. Nightmare Moon was now standing directly over him, her eyes fixed on the young dragon, thoughts of indescribable evil pulsing through her skull.

A strong gust of wind tipped Spike over the side of the cliff, who barely managed to grab hold of the edge with his claws. He began to try and desperately climb back up, but Nightmare crushed his hands with her hooves before leaning in, and putting her lips beside Spike's head.

"Long live the queen,". She muttered in his ear, before scooting his hands off the rock and sending him plummeting into the land below.

The air rushed past his body, hissing against his ears and buffeting the small dragon on his journey to the ground. In his mind, he felt satisfied. He had done all that he could do within his power, even though he failed. He did his best, but there is little that a baby dragon can do against the sheer evil of a jealousy driven Alicorn, and in the end, he knew that he would die.

On his way down, Spike spoke his final words to Twilight, whom he hoped was listening to him from heaven.

"Thank you". He began. "Thank you, for making the little time that I had on this earth worthwhile, I love you Twilight. Have fun in the stars,"

He closed his eyes, let his body go limp, and calmly embraced his fate.

Author's Note

Oh goodness, I tried to write this chapter as seriously as I could, but every time Discord started talking, endless ideas for gags and jokes kept pouring in, and as you can see, I succumbed. But his over large mouth and general arrogance has landed him in a rather... stiff position, *Ba dum tss!*

Ok, I'm sorry. I'm done, I'm done.

Let me know what you guys think in the comments! Hopefully I'm doing well, but sometimes it's hard for me to judge how you guys will react to certain things in the story, so all feedback is valuable. Thank you so much guys for inspiring me and helping me through my first fanfic!

-Delta

Return of Disharmony

"Let go of me Trixie!" Screamed Twilight through tears. "I have to help him!"

Trixie had tackled the flailing Alicorn, and was now struggling to to keep her in place. "No! You can't go down there!" She began to use her magic, trying desperately to keep Twilight in place. "Think about what's at stake! If you blow our cover now, than you destroy any we have chance of saving Luna!"

"I can't let Spike die! Not for me!"

"If you go down there, everyone is going to die because of you!" Trixie screamed at Twilight. "We need to stay patient! I'm certain she'll change back again!"

"No, she won't!" Screamed Twilight. "She never turned in the first place! She just changed her appearance to trick Celestia, and now Discord's been rendered useless after promising to protect him!"

Twilight used her hind leg to try kick Trixie off of her, but the royal blue unicorn held fast. "Don't make me have to stop you, Twilight, because if it means preventing you from ruining the last chance we have at salvation, then I'll do it!" Her voice was sad and desperate. "Use your head! If you go down there and try to save Spike, what will you gain? Are you even a strong enough flyer to pull it off in time?"

Twilight continued to struggle underneath Trixie.

"Don't let his sacrifice be in vain! The best thing you can do for him now, is to make sure that the mare who did this gets what she truly deserves, and the only way we can do that is by waiting!"

Twilight stopped struggling and laid her head down in the cloud. Millions of things were racing through her mind at light speed. No matter what her maternal instant told her, she couldn't deny that Trixie was right. Every fiber in her being told her to go save Spike, but at what cost? By rescuing him, she would alert Nightmare to her location, and quite possibly her plan, and who's to say she wouldn't chase them and kill them both afterwards?

Trixie and Twilight were counting on Nightmare Moon to turn back into Luna, that way they could use the Mind Smear Mixture to erase Nightmare Moon as she existed as a memory. They couldn't be sure that the potion would delete Nightmare herself, and even if it did, libraries of information stored inside of the princess's head could be forgotten along with her. Not only that, they couldn't even be certain that Nightmare would allow Luna to reassume control. They were hoping that perhaps she would use it as a tactic to torture Celestia, and even that turned out to be a dead end.

The moment Nightmare began to "change", Twilight was skeptical. There was no reason for her to have lost control. However, against all suspicions, Twilight dove from the cloud anyway. With a bottle of Mind Smear in her magical grasp, she began rocketing down to the overlook that Luna and Celestia had done battle upon. Luckily, she became aware of Luna's ruse before she touched down, and with shaky wings and much physical strain, she struggled to regain the altitude she had lost, attempting to fly back up to her cloud. In her scurry, she almost lost the potion, but managed to make it back to the lookout, undetected and unhurt.

Now she sat idle as her little Spike was falling to his death. It was a hard truth she had to face, and in her mind, she still couldn't justify it. Nonetheless, she made no move to jump over the cloud.

She instead hung her head over Trixie's shoulder, who silently mourned Spike's imminent passing as hot liquid began to fall silently from Twilight's eyes.

o.0.O== Meanwhile ==O.0.o

Dying was an experience that Spike wished he would never have to face. He always imagined it as a chaotic, loud, and incomprehensible horror that came and destroyed all life, but much to his surprise, it was calm and peaceful, and eerily silent. He wasn't sure what had happened, but he looked around and saw nothing. He couldn't breathe, but he figured that didn't matter. Wherever he was, it felt like he was sliding through syrup, as it was difficult to move his arms and legs, and turning his head proved to be a challenge.

"So this is the afterlife?" Thought Spike who opened his mouth to breathe out of habit, but instead inhaled some of the liquid, which caused him to gag and choke. He put his claws to his neck as he coughed out all of the air in his lungs, removing the thick liquid from his throat as well.

He felt his chest burning, begging for him to breathe, but Spike couldn't understand why. He was most certainly dead, he could have never survived a fall that large...

What the hell was going on? Why did he feel the urge to inhale? Why were his lungs burning like fire, demanding breaths of cool oxygen, when they received only the thick, viscous... chocolate tasting liquid? Spike began to flail around slowly, and felt himself being propelled through the muck. He slowly became lightheaded as he burned away the little energy he had left, before his head broke the surface, and he was greeted with cool air all around him

He coughed and sputtered for oxygen, greedily sucking as much as he could into his small lungs, his eyes squinted shut as he splashed about the liquid he found himself swimming in. As he slowly peeked past a wall of muck that covered him from head to toe, he saw that he had landed in a large wooden swimming pool filled with a mysterious brown liquid. He stopped flailing about and began to simply kick his legs to keep himself afloat, when out of curiosity, he licked his lips, licking the brown liquid that covered his face with his long, winding tongue, when his eyes widened with surprise.

"Pudding?" Said Spike confusedly.

o.0.O== Meanwhile ==O.0.o

Celestia watched as the moon approached. It was difficult to tell, but it had certainly gotten larger since Nightmare sent it falling toward the earth, around 15 minutes ago. She had been fastened to the ground by metal shackles, magically set in place by Nightmare, who was peeking over the edge of the cliff.

"Hahahaha!" She bellowed out as she looked at Spike's dead, lifeless body laying in a large pool of blood. "Serves you right dragon!"

Celestia closed her eyes, sadness washing over her. She was there as Spike hatched from his egg, and even though he lived with Twilight from birth, she couldn't help but feel a looming wave of despair. The world was ending, Nightmare Moon had destroyed three cities, killed hundreds of innocent ponies, and Celestia had lost her horn. The princess of the sun had failed to stop her sister, Discord's arrogance had caused him to be incapacitated, and Twilight was nowhere to be found.

Celestia used her right hoof to wipe a tear from her eye. She put it back against the ground, before she realized what happened. Her hoof was free. She looked over, certain that it hadn't been loose a minute ago, when her gaze fell upon a brown parasprite with mismatched wings. It was casually chewing as it smirked at Celestia.

The princess knew who it was immediately, and had to stop herself from screaming out his name.

"Discord!" She whispered excitedly to the parasprite, who put one of it's tiny legs to lips. The little parasprite then flew to her other fettered fetlocks and bit off the shackles. "I never thought I'd be this happy to see you," She said as she got to her feet

"Thought you could escape, did you?" Yelled Nightmare Moon through a deranged smile. Nightmare flared her horn purple and a large, glowing, hot pink wheel was ejected from her horn. It curved through the air before it touched the ground and began hurtling towards the two at a rapid speed.

The parasprite opened it's mouth, and a barfed out a multicolored ball, which expanded to become the spirit of chaos. "Pesadilla de la Luna! divertido encontrarte aquí!" He spouted theatrically before he grabbed the pink wheel as it blasted toward him, spun it around, and put it on his head like a sombrero. He then began to Samba by himself.

"What?". Exclaimed a bewildered Nightmare Moon. "What are you- why did..." She fumbled for the right words but none came for a few confused seconds. "How did you get out of that statue?" She finally managed,

Discord rolled his eyes mid dance. "Please, Nightmare Moon, you don't think I would be so stupid as to fall for that trick a third time?" He then grabbed the statue of himself and began to dance with it.

Nightmare Moon forced a devious grin on her face. "I still killed your cocky little partner,"

"who, Spike? Ha!" Discord threw his hands in the air as he did a quick foxtrot towards Nightmare. "He's anything but dead, in fact, he's a living, breathing hero."

Nightmare was unfazed. "I watched him fall! He hit the ground like a stone and he hasn't moved since! He's as dead as you will be in a few moments.

"Is he really? Are you sure?"

"Yes! I saw the bod-". Nightmare Moon suddenly had a stupid look on her face. She then walked slowly back over to the cliff and peeked over. Instead of Spike's lifeless, gory corpse, she instead saw a big wooden sign with "guess again," written in red paint.

Discord let out a long laugh. "Silly Nightmare, I can make you see whatever I want you to see! Spike is down there somewhere, probably bragging about how he slapped you like you were his playmare". He dipped the statue and continued dancing. "I wouldn't be surprised if he came back up for seconds,"

Nightmare growled at Discord. "I'll slay you where you stand, Draconeqqus"

"Bite me,". Said the dancing spirit with a smile, as he spun his statue away.

Nightmare Moon stomped her hooves and screamed with rage. Two purple pillars of energy exploded from her horn, bending and winding their way towards Discord. The spirit of chaos opened his hands and grabbed hold of the two beams, and with a laugh, he began to spin his body. Nightmare Moon's eyes widened with surprise as she was lifted off the ground, and swung around like a small foal on the end of a jump rope.

Discord bent his legs as if we're doing an Olympic hammer throw, and spun Nightmare Moon through the air, before throwing her over the side of the mountain in a black, flailing blur. She tumbled gracelessly through the air before she spread her wings and zoomed back to the mountain. She landed in a gallop, charging furiously at the Draconeqqus, who took a step forward and braced himself.

Just as Nightmare Moon made contact with him, Discord warped out of existence, leaving a brick wall in the shape of his silhouette. Nightmare crashed into the mass of stone and mortar head first, and with a yelp, she fell to the ground.

Celestia opened her eyes wide. Something rather curious happened as Nightmare hit her skull against the wall. There was a pulse of light that radiated through Nightmare's body, leaving spots of navy interspersed within her jet black coat, reminiscent of...

"Luna". Muttered Celestia under her breath. Perhaps if they could land a blow hard enough on her head, then Luna could regain control! But then what? Nightmare could just hijack her body again, and they would be right back where they started. Perhaps Discord could perform a memory hex on Luna and erase Nightmare Moon from her conscious. In fact, that was perfect! How did she neglect to recognize this before?

She was so lost in thought that she didn't notice Nightmare Moon as she was hurled at her with a wooden trebuchet that Discord conjured from the earth. She managed to duck just in time, catching a short glimpse of Nightmare's furious face as she soared by and disappeared over the side of the cliff

"Discord!" Yelled Celestia. "You have to hit her head! Aim for her head!"

The large mismatched figure looked over at the princess. "Hit her head? Like this..." He conjured an egg and violently cracked it in his claw.

"No Discord, Don't kill her! Just enough to turn her back! She will lose control with a hard enough hit to the head!"

"Got it,". Said discord, as the egg put itself back together in his hand.

Suddenly, Nightmare Moon came tearing back over the side of the cliff, her horn ablaze as hundreds of multicolored projectiles whistled through the air at Discord.

"I choose the red pill,". Said discord as sunglasses appeared over his eyes. He then bent his body backwards, spinning his arms as the bullets flew over him and crashed in the mountainside behind him.

Nightmare Moon stopped the magical fusillade and began to pant. "Why won't you die?" She said as she tried to continue the magical bullet storm, but her horn sparked out and she lost her balance. Suddenly, there was a look of horror plastered to her face as she feared the worst. She stood back up, gritted her teeth and tried to force herself to continue firing, but only one small magical projectile was shot from her horn, and Discord caught it mid flight, with a pair of chopsticks.

"All out of magic." He stated seductively as he folded his arms across his chest. Luna was gasping for breath, sweat pouring down her face and dripping off of her muzzle. Her body was out of magic, and Discord had barely been touched.

"Tell me Nightmare,". Said the Draconeqqus, "How do you like your eggs?" He then launched the egg he had been holding at Nightmare, which exploded against her head, sending her tumbling limply to the ground. When the smoke from the explosion cleared, a navy blue Alicorn was visible, lying in an awkward position, wounds and bruises covering her body.

Celestia rushed over to her fallen sister and examined her. "Discord, come quick!" The Draconeqqus casually walked over.

"Please don't rush me, princess, I've been doing all of the work for the past ten minutes. Let me work my calves,". Celestia looked back at the stubborn spirit of chaos with a livid face, only to see Discord in ill fitting sweatpants doing yoga on a purple mat.

"I need you to wipe Luna's memory! Nightmare Moon is still in there, which means she can still come back out, and we can end this disaster now if we wipe Nightmare from her mind completely!"

"Where are your manners princess? Say please."

Celestia was beginning to get desperate. "Please Discord! Please!" She blurted out angrily, as she turned to Luna, only to find the moon princess's eyes fluttering wearily.

"look out beloooooooow!" Screamed a familiar voice from above them

Celestia looked up just in time to have an inexperienced purple flyer crash into her, sending her rolling backwards.

"Twilight!" Exclaimed Celestia,

"No time!". Said the Alicorn frantically as she uncorked a bottle she had been holding.

"Where have you been?" Said Celestia a hint of irritation in her voice.

"What?" Said Twilight as she reeled her head around, noticing the tone in Celestia's voice.

"Where have you been all this time?"

"Trixie and I had a plan!" Exclaimed Twilight proudly as she galloped over to Luna, "We had this potion that erases memories, and I'm not nearly advanced enough to perform a mind wiping spell on somepony who's lived as long as Luna has, so I figured if Nightmare Moon turned back into Luna, we could use the potion to make sure she never came back!"

Twilight uncorked the bottle with her magic without even looking at it.

Suddenly, Celestia's face turned grave and urgent. "Twilight! Stop! Get out of there, quickly!"

"What, why?" Said Twilight quickly, as she poured the liquid down Luna's throat.

Celestia put her hoof to her mouth as her eyes widened with fear.

"Big mistake,". Said a sinister voice behind Twilight. The purple Alicorn turned around to see an empty bottle of potion against Nightmare's lips, who was now experiencing the vast mind expansion that Trixie's potion provided. Her eyes began to narrow with focus, and her horn began to glow, filled with newfound power.

Black thunder exploded from Nightmares horn, as the ground beneath her feet cracked. Legendary power began to pulse through her body as she simply stood there and felt it flow through her. Her horn flashed a bright white as an explosion erupted from the spot Nightmare stood upon, sending Celestia, Twilight and Discord hurtling off the mountain.

Author's Note

Muahahahaha! Nightmare Moon will of die easily!

Anyway, it was brought to my attention that Nightmare Moon shouldn't have been capable of imprisoning Discord, so after a few revisions to the plot, I corrected my erroneous contrivance!

And now Nightmare Moon is out for blood, and she is going to bask in it.

Let me know what you guys think in the comments! I'm eager to hear your thoughts and ideas.

-Delta

Martyrdom

Twilight spun helplessly through the air. She didn't have enough strength left in her wings to level herself out, as the rapid decent from the cloud had drained what little she had. Thanks to Twilight's recklessness, she had made the situation two times worse than it already was. How could she have been so foolish? The protégée of the princess, Celestia's most prized and trusted student had made an error so great, it would cost Twilight and possibly everyone around her their lives.

She knew she wasn't capable of stopping her fatal plummet, her wings were far too tired and numb, not to mention she knew of no spell that could stop a fall this large, not that she could focus herself in time anyway. As she spiraled, she caught a glimpse of Celestia, who had already recovered, but failed to notice Twilight as she tumbled towards earth. She didn't see Discord, but she was sure the Draconeqqus had already warped to the ground by now.

Twilight had been falling for what seemed like an eternity, but the howling roar of the air around her was a cruel reminder of how little time left she had left to live. She squinted tears out of her eyes as she screamed for her life.

She could hardly make sense of the world as she spiraled through the air, but she could see the ground as she quickly drew close to it's inescapable grasp. She put her hooves over her head, expecting the hard, bloody impact that was soon to come, but when it failed to occur, she was left wondering.

Instead, she saw the sky as she gently floated to the ground. She felt like she was being carried, but she was in such a panicked stupor, that it was hard to be sure. Twilight stared, dumbfounded, at the eclipse before her, noticing that the moon had grown to double it's normal size. She wasn't sure what that meant at the time, nor was she sure that it wasn't some sort of hallucination, brought upon by the liters of adrenaline that had been pumped into her veins. Perhaps this is what it felt like to die and transcend to heaven, after all she had been a good pony throughout her life. She slowly closed her eyes, and relaxed her body.

-When she felt her back being dropped slightly against the ground. Twilight abruptly opened her eyes, only to see a grief stricken and panting teal Pegasus above her.

"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight exclaimed loudly before jumping to her feet, only to topple over seconds later. Her head was spinning with dizziness as she tried to force herself to stay still.

Dash used her two front hooves to steady the Alicorn in front of her. "What the hell happened up there?" asked Dash, who was obviously terrified. "Were you in that blast?"

Twilight looked at Dash, her eyes slowly coming to a stop before she nodded her head and began to speak. "I screwed up, Dash". She stated, her ears flattening to her head. "Really badly,"

Dash's expression grew grim. "What did you do," she asked flatly, fear draining all the emotion out of her speech.

"Twilight, Rainbow Dash!" Exclaimed a happy, pudding covered dragon as he ran toward the pair. "Oh, am I happy to see you two!"

"Spike?" Said Twilight, recognizing the voice immediately. She turned her head away from Dash and sharply to the chocolate covered dragon. "Oh my sweet Celestia, Spike!" She began to gallop over to the sprinting chocolate blob, before tackling him in a big, pudding covered hug. "I saw you die! I saw Nightmare push you over, and I saw you fall. Why are you covered in pudding? How did you find me, how did you survive, and again, why are you covered in pudding?"

Dash only stared in confusion at the baffling sight before her. Apparently, Twilight thought Spike was dead... But he wasn't, and now he's covered in pudding for some reason.

"Me?". Announced Spike, "I thought you died! I saw the rubble, and I thought you were buried somewhere beneath it..." Spike broke the hug and stared up into Twilight's eyes. "I came here with Discord and Fluttershy to help with the battle,". Spike looked down, his guilty, green irises trained toward the ground. "Even though you told me not to,"

Dash's ears perked up, breaking her train of thought. "Fluttershy?" She called to Spike before she jumped over to the chocolate covered pair. "Where is she?" Dash inquired, a serious tone behind her words.

Spike looked up at Dash, surprised by the question. "Uh, last I saw her she was at the foot of the mountain. I'm not sure wh-"

Dash had already taken off, eager to clear her conscious before it was too late.

"What's her deal?" Asked a bewildered purple dragon as he looked up at Twilight,

"I'm not sure,". Said a befuddled Alicorn beside him. "It doesn't matter, we have to go Spike,"

"What?"

"We... We have to get out of here."

"Why!" Said Spike, obviously opposed to the idea. "We have to at least try to help Discord and Celestia,"

"We can't Spike, I may be an accomplished magician, maybe even more, but I couldn't wave my horn at the caliber of magic they are pulling off,"

Spike couldn't believe what he was hearing. "So you plan on running away? Twilight Sparkle, the esteemed mind and apprentice to friendship, is abandoning those who need her most?"

suddenly Twilight's eye's narrowed as she became infuriated with Spike. "Because of me, Nightmare Moon is unstoppable! I accidentally gave her the Mindsmear Mixture, which makes you think incredibly clear, before it..." Twilight's face suddenly came to a realization. "Knocks you out,"

Twilight's entire demeanor changed. "Spike, that's it! She only has about 10 minutes before she'll be face first in the dirt! All we have to do is keep her at bay until she conks out!"

Spike opened his mouth to begin talking, but the voice they heard didn't come from him.

"Only ten, measly minutes?" Said the ominous pony behind them.

Twilight knew who was speaking, and couldn't believe her ears. She slowly turned around, only to have her worst fears confirmed. There, standing behind her, was Nightmare Moon.

Twilight's heart sank. "What..." She managed to utter out in a slow whisper.

Nightmare Moon let out a slow chuckle. "No need to cower, Twilight Sparkle, I have come only to thank you." She cast a nasty glance at Spike. "However, your dragon might not survive my gratitude."

Spike clenched his fists and glared at Nightmare, who only cast her gaze back to Twilight. "You lent a helping hoof during my time of need, so I felt it only appropriate to reciprocate."

Twilight stared at her, eyes filled with a potpourri of emotions, ranging from sorrow to regret.

"But first, you see, I must expedite a few plans of mine, on behalf of my imminent incapacitation. Take a look at the moon, Twilight Sparkle."

The purple Alicorn grimly turned her head to the sky, before opening her eyes and taking in a shaky breath. The moon was huge, almost three times as big as it was normally. How could Twilight not have noticed? She had been staring down on that battle for so long, that it never occurred to her to look up.

"As we speak, that beautiful, milky white pearl is hurtling through space at speeds that would boggle your mind. I wanted to truly appreciate the sight of the moon crashing into our earth, so I made the cursed boulder drop fast enough to reach the earth three hours after starting it's decent. Now that I have found out about my unfortunate ultimatum, I'm going to have to rush things a bit."

Twilight turned to Nightmare in horror, who only smiled with a calm evil air about her, as she lit her horn black. Twilight stood up and began to use her magic. She couldn't sit idle while Nightmare talked of destroying the world, no matter how outgunned she may be. Twilight sent a bright purple magic missile hurtling from her horn, but it dissipated upon hitting the mare's black skin without leaving so much as a mark. Twilight desperately continued to fire her magical projectiles, only for each violent bolt to have the same useless effect.

Nightmare Moon only smiled as her horn glowed a photon absorbing black. The world around her seemed to distort with the indescribable amount of power that was being focused through one being. Twilight's vision warped and wobbled, before there was an deafeningly loud blast, sending a pitch dark beam of energy to the moon.

Twilight looked on in horror as the already falling chunk of rock lurched towards earth, it's figure growing larger and shaking violently as if it were vibrating. The white surface began to darken and smear, as the celestial object reacted with Nightmare's magic.

"The moon will hit the earth in just 5 minutes, giving me enough time to take care of a few final business matters before watching that over glorified rock decimate this one"

The evil black mare turned towards Twilight.

"Now everyone on this planet will die, except for two lucky ponies." Nightmare Moon wrapped her wing around Twilight's shoulder and pulled the stupefied Alicorn to her side. "And my gift to you, for making all of this possible," Nightmare's horn sparked black. "Is your life." Suddenly, Twilight was encased in a transparent, magical bubble. She began to bang her hooves on the side of the container, but to no avail.

"This pod will protect you from the impact of the moon. Before I succumb to the adverse effects of the potion, I too will encase myself in a pod like this. Once the planet has been destroyed by the lunar monstrosity that was my prison for 1000 years, I will reshape the broken pieces into a world more suitable for my tastes, and you will be the primary catalyst in all of it."

Twilight tried to use her magic to break the bubble, but the inside neutralized her horn, sending a jolting burst of electricity down into her skull, causing her to collapse against the inside of the imprisoning orb.

Nightmare Moon watched with a smile before turning to the small, purple figure, who watched helplessly as Twilight struggled inside of her spherical prison cell. "And as for you, little dragon,"

Spike said nothing, he only stared at the moon with a sad expression.

"I cannot say that I don't admire your bravery. You are quite the remarkable little dragon for one so young, and though it is a shame that I must kill you so early on in your life, know that you will always be my favorite martyr."

There was a black flash, and an infinitesimal beam of energy pierced the baby dragons chest, ripping past his scales and tearing through his flesh. He stumbled around for a few seconds, desperately trying to keep his hold on life, before he toppled to his side, his large green eyes completely still and lifeless. Nightmare Moon could hear Twilight's frantic crying as she witnessed her life companion die in front of her, while she could do nothing but watch helplessly. Normally, death made Nightmare Moon lustful and bloodthirsty, but the sheer misery that emanated from Twilight made her feel something she hadn't felt in a long time.

Satisfaction.

As Nightmare Moon watched each one of her plans succeed without interruption, she could only smile. This was her destiny. This was her purpose.

She was destruction.

She was death.

When suddenly, the little purple dragon began to crawl towards Twilight. Nightmare looked on as the dying dragon spent his last modicum of energy, dragging himself along the dirt, before stopping to write something. Pink blood began to pool where he lay, as he shakily began to etch a few letters into the ground.

He only managed to write, "Thank y" before he slumped over and lay completely still. Twilight hung her head low in the bubble, sobbing profusely as she read Spike's, final words. Nightmare simply began to laugh callously as the terrible sight before her took place, however Twilight was too far down in her own despair to pay her any mind.

Nightmare Moon then turned around and took off. She wanted to find Celestia.

She had a few words she wanted to share with the princess before she destroyed the very land she claimed to rule.

Author's Note

The book draws into it's final few chapters everpony, and though I am excited to finish my first fanfic, I am hesitant to simply let the story end here. I want to continue writing about this particular storyline, and I would like to ask what everyone would think about a second book in this series.

I just want to know what you guys would think about this, as it is a pretty pivotal point in my writing career right now. Let me know what you guys think in the comments, and if you guys want, I'll start posting the second installment. Thank you for reading, everyone,

-Delta

Forgiveness

Rainbow Dash heard the deafening boom in the sky, and looked up to witness the falling moon. The monumental object was hurtling towards Equestria like an alabaster cannonball, and there was nothing Dash could do to stop it. She doubted there was anyone left who could, when to her surprise, a green beam shot from somewhere on the ground.

The long streak of light zoomed towards the moon before making contact with it's surface, sending a green shockwave that expanded from the point of impact in an incredible ring of beauteous magical light. As soon as it made contact, the large orb that careened towards earth began to slow in it's decent. Green clouds of magically charged moon dust were shot away from the surface as the moon slowly, but surely began to stop in it's tracks. A sickening screech echoed across that land that sounded like an enormous chunk of metal being scraped against a chalkboard, as the vibrations from the immense seismic activity on the moon conducted through the beam before reverberating within the earth.

Dash looked down to observe the origin of the magical display, when she witnessed a tall mismatched figure above the ruins of Canterlot, standing with his hand outstretched and a smile on his face. Dash saw him mouth a few words before he threw his head back in laughter, but whatever words he uttered were drowned out by the stentorian screech still pulsing through Equestria.

Soon after the green beam had blasted from the ground, deep purple lightening exploded from somewhere around the mountain. It arched in long bolts, creating a jagged tree of electricity, branching out into the surrounding air like galvanic vines sprouting from the earth. Soon, a pitch black wave of energy rocketed from the base of the position and to the surface of the approaching lunar satellite, and made contact with the surface as well.

There were black and green pulses of energy circling the moon, as each party struggled to overcome the other for telekinetic control of the massive, planet like object.

Rainbow Dash was in awe. Never had she witnessed such ineffable displays of raw, unrestrained power. The moon that so gracefully adorned the sky at night, the very same moon she had gazed upon just a few nights before with Fluttershy, was caught in the largest power struggle the world was likely to ever witness.

That reminded her. Fluttershy. Where was she? Dash prayed in her mind that the information Spike had given her was correct. She scanned the surface, trying her best to ignore the frightening fight for the moon above her, but the loud blasts and chaotic humming was very difficult to tune out. She struggled to focus her mind on what was below, frantically searching for a speck of yellow against the verdant green landscape.

When she spotted her.

Fluttershy was sitting against a large rock, staring up into the sky. Dash couldn't help but feel terrible, this shy, unsuspecting, and kind pony was staring down a death, perpetrated in the most horrible way possible. Dash flew down to the yellow mare, ready to apologize for everything she'd done.

Her teal hooves made contact with the soft green grass as she approached Fluttershy. Dash had landed behind the yellow mare, and though she was unable to see her face, Rainbow was sure that the little Pegasus was probably having an emotional breakdown, struggling to come to terms with the imminent. Dash finally reached the yellow Pegasus, ready to stare into her certainly distraught face, when the introverted mare turned her head and sent unnerving chills of confusion down Dash's spine

There was a sad smile on Fluttershy's lips, directly contradicting her crying eyes. Dash only stared at her pitifully as she tried to work out the complex salmagundi of hopelessness and happiness that conflicted upon her face, much like the two beings struggling for control of the moon.

"It's a beautiful evening, isn't it?" Said Fluttershy, her voice cracked and strained.

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to speak, but no words would come. Instead, tears of her own began to well as she struggled to remain afloat in her droning tempest of guilt.

"The way the moon looks in the sky, it reminds me of the sunset we spent in the clouds." Fluttershy's gaze never left the moon. The large object had slowed down exponentially, but it didn't look like it was going to stop in time.

"I know why you've come,". Said Fluttershy, finally looking towards Dash. "I know you've been looking for me, and I just want you to know,". Fluttershy took in a shaky breath, before uttering her next words in a shaky whisper. "I'm sorry,"

Dash choked on her tears for words. "No," Dash drew a loud breath. "I'm sorry. I haven't been able to think straight, knowing what I did to you."

Fluttershy looked at Dash, her odd smile still persisting. "It taught me an important lesson." Fluttershy used her hoof to wipe tears from her eyes. "No matter what trials life may put us through," She looked towards the falling moon as if it were an old friend. "I know that in the end, I'll have you. If I had the choice to go back and change what happened that day, and erase the damage that had been done, I would choose to keep things as they are now."

The words Fluttershy spoke resonated within Rainbow's heart, and soon, she donned the same smile as Fluttershy

Dash looked into Fluttershy's eyes, when she noticed something she hadn't before. There was a small scar, just underneath her right eye, where a hard hoof had broken the soft skin on her face.

Dash's memory was cast back to that pivotal moment that seemed so long ago.

o.0.O== Several Weeks Earlier ==O.0.o

"Hey Fluttershy!" Dash exclaimed happily as she opened the door to her cloud home. "What took you so long? I was starting to think you weren't coming."

Fluttershy had a troubled look on her face, and though she quickly smiled a her friend, it was still apparent that there was something wrong. The yellow mare opened her mouth to speak, but Dash had already started talking.

"Anyway, I was having a little bit of trouble with Tank... He's been, well, acting differently." She began to walk away from the door, but Fluttershy made no move to enter the house. Dash looked back, noticing that her friend hadn't followed her inside, and with a strange face, she called back. "You alright?" Dash asked, the tiniest mote of suspicion embedded in her tone.

"Yes, yes!". Blurted out Fluttershy awkwardly, before turning her head away from Dash.

The teal Pegasus stared at the distressed mare, trying her best to piece together whatever it was that was troubling her. The yellow mares pupils began to shrink as she became conscious of Dash's suspicions, before she finally spoke. "Where is the little tortoise anyway?"

"Inside, and your going to have to walk into the house to see him,"

"Oh, right!" Fluttershy bent her head down with a sheepish smile as she quickly cantered into the low lying abode.

"I guess Tank isn't the only one acting differently,". Dash said dismissively before she guided Fluttershy to her kitchen.

Fluttershy followed Dash, noticing the many items around her home. There were several pictures of her and Scootaloo, some photographs of the Wonderbolts and a blue and white baseball cape sitting on a large coffee table, which was placed in front of a large sofa. The went down a hallway before arriving in Dash's kitchen.

Immediately, she noticed a large glass terrarium with the tortoise pacing restlessly inside. There were small ruts in the dirt, where the little green reptile had been walking in circles for hours. It had begun to worry Dash, so she decided she would ask Tank's former caretaker for advice. After all, that was her special talent.

"He won't stop running around his enclosure. Normally he's pretty still, but he hasn't stopped moving for hours. I tried letting him out of the cage so he could run around, I figured that he might have just wanted to explore, but that hasn't solved it. I wouldn't really care so much, but he hasn't eaten or drank anything since he started, and it's starting to scare me."

Fluttershy had been half listening to the conversation, her mind stuck on the looming question she had been pondering. "Rainbow Dash," Said Fluttershy, a hint of nervousness was audible in her voice. "Umm, I've been hearing some rumors..."

Dash looked over at Fluttershy with that same strange expression. "That's a little off topic, but what rumors?"

"Well, about you and, um, Scootaloo."

Dash's face contorted with confusion. "What about me and Scootaloo?". Dash spoke slowly.

"Some ponies have been saying that she's been sleeping here,"

Dash looked around as if to say, "so"

"And her mother isn't, well." Fluttershy stopped and looked at the ground. "She's not happy... About it."

Suddenly, Dash took a defensive posture. "Her mother is never happy about anything, and she treats Scootaloo like dirt because of it,". Her face contorted with anger. "I hate that miserable mare,"

Fluttershy's eyes widened with surprise. "You can't just keep her away from her mother, that's foalnapping!"

"She doesn't deserve to be called a mother!" Dash was suddenly infuriated, her brow furrowed with anger as she stared into her friends eyes. "Why are you so interested in Scootaloo now anyway?" Rainbow Dash couldn't hide her anger.

Fluttershy was now backing up guiltily. "It's just that her mother is well... Suspicious of what you do with her all this time up here, I mean it's not like you two are related... And... And,". Fluttershy was struggling to speak. "It just doesn't look right!"

Dash slowly put two and two together, "You, you think that..." Dash's face contorted into a sad visage. "Fluttershy, how could you?"

The yellow mare quickly responded. "No! I-I don't think that, it's... It's just that-"

"I do." A chestnut colored Pegasus walked into the kitchen, a mean scowl plastered to her face. Rainbow immediately recognized her, and suddenly, the sadness in her face turned to hostility.

Dash looked between Fluttershy and the angry brown Pegasus, anger building up inside her. "You brought that neglectful excuse of a mother here?"

The brown mare began to raise her voice. "You stick your little perverted muzzle out of my daughter's life, and off her flanks!"

Dash closed her eyes with anger. How dare this odious Pegasus accuse her of such licentious acts?

"If I ever see you near my daughter again, I'll have you locked away, you lewd, sick minded tramp!"

The teal Pegasus could feel the anger boiling inside of her, demanding that she did something to shut that filly abusing parent up, when she felt the hatred and anger heating up in her hooves.

"You're lucky I don't have you locked away this instant! I can't believe my own daughter was stupid enough to befriend you!"

Dash couldn't hold it back any longer. All she could think about was the marks and cuts that Scootaloo would come from school with everyday, knowing full well that the mare responsible stood before her.

"This is for every bruise I've ever seen on Scootaloo's face!" She lashed out with her hoof, her eyes closed in seething anger. She felt her front leg drive into an unsuspecting cheek, and opened her eyes, raising her body up for another strike.

She expected to see Scootaloo's hateful mother in a heap beneath her, but instead, she only saw Fluttershy. The little yellow Pegasus had stepped in front of the rampaging Rainbow Dash as she lunged forward, and now she simply stared up at Dash, her eyes filled with shock and her face completely horrified.

"...Fluttershy!" Dash managed to yell out in surprise. There was a red mark below her left eye, which slowly began to bleed a small tear of blood. There was a soundless pause that hovered in between the three as they all processed the scene that had just transpired.

Dash would never forget her teary face as she stormed out of her home.

The teal Pegasus tried to chase after Fluttershy, but she disappeared out her door and flew away from her home.

It would be two weeks before she saw Fluttershy again.

After an extensive apology on Fluttershy's behalf, Dash found out that Scootaloo's mother had eavesdropped on an earlier conversation about Tank, and after finding out about her scheduled visit, the chestnut colored pony decided to take advantage of yellow Pegasus' submissive nature by cornering her in an alley. She threatened to physically harm Fluttershy if she didn't lead her to Dash's house, and the yellow mare was forced into aiding the furious mother in her confrontation.

Even though Dash didn't blame her, Fluttershy couldn't help but think that she was responsible. If only she had stood up for herself and told that mean mare off, then none of that would have ever happened.

But now as they watched the moon steadily approach, they understood how little their issues really were. No matter what happened on that day, it would change absolutely zero in the end.

"I'm glad I have someone like you as a friend,". Said Dash, her teary grin trained towards Fluttershy. "I don't think I'd be able to go through all of this with anyone but you,"

The yellow mare closed her eyes and snuggled next to Rainbow, just like they did on the cloud. "Don't worry Dash, we only have a few minutes left to go."

The pair laid quietly against the rock, their eyes closed and their hooves around one another.

In the end, they would be together as the moon fell.

Author's Note

The moment that changed it all is finally revealed.

It took me a long while to write this chapter, as I simply couldn't get the dialogue right, but after much editing and a suicidal amount of revision, I finally have a chapter I'm happy with.

Let me know what you think of this chapter in the comments! Even though I think it's one of my better chapters, it's hard for me to be truly critical of my own work; it just can't be done. So any feedback is appreciated!

Thank you for sticking with me this far,

-Delta

Atlas, and the Fall of the Moon

Discord steadily gained control of the moon, desperately trying to stop it before the white orb destroyed everything. The lunar body was so close now that it filled most of the visible space above, looking as if there was a second skyline on top of the other. Suddenly, a large white ring blasted through the sky, signaling that the moon had just entered the exosphere of the planet. Due to the fact that another massive object was coming so close, Discord could actually feel the gravity around him lighten, as the upwards force from the moon challenged the downward pull of gravity. It was quite the surreal experience, and if Discord wasn't preventing the destruction of Equestria, then would have stopped to appreciate it's grandeur.

Discord knew he was strong enough to stop the moon, but with Nightmare forcing it down in it's descent, he was doubting his ability to do it in time. He allowed the magic within his palms to channel more abundantly, widening the lime green beam that hung between him and the surface of the moon. He knew that Nightmare couldn't keep this power struggle going for much longer, and so Discord would have to gain control of the moon by simply forcing her out. He let out a efforted groan as he widened the beam once again, watching as a green aura encompassing the moon slowly pushed out all of the black, granting him complete telekinetic control.

Suddenly, he braced himself, outstretching his arms to the sky as if he were preparing to catch something large, before he began to push upwards against the lunar dumbbell. In an instant, he could feel hundreds of thousands of tons, pressing against his body like a hammer. He let out a few painful grunts as he pushed against the massive object in the sky.

As the earth and moon slowly grew closer to each other, their magnetic fields began to interact on a hectic scale. As a result, a few streaks of colored lights began snaking through the space between the moon and the earth. Suddenly, the entire sky lit up, as if it had been set alight by a rainbow colored flame. Purples, greens, ceruleans and reds whirled across the heavens, like the sky itself was trying to flee the impending catastrophe.

As Discord looked painfully at the sky, he couldn't help but notice the irony in this occurrence. During their bleak final moments, a display so vivid and mesmerizing had emerged from seemingly nothing. It was life's symbolism. Even in the ugliest of ends, there can always exist beauty. During these last dystopian, and Stygian moments, life came through like a ray of light in a dark room, inciting one thing within all who witnessed it. Hope. Maybe things will turn out alright in the end. No matter how bad things may seem, we will always have hope. And during times like these, it is the only thing we have.

Discord had never expected Nightmare Moon to go this far. Had he known about her heinous and insane scheme, he would have simply ended her right then and there, preventing this fiasco. He may represent chaos and disharmony, but he wasn't a truly evil being... Not like Nightmare was.

He could feel the weight of the moon gradually lifting from his body, as his magical grip over the moon finally solidified. He breathed a heavy sigh of relief as he held the moon in place. He had managed to stop the moon from colliding into the surface of Equestria, with mere minutes to spare.

From what he could tell, it seemed as if the moon was only 30 miles from earth, though it was difficult to tell with the aurora partially obscuring the sky. He gazed into the dangerously close surface, when he caught sight of a black figure flying overhead, her body but a silhouette against the almost blinding light display above. He watched as the large figure arched down before lading in a large puff of dirt and debris in front of him.

Discord stared seriously into the cloud of smoke, knowing full well who was behind it.

"Your interference has cost me precious time; time I cannot afford to spend." Said a voice coming from the cloud. As she spoke, she walked out into the open, a livid scowl painted on her face.

Discord was in trouble. All of his magic was currently being used to keep the moon in place. The combined gravity of the moon and earth falling toward each other required all of his resources to counterbalance. If he were to use any magic to defend himself from Nightmare, the moon would begin to fall again.

"You will pay for your indiscretions with your life, Draconequus!" Nightmare Moon's horn erupted in black lightening, shocking Discord where he stood. The Draconeqqus' face contorted in pain, but not a single muscle moved from it's current position.

"I'm sorry, but this is one debt I'm afraid I must default upon."

Nightmare's face twisted with hate. Another, more powerful branch of lightening arched towards Discord. This time he let out a loud scream, pain coursing through his body as he struggled to hold the weight upon his shoulders. Not a single wound could be seen on Discord's body, despite the fight between him and Nightmare.

Discord put his head down, breathing heavily.

"Had enough, spirit?" Yelled Nightmare as she readied her horn for another blast

Discord looked up at her with a weak smile. "You need a time out,". Managed the Draconeqqus between breaths. "You have been one, naughty Nightmare."

Another bolt of electricity surged through Discord. The pain was overwhelming, causing every muscle in his body to burn, ache and cramp at the same time. Suddenly, he feel to his knees, his arms still outstretched to the sky, holding the moon with the little strength he had.

Discord's face showed only a smile of pain and strain.

Nightmare knew that she had the Draconeqqus where she wanted him. He would be unable to defend himself as long as the moon remained under his support. Normally, Nightmare would have savored the moment, torturing his very existence to the brink of near death, before finishing him off in the most brutal, painful, and humiliating ways possible. But due to the time limit she had been given by the potion, she had to end it now.

"Die swine!" Yelled Nightmare as a beam of black energy blasted from her horn. The beam made contact with Discord's skin, before dissipating into a flurry of black sparks, inciting painful yell from Discord.

Nightmare's face contorted with livid confusion. That beam should have burned right through his flesh and tore his entrails, yet it merely bounced off of him like swarthy confetti. She ignited her horn once again, blasting another black pillar of energy towards the kneeling Draconequus. The pillar collided with Discord before once again, showering uselessly in a rain of black issles.

Discord laughed slowly and painfully. "Even in your heightened state, you cannot kill me." Nightmare's face sunk angrily. "No mere pony in any state is capable of killing me. I am much more than a physical creature, I am a spirit. You cannot simply, 'kill' something like me. As long as there is disorder, as long as there is disorganization..." The Draconequus paused, taking in Nightmare's reaction. "As long as there is chaos, I will live. I may feel the pain from your attacks, and though they hurt like there are actual wounds upon me, I know they will not kill me."

Discord rose to his feet, his hands still outstretched towards the sky. "Whether or not this moon falls, it will make no difference in my well being. I will survive and continue to exist regardless. The only thing that drives me to protect this land, is the friendships that I have made, no matter how tentative, superficial, or nonexistent they may seem. Therefore, it is my duty to ensure that those friendships exist as long as I do. I protect this land for Fluttershy, Twilight, Celestia,". Discord looked into Nightmare's eyes. "Even for you, Luna."

Nightmare Moon half opened her mouth, struggling to find any words to vocalize. She only looked evenly at Discord, her face painted with confusion and emptiness. As she listened to Discord's words, she realized that she had failed. Her dramatic ploy for revenge was thwarted by the last person she had expected, and she could only fathom one emotion.

Emptiness

Her face no longer showed the hatred she had so maliciously emanated so many times before... The glow of morbidity she had demonstrated at Cold Point, Vanhoover and Cloudsdale had faded and become nothing but a chilly, hollow feeling of confusion. It had almost been ten full minutes since she had drank the potion, and could already feel her mind collapsing into itself.

Her vision went blurry, her body felt weightless, and she finally collapsed, unconscious.

Discord merely stood alone, his hands raised above his head as he closed his eyes peacefully.

He slowly began lifting the moon back into the sky, grunts and yells of effort escaping his lips. Slowly, but surely, the moon rose above, beginning it's long ascent to it's prominence in space.

As Discord hoisted the moon back into the sky, he couldn't help but wear a small smile. He had won. The world survived because of him, and deep in his stomach, he felt a dignifying feeling of satisfaction.

It took a full hour for the Draconequus to raise the moon back to it's normal distance away from Equestria, and as he finally let go of the large object, he collapsed into a tired pile on the ground. He had expended indescribable amounts of energy on this task alone, and would need to rest for a long while to regain his reserves. As he laid comfortably in the grass, he remembered something.

He looked over at Nightmare Moon's body, which rested peacefully a few feet away. Discord thought for a moment, before snapping his fingers and conjuring a flash of light. Just like that, Nightmare's horn and wings disappeared, leaving only a large, black tinted earth pony in the grass. He finally closed his eyes out of sheer exhaustion, drifting into a deep, rejuvenating slumber.

Author's Note

Note, this isn't the end of the book. An epilogue is still to come.

Thanks to everyone for sticking with me for so long, I can't tell you how happy I am to have come this far with the story, and hope you all have enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing.

I know I say this a lot, but I appreciate any comments, criticisms, or thoughts you have on the story as a whole.

Hopefully the epilogue comes out in the next day or so.

Epilogue: The Four Sunrises

o.0.O== Golden Oak Library ==O.0.o

A thick sheet of fog hung over Ponyville. The residents had been moved back into the city a few hours ago, and an eerie silence had befell the land. In the quiet, seemingly empty city, Twilight Sparkle stood over a small stone grave placed in front of her library. When Nightmare fainted, all the magic she had used dissipated, freeing Twilight from her spherical prison.

She immediately ran over to Spike and tried to coax him back to life. In her mind, she couldn't believe Spike was gone. On her way to her home, she had carried Spike's dead body on her back, as if he were still alive.

She talked to it as well.

"How are you feeling?" She had said through tears. The baby dragon on her back said nothing, it only lay stiffly against her skin. "I know you're sleepy, Spike, we'll be home soon." She had continued to walk, tears steadily rushing down her face. "You were brave back there, standing up to Nightmare Moon like that,". She looked over at Spikes peaceful looking body. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm proud of you. You're going to grow up to be a wonderful dragon..." She began to sob profusely, knowing full well that Spike had drew his last breath hours ago.

She stopped and let her head hang low. "I'm sorry Spike, Im sorry..." She managed to sputter out. She knew the truth, no one had hidden it from her but herself, and as she carried her dead friend on her back, she realized that.

But as she stood in front of her deceased assistant, she simply couldn't bring herself to believe it. She stood silently over the grave, when through the fog, a black figure emerged. Twilight knew who it was and launched herself at the figure, horn ablaze and hungry for revenge.

"Nightmare Moon, you black hearted, murderous piece of-"

"Twilight!" Said a panicking white mare beneath her. Twilight looked down into the pony's eyes, realizing soon that it was just Rarity, dressed heavily in black for Spike's passing.

Twilight backed away, her head down in sorrow once again, muttering an almost inaudible apology. Rarity picked herself back up, a gentle look of concern on her face.

"I know it's hard, Twilight". She put her hoof on the sulking Alicorn's shoulder. "I know that in your heart, you will never be able to truly let go..."

Rarity lit her horn a light teal, before a gold and red pendant gently floated from around her neck and onto the grave. Twilight immediately recognized it as Spike's fire ruby, the one he had given to Rarity a while back. It hung on the grave, slowly swinging in the wind.

"But try not to linger on it too long, darling."

Rarity then walked to the grave, looked at it gloomily, before kissing the surface and walking away, her silhouette against the sunrise.

o.0.O== Sweet Apple Acres ==O.0.o

Applejack opened the door to her home, only to find Applebloom sitting on the couch, a hopeless look on her face.

"Hey there, Applebloom,". Said the orange pony gingerly.

Applebloom simply turned her head towards Applejack, her expression unchanged.

"Are... Are you alright there, sugarcube?."

"We almost died." She said solemnly. "Everypony almost died." She turned her head towards the window. "It makes me think about life... About time." She looked back over, the same lost expression on her face. "And just how little we have of both."

Applejack's ears flattened against her head as she forced a smile to her lips. "Oh, don't look at it like that, Bloom,"

"Why not?" She said quickly, her eyes looking sad and confused. "Why look at it any other way?"

Applejack opened her mouth to speak, but couldn't think of an answer suitable for her question.

Applebloom shook her head. "You know why? Because it's the truth. The world outside is ugly, dark, and full of sadness, and the life I've known has been so worry free and careless." Applebloom suddenly looked frustrated. "To look at it any other way would just be pretendin' it didn't exist!"

There was a long pause between the two sisters as they stared at each other. Finally, Applebloom's expression changed to that of a sad little filly. "I don't wanna pretend anymore, sis..."

Applejack started to trot towards her, her sights set on comforting the small pony, but Applebloom only held out her hoof. "Ah need to be alone right now..."

She put her head down and closed her eyes. Applejack walked by her silently, before turning and heading upstairs. As she reached the top of the steps, she caught sight of Granny Smith. She was knocking on Big Mac's bedroom door, speaking softly and tenderly to the red stallion behind it.

"Oh, come out already, young 'un, the disaster's gone and passed,". She said gently thought the door.

"N-Nope!" Came Big Mac's panicked reply.

"But everythin's fi-"

"Nope!" Yelled Big Mac through the door, obviously frightened. Applejack let out a small puff of air through her nostrils. Even though Big Mac was a startlingly strong pony, he wasn't a very brave one. Applejack went inside of her room, a goofy, but out of place smile on her lips. She knew it was over, and she was relieved that she and her family had survived... But the emotional stress and trauma that it brought would remain as long as they all lived. She sincerely hoped that Applebloom cheered herself up soon, she wasn't sure she would be able to tolerate this new, grim little filly..."

Oh well. She stared out at the dim landscape, just as the sun began to poke it's fiery head from behind the hills. She looked down on the landscape, noticing a large platoon of Royal Guards stationed outside of Ponyville, their heads raised and their horn ablaze.

Why would the Royal guards be moving the sun and not Celestia? Unless she had...

Applejack reached up to grab her hat off her head, and when her hoof only felt her blonde mane, a shiver of fear crawled down her spine. Her hat was missing. Where could it have go-

She quickly recalled her parents tree, and her returning the hat to her father.

Now that she had noticed it's absence, she couldn't help but be bothered by the sudden lightness of her head. She had grown quite accustomed to that Stetson, and without it, she just felt... Incomplete.

The event had changed even her. She just sat there, running her hoof through her hair as she watched the sun ascend from beyond, rays of morning sunlight shining peacefully through her window. It really was a beautiful sunrise.

o.0.O== Fluttershy's Cottage ==O.0.o

Fluttershy sat quietly across from a royal blue unicorn. The Pegasus had found her perched uselessly in a cloud, just above the Canterlot ruins. Seeing as Trixie had no wings, she gently pushed the cloud down to ground, allowing her to escape the confines of the puffy prison and plant her hooves in the grass once again. She had been left stranded by Twilight after she dove after Nightmare with the potion, and had been stuck on the cloud for several hours.

Fluttershy had said her goodbyes to the blue magician, before she asked to stay at her cottage. Trixie had been left homeless after an encounter with Timberwolves, and seeing as she had no place to stay, she obliged.

Fluttershy wasn't entirely sure where Dash went, as she flew away a few minutes after the moon began rising. The yellow Pegasus had quietly objected, but Dash's mind had already been made. She had flown off to take care of what she called, "One last piece of business"

Now Trixie sat awkwardly across from Fluttershy in her cottage, silently sipping on a mug of coco, watching the yellow Pegasus as she meticulously catered to her small white bunny.

She watched as Fluttershy rolled his white tail into hair curlers, before turning around to prepare a large bowl of leaves, carrots, and other fruits and vegetable for the bunny. All the while, Angel sat and tapped his foot impatiently.

"Thank you for letting be stay here, Fluttershy."

"Oh, it's no problem at all,". Said the yellow Pegasus gently as laid the bowl in front of Angel, who began stuffing his face ungratefully.

Trixie finished off the last drops of her coco, before she stood from the table and walked to Fluttershy's green couch.

"Um, is it OK if I sleep here?" She motioned to the three seater.

"You can have my bedroom upstairs if you like,"

Trixie put on a gentle smile, and thanked Fluttershy, before retiring wearily to the bedroom. Fluttershy watched her as she disappeared up the staircase and heard a door close gently. She thought about what Dash could have meant by 'One last piece of business.'

"I wonder where that rainbow maned dare devil has gone of to this time?" She thought as she stared out of her circular window into the sunset.

o.0.O== Scootaloo's House ==O.0.o

A small orange filly walked silently and alone down a small dirt path, just outside of Ponyville. She knew this dreaded walk all too well, but what she resented most, was it's destination.

Her home.

She slowly approached her front door, and lifted her hoof to turn the knob. She stopped as she realized it had been locked. She sighed as she lowered her head. She was hoping to slip in quietly, to try and avoid her mother's abusive gaze, but now she would be forced to knock on the door.

She rapped against the cheap wood quietly, hoping to Celestia that her mother wasn't in a bad mood, but cringed slightly as she heard a pair of angry hooves storm to the front door. There were several sounds of locks being undone, before the door swung open to reveal a livid chestnut Pegasus.

"Where. Have. You. Been!" She screamed at her. "Oh don't tell me, I already know. You were hanging out with that perverted Wonderbolt wanna be, sneaking in a few last minute thrills before the-"

Scootaloo suddenly raised her voice. "She's not a pervert!" Scootaloo stared daggers at her mom. "She's more of a mother than you've ever been!"

The chestnut pony's face contorted with hate, before she wound up, and slapped Scootaloo to the ground.

"Don't you ever raise your voice at me, you insolent little brat!"

Scootaloo could only look up in fear as her mother berated her. She felt a bruise forming on her cheek, the pain swelling from the hit.

The chestnut Pegasus raised her hoof for another attack, when suddenly, there was a gust of wind and a cloud of dust. She saw her mother reel back in surprise, and could hear her coughing somewhere behind the smokescreen

The cloud slowly dissipated, revealing a rainbow maned pony standing between Scootaloo and her mother. The chestnut pony could only stand in shock. Her body didn't even have time to process the event, and stood there, dumbstruck by Dash's sudden appearance.

"Every. Last. Bruise.". She stated, before she stood on her hind legs and pulled her hoof back. She then drove it into her brown cheek, fury, anger and righteousness flowing through her front leg. The force of the punch was brutal, and knocked the neglectful mother off of her feet and inside her house. The pony partially disappeared onto the darkness of her home, before Dash turned around to Scootaloo, who only stared at Dash as if she was some sort of guardian angel.

Dash walked over to the little filly, a sad expression on her face as she stared into the bruise. She could see it reddening and swelling, and let out a small pained whimper as she caressed Scootaloo's face. A tear began to form in her eye, and she drew Scootaloo in a close hug. She could feel the little orange filly's hooves wrap around her waist, and rest her head just under her neck.

"I love you sis,". Said Scootaloo quietly, her eyes closed as she held her sister.

Dash only held on to Scootaloo tighter. She desperately wanted to take her as far away as possible from her horrible home... But she couldn't do that, not without the Royal Guard hunting her down and bringing her back. Not to mention, Dash would be locked away, giving her mother the last laugh. She could only hope that everything turned out alright for her, and do her best to comfort her when things got rough. Dash broke the hug before she looked directly into Scootaloo's eyes, the sunset reflected in her pupils.

"I love you too,"

End of Book One

Inspired by:

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

Melancholia, directed by Lars Von Trier

And of course, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Author's Note

(This chapter may still be subject to some editing.)

And that concludes my very first Fanfiction, ever!

Thank you so much for reading until the end, It really means a lot to me.

I'm happy to say that I saw this project through to the end, and hope to possibly start on a sequel, though I will have to give myself some time off before I take another project this big. I will be posting a few smaller stories here and there, but it's unlikely that they will be in the same storyline as Moon Fall.

I will be announcing the sequel's publishing date in my blog, along with several teasers and other things to go along with it, so be sure to follow if you want the latest news on the story.

Thank you, once again, for reading!

-Delta

Nightmares of a Night Mare

"There can only be one leader. There can only be one princess. There can only be one queen! And I'll be damned if it's going to be her!"

The hostile voice echoed through Luna's head and pierced her mind.

"You have lost your importance in the world. You have become but a shadow of the one mare you used to call sister. You rose up to claim power that should have rightfully been yours, and she humiliated you by imprisoning you within the only thing you truly had control of. For years, ponies looked to the sky, only to see the ugly scar your impotence had left on the moon. After some time had passed, the world couldn't even remember if you were real. You had been reduced to something as trivial as a myth,"

Luna struggled to push the negativity of the her past out of her mind, but the voice shoved back and sent shooting pains through her skull.

"In your absence, she controlled both the sun and moon, proving that you were merely a figurehead. You were never needed. The world functioned without you for 1000 years, and now your presence makes little difference in Equestria,"

Luna tried to speak to the voice in her mind. "No! My sister loves me! She cares for me! You're wrong!"

The voice retorted with a bored voice. "Does she really? Then why does she rule Equestria, while you simply play as her sidekick? Why did Cadence acquire a kingdom before you did? You seized the Crystal Empire alongside Celestia, and it was given away before you could even open your muzzle. Now her little sycophant Twilight has become a princess, and she has simply thrown you to the wayside. Tell me again, Luna," she spat the word Luna. "Where do Celestia's real interests lie?"

Luna herself was speechless.

"You know the truth, no one has hidden it from you but yourself. Whether you choose to act upon it is your decision. After I tried taking charge, Celestia subdued me and brought your weakness out through the cracks in my strength. Be chary where you trot 'princess', Celestia has little time for the malcontent."

Luna's eyes stung as tears began to well and fall from her face.

"You'll never have control again, Nightmare Moon... that part of me is over. I'm not the going to hurt anyone,"

Nightmare Moon materialized out of the darkness.

"We'll see how long it takes for you to crack, insolent whelp,"

Suddenly, there was a loud swoosh, and Luna's entire body felt as if it were plummeting through nothingness. Her eyes snapped opened and she woke from her terrible dream. She sat up in her bed and looked around slowly, using her hoof to chase ripples in her blankets. Normally she was strong and composed, but she had been having these visions of her other self for the last few days, and they had begun to worry her. At first, it started out as whispers she could barely hear, murmuring unintelligible things to her subconscious. But slowly, they emerged from the background of her mind, and began to plague her while she dreamt.

She used her magic to crack open one of her fully drawn shades, and a bright beam of light came surging into the room. Still a long time before the moon was due to arrive, meaning that she had a little more time to sleep, but the loud yelling of Nightmare Moon made her dread having to rest at all. She closed the thick curtains once more; not to sleep, but she preferred a cloak of darkness over a ray of sunlight any day.

Luna stepped off of her bed and made her way to her tall bedroom door, passing the many expensive looking trinkets and gadgets littering her dark floor. Her horn glowed a soft cerulean as she opened the deep brown gate with her magic, and departed into the hallway. As she walked, she pondered the dreams she had been having... Nightmare Moon wasn't dead. The Elements of Harmony had certainly weakened her, but it did not eradicate her completely, instead it simply stowed her away in Luna's mind.

She turned the corner to see Discord leaning against the wall, looking in Luna's direction like he already knew she was coming, an arrogant smirk plastered to his face.

"My, my, princess, why do we look so lost this fine afternoon? You look as if you have had a nightmare."

Discord's choice of word seemed quite particular.

"It's as if you've seen a ghost! Perhaps an enemy of the past? Well you know what they say, keep your friends close..."

Luna has had many encounters with the embodiment of chaos, especially after he started to take residence in the castle, and she knew better than to react to his banter. She began to explain. "There have been a few things on our min-"

Discord interrupted her. "Why do you insist on using the royal we? It's just us you know," Suddenly Discord appeared beside her. "You need not useth your dated forsoothery on thou, princess,"

"Thee," she corrected.

Discord rolled his eyes and slithered farther down the hall. "You royal types are all the same. Blah blah blah order, blah blah blah stature. One more friendship speech from Celestia and I'm going to puke all over her throne." He began to walk alongside her. "You know, since I've escaped from my prison, I feel like I have been rather out of it. Perhaps you can relate?"

Luna had reached the end of the hall and turned the corner, but Discord simply phased right through the stone wall. She then realized that he had shrunk himself down to small size, and was now hanging off of her horn with one hand. "Ever since Celestia brought me back, I have felt so useless. I'm the god of chaos, and I am forced to behave like I'm some stubborn child." There was a poof and suddenly, he became a moving painting in the floor beneath her. "It's as if I'm a whole new me!"

Princess Luna stopped and looked down at oil painted Discord, who merely returned her gaze with a sly smile. "What do you know Discord, I command thou as your princess, to telleth us what your up to!" Discord sighed as he changed from a painting on the floor into a muerel on the wall

"There you go with your fancy talk again princess. Why do you find it so hard to change? Not even Celestia talks like that anymore."

Luna's expression remained stern. "Thou are avoiding the question."

Discord began to groom his mismatched claws. "How does one avoid a question?" Luna was beginning to get angry with Discord, but she had to find out what he knew.

"Discord, telleth us what thou knows or we'll have you locked in a statue for a few hundred years!"

"Stop threatening the innocent or Celestia will send you back to the moon for a few hundred years."

Luna's composure was finally broken. She looked at the muerel of Discord as her mouth fell agape. She stared at him in silence before she opened her mouth to talk. "Never speak of my Darker Side in such a manner again." She stepped forward and gazed directly into Discord's eyes, who seemed to show a hint of genuine fear. She continued down the hall with her head down, her skull now ringing with hatred and lividity. Suddenly, she could hear Nightmare's voice echoing through her head again, and she stopped directly in her tracks.

"You should think twice about getting angry princess... She's strongest when your angry." Said a voice behind her. He turned around to find a strangely apologetic Discord who was now looking at her with a serious expression. "You talk in your sleep quite often. I've made it rather a hobby of mine to check on your little shows. " Luna looked at him uncomfortably, "At first, you would say strange things like, "I'm your sister! I'm not you!"... But today was a little different. You spoke for another pony, and from the sound of it... I'd say it was her." The princess pondered these thoughts for a long while. Before she simply, disregarded Discord and continued down the hall without paying any mind to the Draconequus.

Discord looked down at the stone floor with a hint of loneliness in his face. Finally, he stood up with a resolved face and announced to no one in particular, "Whatever, I'm going to hang out with Shuttershy... Er, Shutter-whatever." Before he walked right through the wall once more.

Luna's heart began to sink, thinking about what her sister had to do to her. Nightmare Moon was too cowardly to face the punishment herself, and instead laid dormant for the entirety of the punishment. Luna herself had to experience every second of the millennia she had spent imprisoned, while Nightmare Moon Hibernated in the comfort of her conscious. She continued to walk, but her steady gait was slowing down as she became increasingly distraught with the thoughts of her banishment.

But something in her head snapped.

She started to get angry. Much angrier than before. Her breathing increased, her heart rate began to spasm and kick, her skull felt as if it were cracking, and as it all happened, a voice in her head laughed hysterically. Her glowing, spatial mane began to darken and flow erratically, as her posture slowly became aggressive. She closed her eyes and stomped her hooves, and looked forward to see the tall white figure of Celestia, standing a few feet away.

Her vivid mane billowed smoothly, creating a soft hum that filled the dim hall. She said nothing. She only stared into Luna's eyes, her own giving no hint as to what was going through her mind. Suddenly, Luna felt calm and somewhat submissive. She bent her head low and looked up at her sister, a look of guilt and shame smitten upon her face, but Celestia merely walked forward slowly and looked worriedly into Luna's.

"Dear sister, what has possessed you to act in such a manner?"

Luna looked up at her sister with tearful eyes, her spirit finally collapsing under the stress of having to struggle to keep control of her own body. She tearfully told Celestia of her nightmares, Discord, and how Nightmare Moon survived her ordeal with the Elements. Celestia listened, her face stern and thoughtful, as she tried to piece together the puzzle that had been laid before her. She had remained silent for awhile before turning to Luna.

"Perhaps we should try the elements once again,". Luna had been shaken by the whole experience, but silently nodded without making eye contact.

They cantered quickly to Celestia's chambers, which was shaped like a large cylinder that rounded out towards the top. There were tall, ornate sections of the wall that had been removed to allow the sun to light up the room, which was now beginning to set, casting brilliant beams of orange all over the polished cobblestone floor. On the inner walls were several tall tapestries placed directly next to each other that created an enormous and colorful map of Equestria. The beams danced along the fabric as the map gently undulated in the cool draft that had been frolicking from the windows.

At the very top of her room was a beautiful chandelier, with a big blue and green earth surrounded by a crystal sun and moon, and several hundred sparkling crystal stars littered about. Celestia entered her private chamber, and closed the door behind Luna. Her horn flared a soft teal, and her many windows began to move. They churned and warped, before closing together, leaving no sign that hinted they ever existed. Upon the last window closing, the room turned pitch black, but with another flash of teal, the chandelier lit up with many colors. The sun and moon brightened as the center orb opened up to reveal a small box which descended slowly in front of the two princesses. It opened to reveal five elements.

Luna suddenly looked panicked, "Sister! Where art the sixth Element? Should it not be here?" But Celestia simply put on a gentle smile as she sheepishly responded.

"Twilight must have it," her horn flashed teal once again as her windows reopened and her chandelier closed. "I need to have a new crown fashioned for her, it isn't such a good idea to keep the elements exposed." She walked over to a wooden desk and magically grasped a quill and parchment, scribbled a few words, and sent the note to Spike.

There was a rather awkward silence between the two sisters as they waited for the crown to be sent. It didn't take long for the golden diadem to materialize in front of Celestia, and she wasted no time in reuniting it with the rest of the Elements. They leapt off of the ground and floated in a circle around the eldest sister, as she aimed the Center at Luna, who couldn't help but wince a little as the six stones powered up. There was a large flash of light and a white beam quickly engulfed Luna. There was high pitched hum as the elements sparked out and dropped to the floor, leaving Luna in a defensive position, and Celestia wide eyed and speechless.

As the metal of the jewelry collided with the floor, multicolored sparks showered from the six stones.

Luna opened one of her eyes slowly, before she looked at her sister. "Hath the experiment failed? We don't feel any different,".

Celestia bent down and looked at the scattered elements. "I don't think it worked..." Luna looked surprised. "What? Are they broken?" Luna looked back at her sister.

"I don't think it recognized anything to fix. Perhaps your just imagining Nightmare Moon in your head,"

Luna looked offended. "We're not making this up! Nor would we allow our imagination to get the better of us! How dare you think so lowly of your own sister!"

Celestia was taken aback.

"Luna, I didn't mean any harm by that,"

"You don't mean any harm for anything, but look what you have done! We'll kill you, you soft minded wretch!"

Celestia backed away as a now enraged Luna marched toward her. Her eyes began to glow a strange and malevolent red, as her pupils began to morph into slits. her teeth began to elongate and protruded from her upper lip, as she readied her horn to ram the white mare in front of her. Suddenly, a few sparks sputtered from Luna's horn, and she collapsed to the floor. "Sister! Are you alright?" Celestia rushed toward the navy colored heap that lay on her stone tiling. Suddenly, Luna's billowing mane sputtered out of existence, leaving her natural blue one resting on the floor. She stirred and struggled to get up, but she felt weak. Unexplainably so.

She managed to stand herself up, but her whole body shook as she strained to keep herself from falling once more. Celestia picked her sister up off of her feet magically, and placed Luna over her back. She kicked down her door and began to scream into the hall.

"Someone come! Luna has fallen! I need help!" Her voice strained and cracked as she screeched out every word into the hall. Almost immediately some royal guards yelled back.

"We're coming princess! Stay where you are!" Celestia felt her sister pass out on her back, and she knew if she wasn't helped soon, She might have to rule without Luna once more.

A trio of royal guards rushed toward the princess and floated the unconscious Luna off Celestia. "Get her to the hospital!" Sputtered a now panicking princess. The guards looked at Celestia with faces of horror and uncertainty. They had never seen their leader in such a state of disarray. "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?" She yelled suddenly.

The three guards jumped as they begun galloping down the hall, their princess in a blue protective bubble between them.

Celestia would have accompanied her sister to the hospital, but she had to notify Twilight of the events. She would be an indispensable tool in figuring out what was wrong with Luna, who would now be unable to lower the moon. Celestia burst back into her room and reopened her stone windows. She galloped toward the open air before she leapt out of the castle, spread her white wings and began to glide toward the ground. The air whistled past her ears as she stomped the grass with her landing, and lit up her horn once again.

The sun sank beneath the surface of the horizon, casting brilliant shades of deep red and brown across the sky, before the moon emerged for the opposite side and colored the heavens a deep purple. She then took off once more, as she flew in the direction of Ponyville

Author's Note

The first installment in my fanfic! I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out, but let me know if anything seems strange or out of place. I'll do my best to fix it!

Friends Depart

Luna slowly awoke from her slumber. Her head throbbed and pulsed, sending shooting pains down her spine and through her body. Her vision was blurry and unfocused, and there must have been something wrong with her nose, because she could smell smoke. That's when she turned around, and a stone began to sit heavily in her stomach.

Cold Point Cabin had been reduced to ash and rubble, which littered the pristine white snow with ugly spots of black. Luna's mouth hung slightly open, and her face contorted subtly with a look of pain and disbelief. She subconsciously began to walk backwards, as guilt and shame began to drown her, leaving her mind gasping for exoneration... But she knew that it was all her fault. She shouldn't have provoked her, she should have known that Nightmare Moon would exercise no subtlety in her example to Luna.

Luna couldn't have been passed out for very long, as the sun had barely risen past the horizon, meaning Celestia had just raised it. With the short time Luna had tricked Nightmare into transforming, she might have bought her sister an hour, at best... But at what cost? No doubt there were casualties. The people inside the rooms, the staff, and... And...

Luna didn't even want to think about the mint colored mare who doomed herself with her kindness. The one pony to offer her help in this whole ordeal was lying somewhere in the charred wreckage, stiff, lifeless, and colder than the snow Luna stood upon.

It had been a whole minute before the ruins of Cold Point became a sight she couldn't bear. She turned away painfully and spread her wings, letting the soft winds blow through her feathers. The gentle gales massaged her coat and whispered past her ears as she prepared to take to the skies once again. She couldn't help but be reminded of Windsong.

She looked back at the wreckage and felt the depression and sadness filling her body. Chilliver's blood was on Luna's hooves, after she did nothing but help. Luna looked down at the snow, and with her hoof, she began to write. In a messy scrawl that no one would believe came from a princess, she inscribed the only name she knew that was slain by her Dark Half.

'Windsong Chilliver, R.I.P.'

She then flew off, hoping never to see the massacre at Cold Point again.

Meanwhile, Most everyone in Equestria was waking up to the warm morning rays of the sun, and if it weren't the impending doom of the land , Celestia would be among them. However, due to the hopelessness of the situation she found herself in, she had been unable to sleep. She had refused any food, and had barely moved from her perch in front of the fireplace. After she had pushed the sun from behind the earth, she collapsed out of sheer exhaustion, and now lay in a messy heap on Twilight's wooden floor. There were several books scattered around her, all dealing with the many nuances of the mind, however, she had found no useful information in any of their pages.

From the balcony of her bedroom, Twilight examined the princess sadly. She had never witnessed her in such a state, but she knew it was certainly understandable. She had only gotten her sister back just a little over a year ago, and already she was losing her. Not only was her sister at stake, the Equestrian way of life hung in the balance by a thread that thinned with time. As far as anyone could see, there was no way out. No impossible condition that had to be met, no harrowing journey that needed to be made, no incomprehensible puzzle that needed to be solved. It was a dead end. Luna would have to die, or everyone else would die by Luna. The only thing they could do was wait for Nightmare Moon and confront her then.

Though Twilight knew she would never truly understand the inner tumult that plagued her mentor's conscious, she certainly felt her sorrow. She looked around her house somberly, and spotted Spike fast asleep in his little basket, and right next to him, laid a somnolent Fluttershy. Her breathing was deep and even, but the sleeping Pegasus barely made a sound.

Downstairs, Rainbow Dash was laying flat on her face with one of the numerous editions of Daring Do sitting open in front of her, and an unlit candle beside the book. Judging from how short the wax and wick were, Twilight assumed she had been reading until her eyelids proved to heavy to keep open. Even at a time like this, Rainbow Dash couldn't help but indulge in one of her favorite pastimes.

She then turned her head toward Trixie, who was sitting against the wall, staring at the floor with a face of contemplation. Trixie noticed Twilight, and glanced up awkwardly at her. Twilight looked at her quizzically before she spoke.

"What's on your mind, Trixie?" She spoke drearily.

"Nothing much," she answered slowly. "Just trying to piece together my mind after the fiasco that was the last 24 hours." Her demeanor was dreary and hopeless. She had even stopped referring to herself in the third person.

Twilight nodded slowly. "Celestia told me you saved Rainbow Dash."

Trixie looked at her quickly, before she turned her gaze toward the window. "I did," she said bluntly,

Twilight sat down next to her. "I just want to thank you. I don't know what I'd do without her,"

Trixie looked up at her gingerly, before Twilight swept her into a hug. She was caught off guard by the sudden movement, but embraced the gesture and hugged back.

Trixie had always seen Twilight as a rival. Someone she was obligated to overcome, but in these dire times, she had been forced to accept her as an ally. With the pressure of competition lifted, Trixie felt lost... Like there was no purpose for her existence. Now that she had someone she could truly call a friend, she felt that purpose restored.

Trixie held onto Twilight tightly, squeezing her eyes shut and hanging her face over her shoulder.

Twilight broke the hug and sat on her haunches in front of her ex rival. "The situation is so stressful, knowing that it can get out of hand at literally any moment." She put her hooves to her head. "I can hardly focus long enough to remember why we're all here."

Trixie half opened her mouth, before she turned her gaze to the floor. Twilight looked at her quizzically. "What are you thinking about,". Twilight asked quickly,

"It's nothing," said Trixie.

"I know that face Trixie, you have an idea. What is it?"

"Well,". Trixie began, "in my family, there is a recipe for a potion that enhances thought and clears the mind."

Twilight jumped up. "That's perfect! Why didn't you say something before!?"

Trixie bit her lip. "No it's not. The side effects can be, uhh... Less than productive,"

Twilight rolled her eyes. "It doesn't matter, were out of options. How do we make it?"

"Well, we just need a jar of water. We enchant it with a spell, and it's ready to drink.”

Twilight's horn lit a deep purple, and a glass jar flew from downstairs. She put her horn over the lip of the jar, and a violet liquid filled the vitreous container halfway. Then with another flare of violet, the purple liquid cleared and turned into pure water. Trixie sat with her mouth agape. Never had she seen such an advanced display of magic pulled off with such relative ease.

"Transmutation,". Said Twilight with a proud smile. "Subdivision of Alchemy, using magic to manipulate elements."

Trixie was in such a stupor, that it had taken her a few moments to realize it was her turn to use her magic. Trixie pointed her horn at the jar and closed her eyes. She began to clear her mind, pushing all distraction from her head. Then a thin, tenuous, white tendril sprouted slowly from her horn and floated gently down into the jar. As the magical white vine grew from Trixie's horn, her thoughts became increasingly cloudy and jumbled, until her mind was too scattered to create the gently floating string.

What she had created, was the physical manifestation of a train of thought. By clearing her mind and focusing, she was able to take the clarity from her own brain and move it outside her body. It was a difficult trick, normally taking two unicorns to perform, but Trixie had mastered the technique and modified it, so it could be done alone.

The white liquid touched the water and began to evaporate and bubble on contact. As more of the Train of Thought fell into the jar, the potion began to bubble and fizz, threatening to erupt out of the container. Finally the last of the thin white tentacle was absorbed into the water, which had now turned into a grey, viscous syrup, ready for consumption.

"Alright," said Trixie weirdly. "Have at it,"

"That's it?" Said Twilight. "No other ingredients?" Trixie shook her head distantly, her eyes fixed upon the potion she had just made. "No boiling or heating?"

"Nope,". Trixie said quickly.

"You don't even have to stir it?" Said Twilight, who couldn't seem to grasp that a potion could be made so simply. Typically, a potion of any kind required very specific conditions to be met. Meticulous measurement of ingredients, temperatures both hot and cold, and mixing until all the elements had settled and reached a stable state. Then it would be ready to drink. Trixie's potion required little more preparation than an Alka Seltzer. "Well, what do you call this... Mixture?" Said Twilight strangely.

"My family never gave it a name, as everyone who drank it forgot their own shortly after."

Twilight pursed her lips hesitantly. "I suppose since we are out of options,". Twilight lifted the jar with her magic.

"Bottoms up,". Said Trixie with a grossed out face, her eyes turning from the drink to Twilight.

The purple Alicorn put the lip of the jar to her own and began to gulp down the potion. As soon as she had cleared it, she roughly put down the jar with her magic, and stared at Trixie with anticipation.

There was a pause before Trixie spoke.

"How do you feel?" Asked the blue unicorn slowly,

"Not much different,". Came the Alicorn's perplexed reply.

And then it she felt it. It was like her mind began to expand and grow 100 times it's capacity. Suddenly, she became hyper aware of her surroundings. Her left ear twitched, and she immediately shot her head to her window, where a butterfly was preparing to take flight. Her brain recited every byte of information that she had ever received about butterfly's in what seemed like a millisecond.

"Monarch Butterfly, large, typically orange and black. Migratory. Caterpillar eats venomous plant known as milkweed. By absorbing toxins, both caterpillar and butterfly are rendered unpalatable by predators. A group of butterfly's are called a 'kaleidoscope'. Large patterns on wings are thought to intimidate predators. Lifespan can range from 2 weeks to 8 months."

Her right ear wiggled and she turned her head to see the book Rainbow Dash had been reading. There was a gentle breeze rolling in from the downstairs window that was turning the pages of her book. She was sensitive to everything around her, and her thoughts had never been so lucid.

"I feel it Trixie,". Twilight began, her voice filled with wonder and amazement. "I've never felt so clear, every thought is as vivid as my own vision. Every idea occurring at once, and I can understand them all! It's incredible,"

Trixie watched as Twilight lost herself in her thoughts. Her mouth slightly open in a wide smile, and her eyes unfocused as she explored the deep recesses of her mentality. Trixie stared uncomfortably as the purple mare daydreamed in front of her. She was unsure if she should say anything, or just allow Twilight to think. She thought it best to simply stay quiet.

It had been a whole minute. Twilight hadn't said anything other than a few muffled "wow"s and some silent gasps. Trixie was beginning to get worried.

"Twilight?" Said the royal blue mare worriedly. "Are you still there?"

"I'm everywhere,". Said the purple mare dreamily. Trixie sighed, turned around and looked over Twilight's balcony. Rainbow Dash was just getting up, and as she did, her wings opened, seemingly involuntarily, but the teal Pegasus didn't seem to care. Dash noticed Trixie on the balcony.

"Morning,". Said dash loudly through a yawn.

"Good morning to you as well,". Said Trixie awkwardly. As she was speaking, there was a loud thump behind her, and when she turned around, Twilight was laying face down on her hard wooden floor.

"Dear Celestia!" Trixie exclaimed as she jumped over to Twilight. She used her magic and flipped the collapsed purple mare on her back. "Twilight! Are you alright?"

"Pfffffffbtbtbtntbt," Twilight laughed distantly, spraying spit all over Trixie. "You, you look so... So surprised!!". Said the purple mare through laughs. "Your face was so priceless,". She said with a wide smile and squinted eyes.

Trixie's ears flattened against her head as she realized what happened. The side effects of the potion were beginning to show. After the intense clarity the potion brought, came the scrambling. The brain could only handle the strong effects of the potion for so long, before it lost sync with itself. As a result, the consumer ended up with a bad case of delirium, disorientation, and the munchies.

"Is anyone else hungry?" Said Twilight. "I'm hungry so, eat a horses"

"What?" Said Trixie confusedly.

"I said,". Twilight began dramatically, "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse,". Almost immediately, her eyes opened wide, realizing what she had implied, and out came another wheeze of a laugh. "Oh my goodness! I can't believe what I just said!" She managed to giggle out. "I can't eat a horse, because, because we're horses!" And she exploded into more laughter. "What if I ate Fluttershy?" She began to wonder aloud. "I'm gonna eat Fluttershy!" She exclaimed devilishly, and began to comically creep up on the sleeping Pegasus.

Trixie was now sitting in the corner gloomily, her head in her hooves and a look of grief smitten upon her face. Nightmare Moon could appear at any moment, and they were making no progress towards a solution. Now their most critical thinker besides Celestia was numbed in the head, and the sun princess herself had offered little to no help. With no way to find Luna, they wouldn't be able to stop the disaster before it started... And they all knew they would be powerless once it began.

Trixie heard Fluttershy yelp in fear as a purple pony attempted to humorously eat her hoof. "Twilight! What are you doing?" Said the yellow Pegasus with a shaky voice.

"Om nom nom nom!" Said Twilight as she continued to bite Fluttershy's hoof.

"Please stop!" Yelped the unnerved yellow mare as she tried to scoot away from her deranged friend. Trixie witnessed what happened, and with a blue bolt of magic, she knocked Twilight down. The purple mare collapsed on the floor and began to snore loudly. Trixie then levitated the sleeping Alicorn, and placed her gently in her bed.

Fluttershy turned to Trixie with a frightened look. "What's gotten into T-Twilight?" She stammered out

Trixie just shook her head.

Downstairs, Celestia rose from her slumber. Her mane drooped to the ground and her head was hung low. She turned around and looked about the Library. Everyone was upstairs, except for one pony.

"Good morning princess,". Said Dash slowly.

The princess said nothing. She merely gazed at the cyan Pegasus with a frown and sad eyes.

"Princess?" She asked.

"Go home, Rainbow Dash,". She said finally.

"Wait, what?". Said a surprised Dash.

"Go home, all of you. There is nothing left for us to do here. I must warn the cities of the impending danger while I still can." She turned her head towards the door. "And I must prepare to face my sister. No doubt she will be out for blood, and she will want to spill mine before anyone else's.". Celestia opened the front door of the Library. "I suggest you spend these next days with your families and loved ones, as I don't know if I will be strong enough to overcome Nightmare Moon. These hours may possibly be our last, so I advise you spend them on your own terms. It was a pleasure knowing all of you." She turned her head to Dash as she walked out the door. "Tell Twilight that she would have made an excellent princess,".

And she flew off towards the mountains in Canterlot.

Dash simply stared at the spot where Celestia was standing. "These next hours... Our last?" Her face only showed sadness, but deep inside, she was experiencing much more. She simply stood there. Dumbfounded, in sheer disbelief. All of the plans she had for her life were suddenly meaningless. She would never get to join the Wonderbolts, she'd never get to read the next Daring Do, and she would never get to grow old. All she had were a few measly days.

Dash stepped outside, and spread her wings. She knew that her friends would want her to spend these last hours with them... But there was someone else who needed her more, and this was her last chance to spend time with her.

Author's Note

I figured after the rather depressing demeanor of the last chapter, I thought you guys might enjoy a little comedic break. Let me know what you think in the comments below!

P.S. sorry that this chapter took a little longer than the others,