Celestia: The Fall of the Alicorns

by Deuterium

Rating: teen
Tags: Princess Celestia, Dark, Sad, Princess Luna, Gore, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 11615

With the birth of the first two natural alicorns in thousands of years, an ancient evil grows, and soon Equestria will be plunged into war. But who will win in this battle, not just of strength, but also of morals?

Thousands of years before the time of Twilight Sparkle, two children are born: The first natural alicorns in millennia. At the same time, a great evil dwells... A scientist, tapping into the taboo, creates an army of living shadows, ready to wage all-out war on all of Equestria... And the only ones who can stop it are the Princesses, Celestia and Luna. With Equestria in their hooves, will the young Princesses be able to cope with their newfound power, as the race they were born into collapses before their eyes?

NOTE: This story stars a villain from G1 MLP known as Grogar, who was initially a goat, but in this fic he is portrayed as a Unicorn. The reason for this is spoiler-y.

Formerly titled "Alicorns: The Fall of an Empire"

The cover art was made by myself (by fiddling with a Celestia vector)

Special thanks to my proofreader River Road (whose work can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/mwxmejl). Without his input and guidance, this fanfic probably would never have happened.

Published 2014-05-12 17:50:04 UTC
Last updated 2014-05-12 17:50:04 UTC

Chapter 1: Birth

Before the time of Faust, before our world was created, the universe was already ancient. Order and chaos, locked in an infinite battle, gave birth to our world, and to Faust, by pure chance. Both constantly bleeding into each other, as different and as inseparable as night and day. But even as powerful and inseparable as they were, they, like everything else, obeyed one common law - They needed energy. Energy constantly being used, dispersed, reformed and used again as ponies, stars, and all things come to their natural end.
Energy comes in many different forms - heat and light for instance. Everything needs specific types of energy to keep it going. From the stars in the sky to the anemones and reefs in the oceans, to the ponies and other species on the land. We all need energy. The energy which drives us to live, to do everything we do. The energy which drives some… to madness.
Thousands of years before the reawakening of the Elements, in the time of Alicorns, a great shadow falls over the kingdom of Equestria. Soon, a great war will begin. A war between order and chaos, between light and dark, between good and evil. One side wishes to preserve the balance, one wishes to overthrow it. And this war will begin with the fall of a queen…

Our story begins long ago, long before the time of Twilight Sparkle, and long before the disaster that was Tenebris Dawn. It’s the small hours of the evening, and the sun is setting over the great empire of Equestria. The majority of ponies are getting ready to sleep at this time - With the setting of the sun, so too do the lights in the windows of ponies’ homes go out - the bustling towns and markets die down, and even the lights of Cloudsdale are fading. But there is one building, in the city of Canterlot, that remains awake. One building where there is still a hive of activity. And with good reason.

The hospital wing of the Canterlot Royal Palace was buzzing with activity, everypony maintaining a perimeter around Queen Galaxia, the ruler of the great Equestrian Empire. She lay in a hospital bed, entering her final contractions - after a 12-month pregnancy, she was finally giving birth to her two children. The two children who would inherit her empire, become the queens - or kings - of Equestria someday.

The Queen muses to herself… “Just to think… soon my two children will be born… I wonder what they’ll be like? Colts or mares? Pegasi or unicorns? Oh, if only Apollo had been here…”
She closed her eyes as she remembered her husband, the former King of Equestria, suddenly struck down by disease not long after the conception of their children. She had cried so much when that guard brought her the news… It must have been hard for him to have brought such grave tidings… It had been a new guard, name of Spark Sentry. He had seemed so hesitant when delivering the news… Anyone would have, in his position.

A sharp burst of pain form her lower abdomen brought her out of her thoughts, and she began groaning in pain The final contractions had begun - soon her children, the two new future rulers of Equestria, would be brought into the world! And with it, the activity of the crowd surrounding her bed rose again.

“Come on, Your Majesty, push!”
“Let me see, let me see!”
“Oh, I can’t wait!”
“I wonder if they’ll be fillies?”

The Queen shuts her eyes as the unbearable pain envelops her. She can feel her two children begin to push through, to finally enter the world. With tears of purest agony in her eyes, she let out a piercing scream…

And then suddenly, it stopped. The pain was over. The Queen looked down and saw the fruits of her labour - two beautiful little fillies looking back up at her. One had a coat of pure white, almost reflecting the light of the hospital wing, making her seem to shine like the sun, and a translucent pink mane. The other looked very different - she had a mane and coat of deep blue, darkening around the flank area, like a blue moon in the night sky. Neither of the two cried - they merely looked up at her with their small, beady eyes, curiously. They had no idea of the future that was in store for them. Upon getting a closer look at them, however, the Queen noticed something distinctly different about these two fillies. They weren't unicorns or Pegasi… But neither were they Earth ponies.
It couldn't be…
A doctor trotted over to see, and stopped dead when he saw the two new princesses. After a short pause. he spoke, a smile slowly spreading over his face.
“Congratulations, your majesty… You have given birth to the first natural alicorns in thousands of years!”
The crowd gasped and the room fell silent. As the Queen realised she was not hallucinating, a tear of joy rolled from her eye, and she pulled her new children into a gentle embrace. Equestria had not seen the birth of a natural Alicorn since King Saturn, almost 7000 years ago - to have two natural alicorn children was to have the luck of Faust herself…
“Welcome to the world… Celestia and Luna.”
As the Queen spoke, the room erupted into applause and ovation. The new Princesses had been born, and would carry the name of the Queen for thousands of years to come...

Chapter 2: Growth

Fast forward a few years. The new princesses Celestia and Luna had begun to learn the ropes, but as of yet they weren't entirely sure how life as a princess works. But that soon began to change, as both had been enrolled in Queen Galaxia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, where, as their mother always told them, “great wizards are born”. As such, Luna had initially expected it to be some sort of maternity ward, being rather surprised to find out it was actually an educational facility for extremely talented unicorns (and as the name did not suggest, alicorns).

All sorts of ponies were there - the sons and daughters of rich and famous alicorns, run-down little fillies whose parents had saved for ages and ages to get their children in, even personal acceptees of Queen Galaxia herself. Certainly, the population of the School was diverse. And the first time they stepped through the doors was the first time they realised just how important they were. Within seconds, Celestia and Luna were immensely popular, and for the first few days, it always seemed as if everypony wanted to be their friend.

“Are you really princesses?”
“Pleeeease let me shine your hooves!”
“Can I have lunch with you, Luna…?”

Day in, day out, it was constant compliments, love confessions and offers to help with every single aspect of the Princesses’ lives. Celestia never took up any of them on their offers, seeing no reason why they should be somehow more important (though she did once come up with a rather funny prank to get rid of one particularly persistent colt, involving a glass of juice and a particular noise she made with her mouth). Eventually though, before it started getting to their heads, everypony else just got used to their presence. The crowds died down, and eventually, things levelled out. Everything felt... normal, and she’d begun to make some friends - quite possibly one of the best decisions she’d ever made, and with good reason.

Soon, the first of Celestia’s practical magic tests was coming up, and everypony was buzzing.
“I bet Celestia will get top of the class!”
“Yeah - she’s so cool, I bet she’ll do really good!”
That was the typical classroom chatter for the few days before the exam, and eventually it got to Celestia’s head. She’d lock herself in her room for hours on end, practising to try and perfect the spell… But every time she tried, she just seemed to underperform. The topic had come up in conversation with her mother several times.

“I HAVE to pass this test! Otherwise I’ll disappoint EVERYONE!”
“Sweetie, don’t worry about it… Just do what you can and you’ll be alright.”
“But if I don’t ace this test, what will everypony think of me? They expect me to ace this test!”
“That’s because they believe in you. Friendship is magic, you know… It can do amazing things to ponies.”
“You say that EVERY TIME, Mom!”
“That’s because it’s true, sweetie. If your friends believe in you, there’s no reason not to believe in yourself!”

Soon, the day of the test came, and Celestia was sweating bullets. She waited in line, waiting for the head teacher’s call, her legs juddering as if there were an earthquake.
Unbeknownst to her, one of her friends had noticed, and began to whisper to the other ponies in the room… They had a plan.

“...Celestia?”
Celestia jumped nearly a foot in the air as her name was called.
“Y-Yes! Yes?”
“It’s time for your test. Are you ready?”
She most certainly was not, but nevertheless she nodded slowly.
“Good. Now come in… don’t be shy.”
Celestia slowly stepped into the examination room, and the door closed with a creak behind her.
There was the head teacher, looking down at the little filly through her half-moon spectacles, expectantly.
“Princess Celestia… I can’t wait to see what you have in store!”
Celestia gulped. She was very much unprepared for this… She closed her eyes, and tried to summon the spell… but she just couldn't do it. Her horn sparked and fizzed furiously, trying her hardest to muster even the slightest effect… but to no avail.
At that moment, she heard a strange noise emanating from the other side of the door… it was… rhythmic, repeating itself, over and over… it sounded like voices…
“Ti-a! Ti-a! Ti-a! Ti-a!”
It sounded like her friends’ voices! That would have explained then all huddling together - they had banded together to cheer her on in her hour of need!
Suddenly, something hit Celestia like a shockwave. A powerful feeling, like a new ability unlocking itself within her… And as suddenly as it hit her, she felt her horn began to positively pulsate with energy! Almost without thinking, she focused all of her energy to it… and her horn began to glow a bright white. She’d succeeded! She could hear her classmates cheering as the magical light blazed from her forehead, before finally she managed to dim her horn.
“Well, colour me impressed! I suppose it should be expected from our new Princess!” the head teacher said, beaming at Celestia.
Celestia smiled back. Her mother was right - friendship could do amazing things.

The days went by, more magic was learned, and slowly the Princesses began learning about life in general and as a member of the Royal Family. The two attended a few royal events, but were never allowed to stay up for any of Galaxia’s famed parties.

“Mommy said that all the rich and famous alicorns from across Equestria go to those parties!” exclaimed Luna one evening when their mother had gone out for a meal with several other powerful politicians. “It isn't fair - why can’t we come too?”
“Be patient, Luna - I want to know what it’s like too… To be queen of the kingdom… Meeting all those foreign diplomats… It sounds amazing!”
“Hmph… You’re only making me want it more!”
Celestia couldn’t help but giggle at Luna’s reaction a little.
“Well, if I can be patient, you can too!”
This sentiment ticked Luna off a little.
“Oh yeah, I bet you’re REALLY patient! I bet you’re Miss Patient Pony Princess of the Year!”
“...Maaaaaybe not that patient.”

As the days went by, the princesses lived and learned. But while they lived their lives, something else was developing, beneath the gaze of the Alicorns and their government…

“Blast it, this is NOT WORKING!”
In a dimly-lit cave somewhere in the Canterlot mountain face, a dark brown-coated unicorn worked away at a makeshift stone table. His bloodshot, baggy eyes were a deep brown, his black mane unwashed and straggly.
The unicorn slammed his hoof down on his table as he yelled to the room in general.
“WHY can I NEVER get it right?!” He took his hooves off the table and started pacing up and down, musing to himself. “For all this time I’ve been ridiculed, loathed and despised. I am a scientist, a pioneer! But they rejected everything… My work, my ideas, my life! They said I was ‘immoral’... That nopony should be ‘tampering in the taboo’... Well, someday they’ll learn… If I can bring a frog back to life I’ll do it to a pony too… If I could only make it WORK!!!!” His last sentence gradually rose in volume, until at the last word he was screaming. For a few seconds, he just stood there, breathing quickly and deeply, trying his very best to at least stay on all four legs. “Damn you, you pathetic, scared, worthless ‘Council’!...” He said, strained as he began flashing back...

This miserable excuse for a pony went by the name of Grogar. His sweat-drenched body and matted mane could be attributed to days on end without sleep of slaving away before his table, trying his best to fulfil his lifetime goal - to use his magic to bring a pony back from the dark clutches of death. He had devoted most of his life to his work, and he had succeeded in reanimating a frog before presenting his ideas to the Queen’s Council of Science… who shot him down harder than an arrow plunging into a bird’s heart. But he wasn’t finished - His devotion to his work was almost inequine, and the Council’s rejection had been the straw that broke the camel’s back. With that, he snapped. He severed all his connections with society and went into exile, taking all his research with him, continuing in secret away from everypony else. And he only left to do one thing…

Grogar stood up again and looked around the dank, grimy cave, taking in its contents. Lining the cave, there were huge piles... of bodies. Bodies that he had tried and failed to bring back to life. Failed test subjects. Garbage, leaving steady trickles of blood, pooling on the floor, filling the room with a sticky scent of copper. A scent that Grogar had grown highly accustomed to...

He returned to his table, on which the carcass of a cream-coated Earth pony with dark brown hair lay, blood seeping out of her skull from where he’d smashed it in not 2 hours earlier. This had been his latest subject… He thumped the body, remorseless and infuriated.
“Why won’t they just come back to life like I want them to?! If they would, then maybe those pesky alicorns would…”
Upon mentioning the name, Grogar stopped mid-sentence. “Alicorns…” He had had a idea. A idea that had set him on an even darker path than the one he had already followed. A path that would set in motion the events leading to the fall of an empire.
“Soon… They’ll pay for shutting me out!” With that, the unicorn donned a riding cloak from the wall and headed out. It was time… to kill again.

Chapter 3: The Fall

A few hours later, in the small hours of the morning, the Queen returned. She’d been busy discussing the various issues that plagued Equestria as of the moment - the economy, potential threats from the Changeling kingdom to the North, delegation of control to the Crystal Empire, and so on. And after all tat, she could finally relax. That is, after one more little job…
“Mommy!”
These two little tykes had increased her itinerary by quite a considerable amount - but she didn't care. These two little alicorns were her children, and she wanted to spend as much time with them as she could. As they rushed towards her, she greeted them as any loving mother should
“Heyyyy, girls! C’mere!” Picking them both up with her magic, she planted a kiss on both of their cheeks. “Have you slept at all this evening?”
The smiles faded slightly from the two children's’ faces.
“Well…” Celestia murmured. “Maybe we did…”
The bags under their eyes was a dead giveaway, and Galaxia was not at all convinced.
“Come on now, you girls know that you need your sleep - you have school tomorrow!”
In reaction to this, both kids let out a resounding “Awwww…”
Galaxia had dealt with situations like this before.
“Come on now, this isn't a mind-set that the future queens of Equestria can be in!”
That always shut them up.
“OK, you win!” Luna griped as she, with Celestia, returned to her room and got back into bed. Her mother always seemed to win in the end… She always used to tell them about all those political debates she’d won by a landslide, even showed newspaper articles about it to the pair, just to prove it. There was no doubt that she was a role model for the two - they would almost never be quiet about how much they were looking forward to being queens, just like her…
“And when I become queen, I'm gonna make Friday free ice-cream day!” Luna piped up at the end of one particularly long rant. She was sensible for her age, but this topic always got her mind racing with weird and wacky ideas.
“But wouldn't that cost TONS?”
Celestia, on the other hand, always had more realistic goals, not as power-abusive as Luna’s ideal world.
“Yeah, but…”
“And as for the other ideas… The idea with the hot air balloons is good, but I don’t think Saddle Arabia will agree to…”
“They will! I know they will! It’s too AWESOME to NOT agree!”
“Girls, you’re getting overexcited.”
Galaxia had to butt in. As much as she loved seeing her children so enthused about something, it was getting very late. “It’s time to go to sleep now-- I know, but like I said, you need your sleep - without sleep you’d be too tired to organise free ice-cream days and economic stability! Now put your heads down and go to sleep…”
Eventually, the two little princesses drifted off, Luna dreaming of her ideal world of ice-cream and parties, and Celestia dreaming of hers - political stability and no economic crises to worry about.

It hadn't been very long, however, before something woke the princesses from their slumber. The two heard a very loud “bang”, emanating from the room next to their bed-chambers - their mother’s office! Their emotions changed from excited, yet sleepy, to alert and fearful, as they heard hoofsteps on the stone floor, and a deep, gruff voice speaking slowly...
“Queen Galaxia… At last we meet.”
The young Princesses could tell by the very way that this stallion spoke that he had malicious plans. But what?
They heard their mother speaking. But this wasn't her warm, kind voice that they were accustomed to, this voice was angered, determined, as if her own voice was becoming a weapon.
“Who goes there? Set another hoof forward and you’ll be sorry!”
The deep voice spoke again, coldly retorting to the Queen’s threat.
“Oh, I'm sure you know me…” And then there was a noise as if a hood was being removed, followed by a moment of silence. Then, the deep voice spoke again.
“Lost for words? You remember me now, don’t you?”
“Indeed I do… Why have you returned here, Grogar? I hope it isn't to attempt to curry favour with me again.”
“Oh, I remember that time. That fateful day, long ago, when your ‘council’ rejected my genius… They were sorely mistaken. I left society behind for my research…”
“That would explain your sudden disappearance. But since you’re not here to try and convince me again, what is it you want?”
“I shall have to explain… Up until now my experiments have been… less than adequate. On smaller animals, my techniques worked, but it’s different with ponies… They need more power to reanimate. I tried my techniques on cadaver after cadaver… I trust you must have heard of the disappearances?”
There was a pause. Then Galaxia spoke again.
“But I sense you didn't come here just to tell me that you’re the Canterlot Ripper. Why is it you came?”
All this time, the two princesses had been quietly tiphoofing closer to the door, to better hear this confrontation. The deep voice spoke again.
“I had a brainwave not a few hours ago. I need more power to bring a pony back to life… But I ask you… who has that sort of power?” He paused for a moment before speaking again. “Exactly. That is where you come in.”
“I am NOT doing anything for you, Grogar.”
“Oh, you don’t have to do anything… All I need is… your eternal silence.”
No sooner than the gruff voice had said this, there was a sudden crashing noise behind the door, and the Princesses heard their mother let out a muffled grunt of pain, then they heard magic being used, but just for a second, because soon after there was a sound as if it was being… doused in some way. “Don’t think you can do THAT, Princess… I’m more prepared than you think.”
Celestia and Luna could take it no more. With great effort, they pushed open the door and barged in on the situation… and immediately wished they hadn't.

Their mother, Queen Galaxia, was being pinned to the wall by a tall, brown Unicorn with black, messy hair, who was wearing a hooded cloak. In his other hoof, he had a small, crown-shaped, spiked implement which glinted in the meagre light. The princesses assumed that this was the ‘Grogar’ that Galaxia had been talking to.
The Queen’s would-be assailant turned around to see what was going on.
“Oh ho… So this must be the Queen’s new children I heard about on my way here… What was it… Celestia and… Luna? What beautiful names for the first natural alicorns in millennia…”
Celestia wasn't going to take much more of this. Stepping forward, she spoke defiantly to the great, dark aggressor.
“Let her go, right now!”
The assailant merely raised an eyebrow.
“Or what?”
“Let her go or…”
Celestia stopped. What COULD she do? She could run and tell the guards, but by then it’d be too late…
“Exactly.” Grogar sneered before turning back to Galaxia, who opened her mouth to shout…
“Celestia, Luna, go! You need to get out of here! You have to--”
But her speech was cut short as the Unicorn plunged his bladed weapon deep into the Queen’s heart, multiple times. Galaxia groaned in pain, blood spurting from her abdomen as the unicorn stabbed her over and over. Finally, after the unicorn had punched several holes in her, he let her go, and Queen Galaxia fell to the floor in a bloody heap.
“Mother!” Celestia cried out in shock and horror, running to her side, as Grogar threw his head back and laughed.
“Queen Galaxia… is dead! And soon, her pathetic little empire of ‘Equestria’ will follow in her footsteps! Soon my power shall grow, and those power-hungry alicorns will fall to my army of darkness!”
And with that, he teleported away, cackling with evil laughter. Meanwhile, Celestia and Luna lay over their mother’s dying body, tears running from their eyes like rivers of grief. While Luna just lay there and cried, Celestia cried to her nearly-dead mother…
“No, no, no, no!!! You can’t die! You can’t leave us alone in the world! Not after all you've done… For us and for Equestria…”
“Celestia, my darling… it’s... too late for me…” Galaxia said through pained breaths. “You have... to be... brave. Look after… Luna… It so… pains me to… say it… To put such a… burden on your... back, but… Equestria is in… your… hands…”
With that, Galaxia let out her last breath and closed her eyes for the last time… As Celestia felt her pulse go flat, her eyes opened up again, as she tilted her head to the heavens, and let out a long, resounding scream...
“CURSE YOU, GROGAR!!!!!!”
She, along with Luna, then dropped on top of her mother’s corpse, weeping rivers onto the floor of the study...

Author's Note

2deep4u.

Chapter 4: War

Queen Galaxia’s death sent a ripple throughout Equestria. Rumours, gossip and conspiracy theories were abound, as to the whereabouts of Grogar, his motives for killing the queen, and how he got in and out of Canterlot Castle without being caught...

“I heard he’s hiding out somewhere in the Griffon Kingdoms…”
“Why did the guards not apprehend him?”
“This was all planned out - it’s a conspiracy I tell you!”

And all this talk and banter regarding the Queen’s demise hit Celestia the hardest. Having been born slightly earlier than Luna, and since Galaxia had not specified which daughter was to become queen, the title of queen automatically fell to Celestia as (technically) the eldest child of the family. She was hardly out of school, too, and the Queen’s death had also brought unceremonious new popularity. Now everypony was bragging about how they went to school with the Queen of Equestria trying to get close to her, and it was beginning to get hard to grin and bear it every day…

Before, Celestia had awaited her ascension with bated breath… But now that she was in that position, that heavy title of “Queen of Equestria” weighing down on her small, childish shoulders, she wasn't so sure, It just felt wrong to sit where she sat, to wear what she wore, to be called “Your Majesty”. And it showed - Ever since that fateful night, Celestia was a very different mare. The bubbly and generally bright personality that was once her trademark was gone, now replaced by irritability, gloom and cynicism. She regularly began snapping at guards for the smallest of things, and even when she was in a good mood she never smiled.

“Your Majesty!”

Celestia was brought out of her little world by the door banging open, and the new Captain of the Guard, Spark Sentry, entered. He was a Pegasus of typical size, with a dark blue mane an an auburn coat. Presently, there was a roll of parchment under his wing.
“We've been over this countless times, and every time I say it: Don’t call me that!” Celestia replied, coldly.
“But, what else…”
“That is an ORDER, Sentry! Just call me Celestia, for Faust’s sake!”
Celestia had become easy to provoke like that, and poor Spark had been the target of many an attack.
“I'm sorry, Queen Celestia…”
“No ‘Queen’ either!”
“I'm sorry…”
“Good. Now that’s settled, what do you want?”
Swallowing, and prepared for another verbal assault, Spark cleared his throat and began speaking…
“Today we received a message which we believe to be from the Unicorn known as Grogar.”
At the mention of this name, Celestia’s ears pricked up.
“Continue…” she said, her voice now filled with curiosity.
“Well… I think the best way to explain it would be to read it out. The contents are… disturbing, to say the least.”
With that, Spark Sentry pulled the letter out from under his wing, opened it out on the floor, cleared his throat again, and with a heavy sigh began reading…

“To the Queen of Equestria…”

But he had not even started reading before Celestia had yanked it away from him with her magic.
“I CAN read, Sentry. So don’t assume you have to do everything for me.”
With that, Celestia began reading herself…

To the Queen of Equestria…

My my, you have come far, Queen Celestia… You have most certainly grown from the young filly who wanted to be queen more than anything else, to restore the balance of Equestria… But now that you’re there, sitting where your mother sat, on that great throne of gold… I wonder if it’s really how you imagined, sitting there, with all the power in Equestria, still only a young filly…

Every word that Celestia read made her want to plant a hoof in Grogar’s face. But nevertheless, she kept reading, intrigued.

But in any case, this is besides the point. Now, you may or may not know that I have devoted my life to the study of the “taboo” as your mother or any one of the members of the Council of Science that you now hold power over would have called it… The study of reanimation, or “bringing dead ponies back to life”, in language you’re more likely to understand.

Celestia’s angered breath grew even more after reading this patronising statement.

Only recently, however, has my research come to true fruition. The magical energy that I drained from your mother has given me the means to reanimate corpses. And with every alicorn I kill - sooner or later you shall receive this news - my army of undead grows. Know this, Queen Celestia, for soon my army shall arrive. And when it does, all Equestria will fear me.
Have fun being forced to send countless ponies to their deaths…

- Your Worst Nightmare.

Spark, noticing that Celestia had finished, spoke again.
“Over the past few weeks, Grogar has been targeting and murdering alicorns across the continent, presumably for his undead army. We believe that he is intending to wage war on Equestria.”

At once, Celestia’s anger was replaced with unbridled and undiluted terror. She knew that Grogar had been reanimating corpses, but creating an entire army to attack Equestria, using her mother and murdering Faust knows how many more alicorns to serve as his power source? This was too much for the young queen to take. She dropped the letter, her body beginning to quiver slightly, a fearful expression on her face.

Spark attempted to cheer up the Queen. “Don’t worry, your m-- Celestia. The War Council will take care of this for you - Equestria’s entire armed forces is mobilising to defend you and all of Equestria from this threat. Grogar shall not have his victory!”

‘Being forced to send countless ponies to their deaths...’
“You are dismissed, Sentry.” Celestia spoke, finally.
Not being one to go against his Queen’s good judgement, he bowed and left the room.
After ensuring that nopony else was in the room, Celestia fell to her knees. Now, countless ponies were going to die, protecting her and their country. All because of Grogar and his pointless vendetta against the Alicorn race. She felt tears welling up in her eyes, and once again broke into great sobs of despair.

Chapter 5: Breakdown

Grogar’s warning was very, very quickly fulfilled - That very night, hordes of undead ponies descended upon Equestria, alicorns and unicorns alike, transformed from whoever they once were into soulless monsters by Grogar’s necromancy. And when they did, Equestria’s armies were ready to take them on, to drive them back to their graves … Or so they thought.

The Armies found themselves heavily outmatched by their undead opponents. Day after day after day, Unicorns, Pegasi, Earth ponies and alicorns alike marched onto the battlefield, into certain death, under orders from a disjointed government with a surrogate queen who had just as much knowledge about directing troops on the battlefield as a builder would have about quantum physics. And to make matters much, much worse, for every soldier the military lost, Grogar’s horde gained one. And killing what was already dead was difficult - within a matter of months, the Horde had overcome most of Equestria, and now the Military was trying to protect the remaining bases still held by the ponies. The Alicorns were all but extinct, and those that remained had gone into hiding. All except two: Queen Celestia and Princess Luna.

The queen paced up and down in her room, constantly fearing for her life - As far as she was concerned, the Horde was closing in on them slowly, and every minute could have been her last. Luna also stood nearby, as worried as her sister was, but unlike her sister she didn’t show it. She too had changed since her mother’s death - contrary to her sister’s new, cold and uncaring attitude, she had become more mature, more determined to protect her country, and the only one who still shared an implicit relationship with Celestia.

“Celestia, wearing the floor out isn’t going to help…”
“What else can we do? The Army’s retreating, Grogar’s beasts are steadily approaching… Now all we can do is wait until we become one of them…”
“Tia… You know that isn’t true. We’ll find a way to beat him, I promise you...”
Over the past few months Celestia had also become defeatist and pessimistic on top of her icy attitude, leaving Luna the only one stopping her from throwing herself out the window.
“Then what is it?” Celestia spoke loudly, suddenly rounding on Luna. “What is this ‘way to beat him’ that we so desperately need? How do we do it?”
“Um…” Luna was taken aback slightly by Celestia’s response. Before she could even answer, Celestia raised her voice again.
“Exactly! There isn't one! We have no hope! No hope in this entire Faust-damned world!”
Luna said nothing as Celestia ranted in her face. The war was taking a bigger toll on Celestia than the death of her mother had…
“Nothing! Nil! Zip! Nada! So now we wait, whilst ponies die in MY name, for Grogar to come and KILL US ALL!!”
“TIA! THAT IS NOT TRUE!”
Luna had had enough. The war was driving Celestia insane, and she was the only one who could help.
“The only reason we have no hope is because you say there is! If we just tried, if we played strategically, attacking where he’s weakest, we could still win this!”
This time, it was Celestia who was shocked by Luna’s outburst. She’d been focusing so much on getting her feelings out that she’d almost not noticed that she was still there.
Luna’s voice was beginning to crack as she looked into Celestia's eyes... “To be so defeatist isn’t like you… What happened to you, Tia? Before you were always so kind and generous… You used to make me laugh all the time, you were so honest and loyal…”
Celestia’s heart grew heavier with every word Luna said.
“But where has that Celestia gone? To be frank... I don’t like this new Celestia… I want the old one back!”
“ENOUGH!”
Luna’s speech had brought Tia to breaking point. She collapsed to her knees, tears welling up in her eyes yet again.
“I'm so sorry, Luna… I can’t do this… I'm just not cut out to rule the whole of Equestria… I've failed where Mother did so well…”
With that, flung her arms around Luna and burst into tears again. “I'm sorry, Luna, I'm so, so sorry!” she cried, occasionally pausing to take a long sniff. “I've been a total jerk ever since Mother died… And I've let the whole of Equestria go to ruin!”
This was the first time Luna had had to comfort her sister like this… A few years ago it would have been the other way round…
“That wasn't your fault, Tia… You are not to blame for any of this. Anyone would have been like that in your position…”
The crying and comforting went on for a few minutes, during which time Luna’s shoulder must have soaked up the equivalent of an ocean’s worth of tears… but eventually Celestia’s cries stopped and her breathing stabilised. Confident that she was calm, Luna released Celestia. She looked an absolute mess.
“Celestia!”
After a few minutes, the moment was broken by a knock on the door, and Celestia looked up. The voice of Spark Sentry was drifting from behind the door, causing her to finally smile again.
“Well… At least Spark remembered my name for once…”
She moved to the door and opened it gently, to behold Spark’s face, and spoke, unusually cheerily for the ‘new’ Celestia: “Yes, Spark?”
Spark was slightly taken aback at the Queen suddenly calling him by his first name.
“I, uh…”
But he quickly got over this, and clearing his throat, he assumed a more formal stance. “I bring dire news. Reports have confirmed that Grogar has managed to harvest enough energy from the alicorns he’s-- killed-- to summon… Kur.”
Celestia froze. She’d heard that name before… in storybooks, myths and legends. She’d never assumed it would be real.
“We believe that he will soon be able to summon him to this world - and when he does we will have no hope at all.”
Celestia almost couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her knees growing weak, she was just about ready to give up again. But…
“If we just tried, if we played strategically, attacking where he’s weakest, we could still win this!”
At once, the fear and worry was gone, returned to whatever dark recess of her mind it came from. Celestia had had an idea. It was a crazy idea, but it was the only chance that they - no, all of Equestria had at surviving this war.

“According to intel, where is Grogar right now?”
“Well, we don’t know for sure, but our sources have him hiding somewhere in the Crystal Mountains…”
Celestia interrupted him before he could say anything else.
“Send an order to the troops. Tell them that they are to retreat at once.”
Spark was once again taken aback at Celestia’s decision.
“But, Celestia…”
“I won’t allow anypony else to die in my name! I am leaving for the Crystal Mountains immediately… and I’m going to deal with Grogar - Personally!”
“Are you absolutely sure, Celestia…? This sounds like a bad idea…”
“It’s also our only hope of survival. So have the troops retreat - that’s an order!”
With that, she walked briskly out of the door, ready to face whatever danger had to be dealt with.
“Wait!”
Celestia turned round to see Luna at the door to her bedroom.
“If you’re leaving… then I'm coming too. Try as you might you can’t do this alone - so please, let me help you.”
Celestia looked back at her sister. For a moment, she seemed to be deep in thought… But then her face changed a warm smile.
“If you want to help save the whole country… Then who am I to say no? In any case… I can’t do this alone…”
Luna slowly moved to join her sister, and together they walked down the corridor, picking up speed, wending their way through the castle’s corridors until eventually they burst out of the front doors, wings held high as they took to the crimson skies...

Chapter 6: Ruin

As the two sisters flew over Canterlot, for the first time they saw, with their own eyes, the devastation that Grogar had caused. Whole buildings had been razed to the ground, their crumbling remains being trampled slowly by the undead hordes. Small groups of soldiers, knocking down the occasional undead as they made their way back to their bases, their heads turned to the ground, in mourning of the many friends and allies they’d lost over the past few years.

And in amongst the crumbling ruins, they saw familiar buildings, remnants of times long gone. The theatre where they’d seen their first performance… That bakery their mother had taken them to that one time, where Luna ended up covered in icing… But none of these shattered childhood memories could compare to what Celestia was about to see…

Right there, half-destroyed and almost beyond recognition below them, was the brick-lined building in which they had spent the majority of their lives: Queen Galaxia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. Upon seeing that familiar building ablaze, Celestia’s heart felt as if somepony had dropped a 100-pound weight on it. She closed her eyes, all the memories of her school life flooding back to her in an instant… She hated to think of the undead breaking down the doors, the teachers trying their best to protect themselves and their students, but ultimately failing as the children screamed and cried behind them…

“Tia…”
Celestia was once again brought out of her thought by Luna, who’d obviously seem her pained facial expression.
“Don’t worry, Tia… We WILL do this - we WILL defeat Grogar. And once we've done it, we’ll rebuild it. We’ll rebuild it all…”
Celestia was only slightly comforted by her sister’s words, but nevertheless she began to pick up the pace, propelling herself slightly faster in the direction of the Crystal Mountains.

The pair flew for what felt like an age. As the sun finished setting, the moon began slowly rising into the sky as the two sisters continued their exodus, their journey to finally defeat the one who had brought so much pain into their lives, and to their country. At the altitude they were at, it was cold and bitter, but still they continued on - they could never give up, lest Equestria fall into the clutches of an evil psychopath.

Seconds turned to minutes, and minutes turned to hours. Celestia was beginning to doubt her own judgement when another brilliant sight met her eyes… As they flew further, snow-covered peaks began to appear over the horizon, expanding into deep blue mountains, dotted by the occasional tree or outcrop of snow… These were the Crystal Mountains, their final destination… And where Equestria’s final fate would eventually be sealed.

“Now, we just need to find the entrance…” Celestia spoke for the first time since Canterlot. “You take this side, I’ll take the other.”
“I don’t think we’ll need to look…” Luna said slowly, indicating with her hoof as more of the mountains were revealed… In the mountainside, sticking out like a sore thumb on the backdrop that was the deep blue mountains, there was a cave, from which a bright orange light was emanating. Many dark figures were exiting the cave, and some were entering… Celestia immediately understood what Luna meant, and so the pair flew a little lower to confirm their suspicion.

As they thought - the dark figures leaving the cave moved clumsily, their mouths hanging open, deep gashes all around their bodies. Those entering the cave carried what looked like dead bodies on their backs, fresh from the battlefield. These were Grogar’s Undead… and this cave was their place of origin. Celestia almost took pity on the poor ponies, dragged out of this world so quickly… and just as quickly dragged back, hungry for pony flesh.

Eventually, the sisters reached the mountainside, and after finding a flat enough area, landed with a simultaneous flap of their wings. Looking down at the steady stream of undead slowly leaving the cave, they began to consider their plan of action. Luna began the conversation in a hushed voice.
“How do we get in?”
“Well, one way would be to blast our way in…”
“Two ponies, even alicorns, against a whole army of undead, plus Grogar, would be a recipe for disaster though… We've seen what they can do to whole armies…”
“True…”
The pair remained silent for a moment, before Celestia spoke again.
“We could.. hide behind some bushes?”
“And do what?”
“Sneak in, of course!”
“Do you see any bushes around here-- hold on!”
The idea of sneaking in gave Luna an idea. “Why don’t we disguise ourselves? Pretend to be zombies and just walk right through the door?”
“That sounds like a risky move, and it most likely won’t work... But now that I think about it, it may be our only way in…”
“Then let’s do it.”
So, Luna and Celestia carefully descended the mountain, being careful to stay out of the way of the undead, so they wouldn't notice the pair as they prepared their disguises.
“Now… disguises.” Luna said, in a hushed voice. “Hold still a sec, and shut your eyes…”
Celestia, trusting her sister’s judgement, did so, allowing Luna to do whatever she had planned. She felt a little funny as she felt Luna’s magic making little cosmetic changes to her body, but she remained still, and her eyes remained shut, waiting until Luna was done. Eventually, the strange sensation stopped.
“Aaand… open!”
Celestia opened her eyes, looked down at herself… and almost let out a large gasp, before she stopped herself.
It looked as if her body had been chopped to bits and cheaply put back together again. She had gashes all over her body, and her skin was a darker tone - even her mane felt heavier.
“They aren't real gashes - it’s just a cosmetic effect. I don’t know now many times I used it to scare kids a few years back…” Luna commented.
“I bet that caused some trauma...” Celestia said, half-sarcastically. She was still a little unnerved by her appearance...
Luna then performed the same spell on herself, and Celestia couldn't help but wince a little as she saw the fake lacerations slowly etch themselves onto her skin… it looked very painful.
Now very much satisfied that they looked sufficiently non-living, the two sisters kept to the shadows, slowly creeping towards the cave entrance.

Eventually, they drew close to the cave mouth. The two sisters held their breath and temporarily said goodbye to their sensible selves as they began lurching forwards into the steady stream of light, their breaths deliberately rattling and occasionally moaning a little as they attempted to emulate the undead surrounding them. To their luck, the creatures were as stupid as they looked, and didn't even bat an eyelid at the two sisters waltzing through the cave mouth, and they did not fail to drop this act as they stepped in. Once inside, however, it was hard not to. In fact, Celestia had to swallow a gasp when she saw what was inside…

The interior of the cave was smallish, with a side passage to the right of where Luna and Celestia were. Towards the back of the cave, there was a small elevation, leading up to what had been causing the orange light: Adjacent to the wall, there stood a great stone arch, inside which there was a great orange portal - the undead entering were throwing the bodies they were carrying into it, and the line exiting was made up of a combination of undead leaving after just having deposited a body, and newly reawakened undead, emerging from the portal.

Not taking much time to look at this, Celestia and Luna stumbled towards the side passage, assuming that Grogar must have been that way, and after they were sure that the undead couldn't hear or see them, they dropped their act.
Celestia, breathing a sigh of relief, spoke: “Well… That was stressful!”
Luna replied, equally relieved. “You can say that again!”
“Now… we find Grogar. Time to end this once and for all.”
With that, Celestia continued up the passage, which opened out into what seemed to be a long flight of spiral stairs. A VERY long flight of spiral stairs.
“How much longer?” Luna said, gasping for air as she climbed stair after stair…
Celestia wasn't faring much better, but nevertheless she replied “We’re almost… at the top…”
“Good!” Luna said in response, both the stairs and the wait driving her mental.
The pair climbed, and climbed, and climbed some more until eventually, Celestia stopped dead in her tracks.
“What’s wrong?” Luna asked, concerned.
Celestia’s reply was tentative and shaky. “We’re at the top… and whatever Grogar’s doing, I don’t like the look of it”
Looking round her sister, Luna saw exactly what she meant…
The top of the stairs opened up to a plateau, hidden from view by the surrounding peaks. Looking up, the moon seemed to shine brighter than ever from here… But this was not something that the sisters dwelled on, for what was actually on the plateau was what caught their eyes. There stood their arch nemesis, Grogar, standing over what seemed like an altar, muttering to himself. Behind him, there was another portal, but unlike the plane through which the undead were passing, this one was clear, and through it, one could see what looked like a vast fortress, the walls and spires of which looked twisted and warped, even malicious and evil.
“You like it?”
Celestia and Luna nearly jumped out of their still-disguised skins when they heard Grogar speaking directly to them.
“Don’t think I didn't see you there, waltzing through the entrance, thinking you were being all stealthy. I see EVERYTHING that enters and exits this cave.”
He turned away from the alter, which the sisters could now see was, in fact, a Pool of Surveillance, trained on the entrance to the cavern.
“You should be glad that my Shadow Warriors didn't notice you… though I must commend your effort… You certainly are clever little fillies…” Grogar walked over and patted Celestia gently on the head as he said this, angering Celestia greatly.
“Get behind the wall, Luna.” Celestia muttered to her sister.
“But…”
“Do you remember what I said back at the palace? Nopony else is dying for me. This is something I have to do alone.”
Understanding, but still concerned, Luna backed around the corner and listened as Celestia confronted the evil madman.
“It’s over, Grogar! This little vendetta of yours has gone too far! Stop this at once or I WILL destroy you!” Celestia knew full well that her threat was empty, but she didn't falter. She couldn't show weakness, not now.
“A vendetta?” Grogar suddenly shouted in reply. “Hah! You think that this whole war, the whole reason I created this army, was for revenge? Maybe you aren't so clever after all…”
“...What?”
Celestia’s heart began beating faster. What did Grogar have planned?
“Well, you see, before killing your oh-so-dear mother, I had an idea… Why stop with your mother? Why not bring down the entire Equestrian Empire with it? And that idea brought me here - to the Crystal Mountains, where I was able to operate freely, without fear of being seen or discovered. One by one, I killed more and more alicorns, binding their spirits, past and present, to my will, eventually gaining enough power to… well, it’d be better to show you myself.”
Before Celestia could answer, Grogar threw his head to the sky, and unleashed a beam of light from his horn. The beam travelled through the air, before finally hitting its final target: The moon.

Chapter 7: The Fall (Part 2)

The sisters could only watch as Grogar’s magic connected with the moon… But for a moment, nothing seemed to be happening. His magic merely enveloped the moon in a dark green aura, shimmering in the twilight… Until the sisters saw something very disturbing indeed. On the opposite horizon, they began to see a faint orange glow, as if the sun was rising…
“Ever see the sun and the moon in the sky at the same time?” Grogar asked, though it was clear he was not expecting an answer. “Well... you’re about to see it!”
Sure enough, from over the horizon, the sun began rising, even though the moon was still clearly visible in the night sky. Slowly but surely, it moved higher and higher, the two cosmic orbs growing closer and closer… Until finally, the two began to overlap, the sun’s surface disappearing behind that of the moon, slowly but surely turning its face black, until eventually, the two moved together, the moon like a great black hole covering the sun’s massive face. It would almost have been a marvel to behold… That is, until Grogar fired his second bolt of magic into the newly-created eclipse. In an instant, the white sky filled with clouds and turned an unsettling shade of blood red. From the inky blackness of the moon, Celestia could see something moving...
“This eclipse is the final piece of my infernal puzzle - the gateway through which the Death Dragon Kur will be summoned to this world at last!”
Celestia’s mouth fell open. Now she knew that Spark had most certainly not been joking when he’d been talking about this...
“And from my hidden fortress of Tamberlone…” - Grogar indicated to the portal - “I shall remain in control of him… I shall unleash him onto Equestria… nay, the entire world!”
Celestia had found his plan unbelievable - but now she’d seen it with her own eyes, she was forced to believe it. This pony, who had once been a wretched excuse for a scientist, was now on the cusp of assuming pure entropy over all of creation… with a god at his side.
“But you’ve heard too much… and Kur doesn't like to be kept waiting…” Grogar sneered as an earth-shattering roar suddenly pierced the skies above. “So I'm afraid I shall have to dispose of you, Celestia, and your pathetic little sister too.”
At that moment, a shadow could be seen moving within the portal. It was leaving the fortress, stumbling and lurching as it went, getting closer and closer…
“Oh, but don’t worry… I’ll at least let you see the one you love most before you die…”
The shadow drew closer and closer. Celestia looked closer, trying to determine its identity… before immediately wishing she hadn't as the figure began to lurch out of the portal.
She looked dishevelled, rotted even. Her pure white body covered in gashes, her once beautiful and flowing dark blue and gold mane now limp and stained with Faust-knew-what, her wings drooping to either side of her body, and a lifeless look on her face... She looked so different… But it was unmistakeable. The pony that Grogar had summoned… was her mother.
Celestia stared at the figure before her, that face she hadn't seen in so long, a look of utmost horror on her face at what Grogar had done to her. It pained her so much to hear her mother’s rattling breath, the occasional roar from the sky above, and Grogar sneering…
“What’s wrong, Your Majesty? Your mother is here now… Shouldn't you be happy?”
Suffice to say, Celestia was anything but at this moment in time. Once again, her heart began to fill with the purest rage.
“You’re a monster…”
She spoke quietly at first… But with each word she spoke, her voice became louder and louder.
“You’re a ruthless, psychopathic, megalomaniacal monster! You claim countless lives for your own personal benefit, you destroy things for the fun of it…” Her voice went quiet again, and again slowly increased in volume, “...and worst of all… You wave the decaying shell of my own mother in my face! And now…” She began charging a spell. “I’m going to end it! Tonight, you will feel the pain that you've dealt tenfold!” She shot her fully charged spell at the maniac before her…
But the effort was in vain, as just before the attack made contact, Grogar’s necklace flashed, and the projectile dissipated around him like a raindrop onto a hot stove. Grogar stepped back into his original position and began laughing.
“You can’t defeat me that way… This amulet is charged with the magic of the Alicorns - with it, I am more powerful than any being alive!”
Still livid, Celestia let fly several more powerful bolts of magic, directed straight at the amulet around his neck… again to no avail, as each and every one of he attacks either missed or dissipated around Grogar’s body. Grogar began laughing even louder as Celestia continued her useless string of attacks….
“Don’t you understand? You can’t defeat me - there’s NOTHING powerful enough to defeat me! The spirits of ALL alicorns are bound to me now, living and past. I have more than enough energy to summon the Death Dragon… and you can’t do anything about it!” His voice took on a patronising tone. “Oh, Poor… Little… Weak… Lonely... Celestia! All alone in the world, nopony understands her… And now she’s about to die!! Galaxia - kill her!” With that, Grogar threw his head back, laughing maniacally as he cast another spell towards the eclipse. As he did so, the roars also increased in volume. At the same time, the undead Queen began lurching towards her, with low, rattling groans creeping from her bloodstained mouth.
Celestia could take it no longer. Perhaps she HAD been too rash… She’d come here, thinking she could defeat him, prevent him from taking any more lives… But she’d failed. And now, here she was, about to be killed by her own mother’s shade… Very quietly, she began mumbling to herself…
“Faust damn it… Mother… I'm so sorry...”
The undead spirit slowly approached, getting closer and closer…
“I'm so sorry I couldn't avenge you…”
She closed her eyes, and a tear dropped from them as Galaxia’s shade approached...
“I'm so sorry this all had to happen…”
The shade readied its magic, poised to strike Celestia down.
“I'm so sorry I… failed…”
The shade charged some more… and fired a bolt of dark energy directly at the hopeless Celestia. She heard the spell flying towards her, the air around it crackling with dark energy…
“NO!”
She heard the spell’s impact… But she didn't feel it.
Confused, she opened her eyes to see the Shade looking, dumbfounded, at something on the ground… Turning her head to see, she let out a gasp of shock.
Lying there, a painful magical impact in her side, was her sister Luna. She must have jumped in front of the bolt before it hit her… Celestia felt more tears welling up in her eyes.
“Friendship is magic, you know… It can do amazing things to ponies.”

Her mother’s eternal phrase hit Celestia like a train crashing into a mountain.

“Friendship is magic…”
Celestia flashed back to a time long ago... The day of her first test… She remembered how her friends had heered her on… She remembered how their reassurance had given her power… She remembered how with their help, she’d overcome her fear. An act of true friendship that had given her power when she most needed it…
Just like what Luna had just done...

She opened her eyes. A spark had been set off in her mind… She looked at Luna’s limp body again, a powerful feeling rising up in her heart.
“You’re wrong, Grogar…”
Grogar turned, almost surprised, to see Celestia standing up again, a determined look on her face once again.
“Oh?”
“You’re wrong… I’m not alone… and I am certainly not weak!”
Celestia was now once again on her hooves. She began to walk confidently towards Grogar.
“You might have forgotten that there is somepony who’s always there for me. And she gives me strength. The laughter we share… the kindness and generosity she gives, her honesty and her loyalty, are like a special kind of magic. One we may never understand fully…”
Celestia stopped walking, closed her eyes and focused her magic. That feeling that she’d had all those years ago was returning again…
“But that doesn't matter, because the magic our friendship brings… gives me the energy to continue…”
She was charging another spell, a more powerful spell. Perhaps even more powerful than she’d ever cast before. “More energy than you could ever hope to imagine in your pathetic life!”
She opened her eyes… which had began glowing a brilliant white as she released her spell.
Two great rainbows shot from her horn into the blood-red skies, spiralling up and up until they met in mid-air. Grogar could only stand in confusion and shock - The power that Celestia was releasing was almost tangible.
“W-What is this?”
The now-joined rainbows cascaded downwards towards the mad scientist, forming a whirlwind of pure energy around him. And as they did so, the portal behind him began closing…
“What? No! NO!” Grogar began shouting in fear as the whirlwind of colour and light forced him towards the ever-shrinking gateway… As this happened, Galaxia’s shade began screaming in pain, as her body began to crumble away... But Celestia took no notice, her only goal to banish this screaming tyrant from this world.
“Faust damn it Celestia! This is not the last you wil hear of me! I will return, you hear me? And when you do, IT! WILL! BE! YOUR! DOWNFALL!!!”
Grogar screamed his last words as he was forced through the deep orange threshold, just as it closed behind him. His amulet slipped off as he entered, and it clattered to the floor just where the portal had been... With that, the light dissipated, Celestia’s eyes stopped glowing, as did her horn… and she leaned over, exhausted from the sheer pressure this magic had exerted on her. Galaxia’s shade let out one last shriek bfore dissipating altogether, leaving no trace behind…
Around Celestia, six magical orbs fell to the ground in a hexagon shape… But Celestia took little notice as she leaned up again, and ran over to her sister.
“Luna!”
Luna slowly opened her eyes, consciousness returning to her.
“Tia…”
“Oh, thank Faust you’re alive! Are you alright?”
“Don’t worry, Celestia… I’ll live…” Luna said as she struggled to her hooves. The spell impact on her wing was already fading… “Besides, you shouldn't be worrying about me… you should be worrying about THAT.” She indicated to the sky, and not a moment too soon - from the eclipse above, the silence was punctured by another great, and powerful, roar.
Celestia got to her hooves again, struggling a little. “No… Way.”
They had sealed Grogar away, all right… but the Eclipse was still in place, and the Death Dragon Kur was about to enter this world… Celestia had to think fast… And eventually, she had an idea. A stupid idea. A plain crazy idea, with a one-in-a-million chance of success… But still, it was the only way of undoing Grogar’s plan completely.
Turning her head towards the eclipse, she closed her eyes and fired a beam of magic up towards the moon. The beam shot through the atmosphere, drawing ever closer to its target… before finally making contact.
Celestia opened her eyes again, ensuring that the first step in her plan had worked. Then, straining to keep her magic established, she began to slowly-but-surely move the Moon away from the Sun, all the while enduring Kur’s roars as they grew louder, more desperate. The sky slowly changed colour, from red to dark blue again… She gasped for air, bullets of sweat raining down from her face… But still she pressed on, trying her hardest to move the Moon away from the sun… But her power was wavering. The beam of magic was sputtering, losing power…
But then, another beam collided with the moon. A dark blue beam, a little more powerful than Celestia’s exhausted magic. Looking to the left, she saw the only possible reason. Luna was struggling to stay on her hooves as she took hold of the moon.
“I got this one, Tia… You take care of what shouldn't be there…”
Celestia wasn’t sure what her sister meant at first, but it didn't take her long to realise. She powered up her magic again, this time aiming at the sun, and the beam once again made contact… but this time it was weak and powerless. Nevertheless, she tried to shift the heavy gas-giant back into the position it belonged in… but to little avail, as within seconds, her magic beam dissipated. She quickly tried to re-establish the connection, but again to little effect. Celestia puffed and panted, her energy completely drained...
Suddenly, she felt something warm slide onto her back. Looking around in surprise, she saw that Luna had trotted over to her, and put her foreleg around her waist.
“Luna…”
Celestia felt just another little spark of power as Luna pulled her in closer… Celestia also extended her foreleg, wrapping it around her sister’s body.
“Let’s do this!”
And with that, she threw her head to the sky, focused all of her energy into her horn and released another burst of powerful energy into the Sun, pulling it down across the horizon… and feeling its power flow into her. And the more she exerted herself, the more the sun moved, channelling its energy into her… As if the sun itself was giving her energy, binding itself to her. And the more energy flowed into her, the faster she found she could move the sun… Until eventually, it disappeared over the horizon again, back to where it belonged. Celestia cut off her magic, and looked up at the Moon, which Luna was just setting back into place…
She felt a slight tingling on her flank… Looking towards it, she saw that it had started glowing - something which shocked her a little. Looking over at Luna, a similar thing seemed to be happening to her as well... She’d forgotten all about their Cutie Marks - or the lack of them - amidst the war… The glow became brighter and brighter, almost blinding… Until finally it faded. Celestia looked closely at her flank, which now bore a great emblem of a large sun, in orange and yellow with solar flares cascading from its rim.. Looking over at Luna, she saw hers now bore the emblem of a crescent moon, perfectly complimenting the black colouration of her flank.. And in that moment, as her destiny had been realised, she felt proud. More proud than she’d ever felt in her entire life.

Epilogue: Aftermath

Upon their return. Celestia and Luna were given a heroes’ welcome. The entire Equestrian army graced their return with ovation, as did the whole of Equestria, who threw huge celebrations across the Empire.

Over the following few days, it became apparent that the incident on the rooftop had not only banished Grogar and sealed away Kur - the sheer amount of magic that Grogar, Celestia and Luna had released in resetting the positions of the Sun and Moon had disrupted the lunar/solar cycle, and caused the two sisters to become bound to them - Celestia to the Sun and Luna to the Moon. As such, it was now their duty to raise and lower them, as and when needed. There was also some speculation as to the origin of the six mysterious stones that appeared when Celestia cast her spell, but Celestia decided to give them the name of “The Elements of Harmony”, owing to the fact that they appeared shortly after she cast the spell which banished Grogar.

Celestia had decided to mark the occasion with an official day of celebration, rather aptly named the Summer Sun Celebration. That day, Celestia gave a long speech, towards the end of which she made an announcement which sent a shockwave throughout Equestria…

“On this day of days, you will have recognised me as your queen, the one true ruler of the Equestrian Empire, the heir of the Equestrian Royal Family… But let us all take a moment today to remember the one from whom I untimely inherited this position… The late Queen Galaxia, the first of Grogar’s victims, a beloved Queen… and a dear mother to me. I, personally, feel that that position was unfairly removed from her, and thrust onto me… Alas, that is a burden I cannot carry alone - As much as you expect from me, I cannot follow in the footsteps of the one and only Galaxia. And so, in memoriam to Queen Galaxia, our beloved Queen... and my dear mother… I hereby renounce the title of ‘Queen of Equestria’. I, along with my sister Luna, shall rule this empire, not as your queen, but as your princesses. And I hope that you, the citizens of Equestria, will accept me as such. Now, I am afraid I must draw this long and laborious speech to a close, but before I do, remember: Everything, from the stars in the sky to the anemones and reefs in the oceans, to the ponies and other species on the land, needs energy to keep it going. The energy which drives us to live, to do everything we do. And it’s the same with us - but it’s not strength, or numbers, or money, that drives us, as some might think. It’s our friendship. Knowing that there’s somepony out there for whom we can live for. Their kindness, their generosity, their honesty, their loyalty, the laughter we share, it all creates a unique magic that keeps us moving forward. That’s the energy that powers us, what keeps us moving forward. And I hope that you’ll all take that to heart as you live your daily lives. Know that somepony out there is there for you - because that pony, or those ponies, are your most important source of energy, your life-spring, which you should never, ever allow to run out.”

With that, Princess Celestia bid her subjects goodnight, and left the stage to ovation from everypony in attendance.

But little did Celestia know that soon, she would have to use the Elements of Harmony yet again… this time not against an evil scientist or an insane megalomaniac… She would have to use the Elements against the one pony whom she held closest to her… The one pony who stood by her side… And that one pony would also seek entropy over Equestria… in the form of a pure, everlasting night...