The sum of our sins

They flew for hours, in silence. Luna was thinking of what lay ahead, of what her sister was  concerned of. Twilight was wondering, if she needed to fight a new foe and how strong would it be? The thought of fighting is a thought she had always dreaded. She was raised to cherish life by her mother and father. But at the same time, that thought also excited her. Celestia had taught her how to fight, in a rather in-depth manner and the thought of testing her abilities... She shook her head, in a reluctant manner.

They landed in the ‘Badlands’, a canyon a few miles off of Appaloosa.  It was home to all the hostile creatures that roamed Equestria. They landed near the northwest edge, right in front of a cave. Tsuchinoko exited from it, with a toothy grin, he walked in front of them and bowed.

Luna turned to Twilight, “This is the man I spoke of. He was the one to discover the seed and he’ll guide us through.”

“Pleasure to meet you.” Twilight said as she shook his hoof.

“The feeling is mutual.” Tsuchinoko responded, then turned to see Rainbow Dash. “And this is one of your friends I presume?”

Rainbow backed away just a bit. She could feel something in her gut and she didn't want to be anywhere near this pony.

“Rainbow! Don’t be rude!” Twilight exclaimed.

Rainbow turned away from the man in silence.  Their was a painfully awkward pause that lingered until Twilight shook her head in disapproval and tried to continue the conversation as seamlessly as possible. “Anyway, were you going to guide us to the seed?”

“Y-Yes, yes.” He made a gesture for them to follow him and began to walk towards the cave entrance.  They followed, Luna leading, Twilight right behind and Rainbow dash lingering behind.

Most of the cave was pony-made, with columns placed along the walls, so it wouldn't cave-in. They continued along until they found a large room. This seemed to be the hub to different corridors and pathways.

“How long did it take you to build this?” Twilight asked.

“Lets just say I spent most of my adult life making this. All to find proof...” Tsuchinoko said almost resentfully.

“Faith carries us to do odd things...” Luna said. She was following at a brisk pace but then she began to slow down... Her head was hurting and she started to hear whispers. She clutched her fore-head and stopped.

“Are you okay?” Twilight asked with a great deal of concern. She placed her hoof on Luna’s shoulder.

“I’m fine. Get off me!” Luna yelled. No, she can not be weak. She can not show weakness around her. She shrugged her off and continued to walk, even though she wanted to lay down. They took a right into another small cavern, but as they were walking Luna was falling apart. Her body wanted to collapse. She felt a ungodly amount of pain on her head, and she was sweating. She wanted to cry,  to scream, but refused to.

And in the back confined to her own thoughts Rainbow Dash was feeling a similar feeling. She heard the exact same whispers that Luna heard and they were growing louder and louder with each step. “Kill her, kill them all.”

She started to sweat. “Hey Twilight...” Rainbow tried to say.

“Here we are.”  Tsuchinoko said as they stepped in front of a large structure. A singular pillar sat in the center of the room. In which sat a large brownish black egg with roots coming out of it and sealing themselves in the roof of  the cave.

“Ok, so what’s the plan-” Twilight turned back to see both Rainbow Dash and Luna writhing in pain.

“No! I will not betray her! She’s my friend!” Rainbow dash screamed in pain. Luna on the other hand was on her back clutching her head sobbing.

Twilight ran over to both of them, “What is happening?!” She turned to Tsuchinoko for answers only to see him admire the seed, which now had a dark blue aurora around it.

“What did you do?!” Twilight screamed in anger.

Tsuchinoko was still staring at the seed, “It’s like a dream, really. Sixty years of restless search, to find this thing... To take revenge on this world, for what it took away...” He turned too Twilight, “Your friends have hate and temptation in their minds, as does every mortal. The seed is feeding off that. Now, the question is... How are you unaffected?”

The seed began to pulse and released a blue stream of magical energy into Luna. Luna who was crying now began to laugh uncontrollably, which faded into chuckling as she began to stand up very shakily.

Tsuchinoko stared at her in terror. This was not part of his plan. ‘What was happening? Why did  the seed do that? Why was she standing?’  Tsuchinoko questioned in his mind.

Luna was still chuckling. Twilight approached her and was glad to see she was alright. “Luna you’re okay! I was so scared that you were-”

Luna turned to Twilight with a dead stare causing Twilight to back up. Something was not right.

Luna’s laugh was getting louder and louder, until it was more of a scream then a laugh.

“I can feel  it... The seed has given me the power I so well deserve! With it’s power I will no longer be a pawn of fate! I will finally take my throne... As the one true princess of Equestria!” She cackled madly. Luna’s fur began to grow darker, her hair began to become less dense and became a lighter shade of blue.

Twilight knew exactly what was happening and their was nothing she could do. Luna was no longer Luna... Nightmare moon had returned.