Full Moon Rising

     Dark Flame stood over the limp body of Celestia. She opened her eyes slowly and starred up at him. He had been too strong for her. Her breathing was now heavy and labored. She could feel the end coming.

     “The tyrant finally falls.” gloated Dark Flame. “I’ve waited my whole life for this.” He raised his horn high above Celestia; she closed her eyes knowing what would happen, this was it. Before he could strike it down he felt a sharp pain in his side and he went sliding across the hard floor. He moaned and staggered to his feet. Before him hovered a navy blue alicorn with a black tiara and a mane almost identical to his. She was slightly smaller than Celestia. Their eyes met. Hers filled with tears. Memories came flooding back to her.

     “Dark Flame?” she gasped. He was too angry to notice her tears or her face.

     “NO ONE IS GOING TO TAKE THIS MOMENT FROM ME!” he shouted and he fired dark purple flames at her. She barely dodged it.

     “Dark Flame my son! It is I, your mother!” she yelled at him.

     “LIAR! My mother is Queen Nightmare Moon!” he roared as he shot more fire at her. She flew out of its path. It caught some decorative tapestry on fire.

      “Get back here!” he growled through clenched teeth.

     “But it is I, your mother. The one who loves you dearly.” she pleaded with him with tears in her eyes.

      “That’s impossible! You are not Nightmare Moon!” he cried as tears began to fill his eyes.

     “I was” she said gently. “until the Elements of Harmony freed me. Don’t you see? Celestia is my sister. We don’t have to do this anymore.” she cautiously approached him and he put his head down crying.

      “LIAR!” he suddenly screamed. He threw her across the room with telekinesis.

      “I’ll come back for you. Celestia and I have unfinished business to attend to.” he said as he walked over to where Celestia was.

      Suddenly! The doors opened and three ponies ran into the room.

      “PRINCESS CELESTIA!” screamed Twilight in horror.

      “NOT NOW! DIE!” screamed Dark Flame as he fired off an energy beam at them.

      “NO!” shrieked Luna as she jumped in front of the blast. It hit her dead center in the chest. She was thrown through the wall, smoking and blackened.

     “I guess I can finish you first.” he said coldly as he walked towards the hole in the wall.

      "STAY AWAY FROM HER!” screamed Applejack, Twilight, and Fluttershy simultaneously. He picked them up with telekinesis and threw them across the room. They landed directly on top of Celestia.

      Dark Flame looked down at the fallen alicorn that lay before him. He caught sight of her cutie mark. It was his mother’s!

     “M-m-mother?” he stammered as tears flowed from his eyes.

     “Hello my son. My you’ve grown.” she said sweetly.

     “Mom, I’m so sorry!” he wailed as he bent down and hugged her.

     “It’s okay. It was an honest mistake.” she was shaking from the pain. He moved back and his horn began to glow. A blue light enveloped Princess Luna; she was standing up completely healed.

     “You finally mastered the healing ability.” she said proudly looking up at him.

     “I learned from the best.” he said happily. Meanwhile, on the other side of the room Twilight had done the same thing to Celestia and she was also healed.

     “But why didn’t you come back for me? Why didn’t you beat your sister?” he asked. He was confused.

     “Because my son, I was set free by the Elements of Harmony. They must have wiped my memory. Nightmare Moon was my corrupted form. I am free now; I am Princess Luna again.” she said gently.

      “THAT”S IMPOSSIBLE!” he screamed. “She has done something to you!”

     “No she hasn’t. Please believe me.” she pleaded.

     “I can’t.” he said through half clenched teeth. “This isn’t the mother I know.” he whispered.

     “I know Sweety.” she said stroking his mane even though he dwarfed her. “It is the better me. Actually this is the way I was BEFORE I was Nightmare Moon.”

     “I can’t believe you! She has done SOMETHING! Do not fear Mother I will find a way to lift this curse.” he promised.

     “Goodbye.” he said with tears in his eyes and he flew out the window.

     “STOP HIM!” yelled Twilight.

     “He’s too far away!” shouted Applejack

     “I’ll get him.” said Fluttershy; she had a score to settle.

     “Let him go.” said Celestia calmly.

     “WHAT!?” they said with confused looks on their faces.

     “He’s just lost and scared. He doesn’t know what to think.” she added.

     “HE ALMOST KILLED YOU!” screamed Twilight.

     “He didn’t know any better. Now you had better go check on Rainbow Dash. I’ll go with you.” she said gently.

     “But yore castle.” said Applejack looking around at the ruins that had once been Celestia’s throne room. Tapestry smoldered, bricks lay broken and smashed, walls had holes in them, and Celestia had left a blood stain where she had lay wounded.

     “It can be fixed.” she said sadly looking at Luna. “Her heart won’t be fixed as easily. Luna stood looking out of the window into the blackness her son had disappeared into. She lowered the moon with a flash of light from her horn and the world became much darker. She then started crying.

     “You okay Princess?” asked Applejack quietly.

     “I am fine. I just wish the night would have ended differently.” she sighed.

     “We all do dear sister.” said Celestia as she hugged her. “Who was the father?”

     “One of my guards and I fell in love and married during my exile.” Luna explained as she wiped her tears on her front legs. “He died soon after Dark Flame was born. Without a male role model he grew up rather….unstable. He looked to me and my selfish ways. It’s my fault he turned out the way he did.”

     “No it’s not. No one could have foreseen this.” said Celestia gently.

     “I’m sure he’ll come around.” said Fluttershy in the sweet way that only she could.

     “I know he will.” said Luna. “The question is ‘when’?”

     “THAT will be reveled in time.” said Celestia. “Now let’s all go see how Rainbow’s surgery is going.”

     “HOW did know about THAT?” asked Twilight curiously.

     “Spike told me.” she said simply.

     And they began the long journey to Pony Ville.

                                                                                         END