Sacrifice: Part Two

Three years had passed since Marina Wildheart had recovered the Spellbook of Starswirl the Bearded and defeated Darklord Haakon in the Tomb of the Majhan. Through his defeat, his traitorous kin in Helgedad were made more powerful. His death allowed his power to return to their dark, nameless god, who distributed the excess magic to the surviving Darklords.

However, the god was not pleased with how his creations were proceeding in their task. Though he was immortal, his patience was not unlimited, and the Darklords had waged a civil war to decide who would be the leader. Three years was long enough to wait.

The Darklords had been slowly but steadily drained of tiny bits of their power by their cunning god over the last three years. Once enough was siphoned, he sent agents to find a suitable host with which to pour the magic into. The agents he chose for the task were but simple changelings, able to blend in anywhere. They were weak willed enough for him to control directly with but a tiny fraction of his vast power.

These changelings approached Canterlot during the bright summer day, and entered the city with relative little trouble, as they posed as a traveling newlywed couple heavy with a foal. Of course they did have to murder those they impersonated on their way, but what were two ponies and an unborn foal to the servants of darkness?

The changelings’ disguises worked like a charm. They found lodging for the night at an inn near to Canterlot castle. During the night, they snuck out to enter the castle grounds under cover of darkness. They were able to avoid most of the patrols using stealth, but as they entered the castle proper, an officer of the guard sensed something was amiss and discovered their hiding place.

“Halt! Why are you skulking around in the castle? Nopony is allowed inside the castle at night unless invited by the Princess or another of the royal court. Explain yourselves!” The unicorn’s horn glowed threateningly, ready for either fight or arrest. Normally the changelings would have been little trouble to a seasoned veteran guard, but these two were empowered by their god specifically for this mission. They killed him and his lieutenant before either could raise an alarm, then stole their appearances to make infiltrating the castle much easier.

The changelings entered the deepest part of the castle and entered the dungeons to a tomb hidden beneath Canterlot. It was there that they would find the most suitable body for their god to pour his power into. They finally arrived at a set of large stone doors guarded by an earth pony, pegasus, and unicorn. The door itself was etched with a carving of a crescent moon.

The unicorn guard immediately sensed the magical disguises of the changelings and ordered them to reveal their true selves. When they did, the only thing that could be heard were the screams of the guards.

Inside the stone doors, the changelings had dragged the bodies of the slain guards to the inner sanctum of the tomb. The statue that stood over the square coffin was of a tall alicorn with a long flowing mane and her cutie mark was of a crescent moon. The burial place of Princess Luna.

The changelings placed each of the three guards at even intervals around the coffin, and began chanting in the harsh and guttural language of their dark and evil god. The bodies of the guards began to evaporate into the air, releasing black mist that gathered in a cloud overhead, until nothing remained but skeletons. The changelings started to change as well, seeming to wilt from within as more black mist poured from their mouths, their chanting coming to a fever pitch. Soon the chanting stopped and nothing living remained in the chamber.

The cloud of mist spiraled down and over the coffin, seeping into the cracks of the lid. Minutes later a dark blue light radiated from within the coffin and the cover flew off, smashing into the wall of the chamber. The body of Princess Luna rose with a scream of agony, the wounds that had once covered her body mending themselves and the stench of decay filled the tomb. Her body began to shift into a taller, darker blue alicorn, almost black in its intensity.

A moment later, Princess Celestia and Twilight Sparkle burst into the tomb, eyes flaring with power. At the sight of Luna standing healed before them shocked both into stunned silence.

“It has been a long time, sister. My, how you have grown.” A voice, raspy and harsh, issued forth from the body of Luna. “I see you have another young student. Yes, she seems very powerful indeed.”

“You...you can’t be my sister...she died in my hooves over a thousand years ago!” Princess Celestia’s eyes glowed with power and her rage became tangible. “What have you done with her?!”

“Oh, I am merely borrowing this body.” The voice said, growing stronger and deeper every second. “This is a suitable vessel for my power. Much better than those other fools who serve me.”

“You monster! Release my sister!” Celestia screamed as she let loose a blast of golden-white flames. The flames suddenly stopped as it hit an invisible forcefield that barely even rippled as the powerful attack glanced off of it and smashed a hole in the sepulcher’s wall. The heat of the blast was enough to melt the stone, the molten rock flowing onto the floor and gouging lines as it ran. Luna was unphased by the blast, and she spread large black wings to fan out the flames that raged around the outside of her shield.

“Pitiful. I expected much more from the great Princess Celestia, slayer of my greatest champions. You have lost your touch in your old age.” Luna grinned with unnaturally sharp teeth glinting in the light. “If this is all you can muster, then perhaps I need to find a greater challenge.”

“Discord warned us about you. He said you had been gathering your strength ever since Darklord Haakon was slain.” Twilight Sparkle stepped forward, her eyes narrow slits. She knew she couldn’t possibly defeat the possessed body of her mentor's sibling, but she wasn’t afraid to fight. “He spoke of another Princess Luna who he knew in a different place. She too was possessed by your power. Or at least one like it.”

“Hmm? Oh yes, that short lived episode. I had stretched my powers far too thin back then, but it was enough to spread my influence at least. The Celestia of that world was weak as well.” Luna’s eyes glowed with white light and a blast of light smashed into the wall where Celestia’s attack had struck, opening the hole wider and pushing out all the way to the surface. The pale light of the moon shone through and illuminated her slim form. “The ponies called me ‘Nightmare Moon’. A silly name, but I suppose it will do for now.”

A squad of guards rushed into the room, hearing the noise from the blasts, and stopped in shock and terror. Their eyes were wide and some even fainted from the sight of their beloved Princess risen and transformed. Moans of despair echoed from their lips as several ran in fear. Luna, now Nightmare Moon, raised her wings again and lifted into the air, the swirling cloud of darkness around her sending streaks of lightning to the tomb’s floor.

“I must take my leave now, dearest sister. Those retched peons of mine need to be put in their place. I do hope we can meet again under more favorable conditions. Perhaps we can have tea!” She said as she drifted lazily through the gaping hole to the surface. A chilling laugh echoed through the chamber as she left, making all who heard it shiver with fear.

Tears fell to the cold, stone floor as Princess Celestia sank to her knees. Twilight Sparkle stood by her mentor’s side and said nothing, knowing no words with which to ease her pain. Sobs echoed through the chamber for nearly an hour. Guards and servants arrived to inspect the scene and give respects to their Princess, letting her know that they were still with her. The Princess rose to unsteady hooves, her face streaked with tears.

“This is bad. Much worse than we had thought. This...Nightmare Moon…” she spat as she said the name her once-sister spoke. “She, or it, or whatever...must be destroyed. And I know just the pony to do it.”

“But Princess, she’ll be killed! You can’t let the Duchess go after her, especially if that...monster could stop your power.” Twilight looked up at Princess Celestia, mentally willing her to agree to stop and think. To find some other course of action. But nothing could be said to dissuade her.

“No, Twilight Sparkle. She must be the one to stop her. To destroy her, utterly and completely. I…” fresh tears fell from her eyes as she uttered the words. “I won’t allow that fiend to use my sister’s body like a doll!”

Twilight knew nothing could stop her Princess once she set her mind to something. Especially when it was this personal. She made a mental checklist of things to prepare. And she hoped that they could nip this weed in the bud before it blossomed. War would be inevitable. Twilight sighed and steeled herself for what was to come.

“I’ll get things ready. Discord will need to be notified, if he already doesn’t know. And Princess, please be safe. We will stop Nightmare Moon.” Twilight forced a smile to show the Princess that she was not afraid. Princess Celestia just hung her head and walked away.