Sent to the Moon

On the Moon

A once beautiful young mare, now busied and battered, sat almost like a statue while tears rolled down her face. Her mane was flat against her back, still sticky with her sweat and blood. Her legs were covered in cuts, her barrel was bruised in several spots and showed the signs of a severe beating, one eye was completely swollen shut but tears still leaked from it. The battered mare shivered in the cold winds of the nearly barren landscape as she cried out her pain. Never in a million years would she have believed that her beloved teacher, her second mother, her best friend, would have done the terrible things she had done. Twilight's heart broke as she remembered the terrible things Princess Celestia had said to her, how the Princess of the Day had violently assaulted her before throwing her in chains. Never would Twilight forget those hard unforgiving eyes or how her mentor had called her monster, traitor, murderer, and worst of all usurper.

All the beaten mare could do was sit in the cold rocky dirt of the moon as she focused on some half lit object in the distance, it was the blue jewel in the night sky, Equus. Twilight stared at the world she once called home, thinking about all of the ponies she would never see again. Soon images of her mother, her father, Shining Armor, Cadence, the other Elements of Harmony, Spike, Donut Joe and all of her other friends all over Equestria played through her mind. Never would she see their faces again, never would she be able to enjoy their company. Once the spell ended all of them saved for Spike would be dead and gone for over eight hundred years. For what seemed like hours Twilight just thought of her loved ones and cried long into the night. Her wails were said to be heard in Equestria through the night, chilling everypony to the bone and filling them with a deep sadness.

After crying for hours the tired and broken mare began to look for a place to sleep, some type of shelter to get out of the cold. She walked for several hours along the rocky landscape in the cold biting wind until she comes upon the edge of the large ridge. The lavender mare climb to the top to find a small sign with the words 'The Sea of Tranquility' written on it in old Equestrian. Farther down the sign was an inscription but she could barely read it the shadow of the dark side of the moon. Twilight closed her good eye and concentrated as she channeled the little bit of magic she had left into her broken horn. She winced slightly in pain as magic collected in her broken horn. The jagged edges of her destroyed horn sparked a bit before it began to glow dimly with purple colored light so she could read the inscription on the sign.

[i May your heart find peace, and may your mind find serenity in the long nights in my Sea of Dreams... Luna Nightfall, Princess of the Night

“So this is where Princess Luna stayed while she was banished by Princess Celestia. Now this will be my home for the next thousand years too.” Twilight sobbed aloud before she noticed a well-worn path next to the sign.

The path led down the side of the ridge down into the Sea of Tranquility. The tired and broken mare walked along the narrow path with her broken horn dimly lighting the way. Once or twice she stubbed and fell bruising herself more but still, she moved ignoring the pain in her heavy limbs as she walked. The words from Luna's inscription on the sign were her only comfort until she made to the bottom of the ridge and was standing in front of the black and gray stone Observatory constructed from the very rocks of the moon. On the front doors were etched Luna cutiemark on the left door and the Equestrian seal on the right door. Twilight stared at the wonderful edifice for what seemed like forever before she entered it to get out of the cold.

The entryway was large but Twilight paid no attention to anything as she was too tired and sore to care. The journey here had taken nearly all of her remaining strength. The tired unicorn didn't even notice that the doors she open to the Observatory had closed on their own. Twilight just wanted to find a place to lay down and sleep, if she didn't find one soon she was going to collapse from sheer exhaustion. The first room she came to was a library but Twilight couldn't even muster up the excitement to look around. No not even the promise of more knowledge could raise the beaten mare's spirits. The beating she had suffered at Princess Celestia's hooves had completely broken her mentally, physically and spiritually. Twilight wondered around a bit more until she found a spiral staircase. She slowly began to ascend large spiraling stairs up deeper into the Moon Princess's abandoned abode. The walls were covered in runes but went unnoticed by Twilight even though they seemed to be easing her pain a bit. It was if a weight was lifted off her shoulders. It became easier to breathe and move as her center of gravity returned to normal.

At the top of the stairs there were a set of double doors to the right and when Twilight saw them she groaned. She didn't have the strength or the patience to open another set of heavy doors. Still, she needed to find a soft bed to sleep in and the doors should lead to a bedroom or at least she hoped they would. She pressed her exhausted body against one of the doors instead of using her weakened magic to open them like she would usually do.

Once the heavy door was opened Twilight spotted a large king sized cloud mattress on a circular slow spinning pedestal that sat in the center of a simply furnished bedroom. Glowing orbs fixed to the walls served as the lights and a space décor covered the walls with the ceiling being clear showing an ocean of stars in the night sky.

The room before her was filled with warmth comfort but another pressing matter called to her attention, her bladder was begging for relief. She cast a quick glance over the room before spotting another door and limping over to what she hoped was a bathroom. Twilight was happily surprised when she opened the door and found a bathroom with a square sink with a mirror above it, a toilet and a half wall divider. Behind the divider was a large sunken tub that unbeknownst to Twilight she would be spending hours in before the "night" was done healing her broken body.

After her bath Twilight returned to the large cloud bed. She really wanted to lay down something soft and clouds were the softest material to use for bedding ever. The only problem was that only alicorns and pegasi could even use them at all. Well, an earth pony or a unicorn could touch clouds with aid of the cloud walk spell but Twilight magic was so depleted that she couldn't even levitate a quill let alone cast the cloud walking spell. Not want to have to find another place to sleep Twilight place her hoof on the edge the bed to make sure she could use it. Twilight her hoof pressed down on the fluffy cloud mattress and when her hoof just sank in the fluffy material rather than pass through it she breathed a sigh of relief. It seems that a powerful enchantment was on the cloud making it act more like a feather mattress than a densely packed water vapor. Figuring out how she was able to use the bed would come later if at all, Twilight really just wanted was sleep, a deep recuperative and dreamless sleep. The lavender unicorn quickly crawled onto the soft cloud bed and pulled the covers over her head and fell into a dreamless sleep hoping she would wake from this living nightmare that had become reality.

Twilight's sleep was dreamless for the first few hours but it did not stay that way the whole time. Hours later Twilight woke from her sleep screaming as her memories of the last 24 hours came to her in twisted surreal nightmares. She cried out for her parents, Shining Armor, Cadence, Spike, even her friends in Ponyville but no pony came to comfort her, no pony was there in the strange room she lay in. Twilight cried for several minutes until she heard a voiced call out to her.

“Don't cry child I will help during your stay here. I know how lonely it can be here.” Said an alicorn mare made of an ocean of stars with solid white eyes as she rose from the floor taking solid form.

“Who... who are you? What are you? How did you get in here? Where did you come from? Are you imprisoned here like me?” Twilight asked as she pulled the covers tightly around herself and shook with some fear. She didn't know what this creature was or if it was a part of the punishment that was falsely given. All she did know was it looked like the Tantabus and that scared her a great deal. The Tantabus had been the dark embodiment of Luna's guilt and rage. Luna for some strange reason had recreated the shadow creature to torment her dreams as kind of weird self-punishment. Why Luna would do something so foolish would never be known really. One night though the evil shadow creature had escaped Luna's dreams only to find the Elements of Harmony to torment them for several nights before it was subdued and put to rest. Twilight had never been afraid of her nightmares until the few nights of evil dreams the Tantabus had given her and her friends. Nightmares turned into physical reality, the power to make terror real that was what the Tantabus truly was and now the lavender mare was sitting in front of the original Tantabus so fear was more than an appropriate response of many.

“Fear not child I will not hurt you. I'm here to help you, I know this place seems scary but I will be here to help thru your time here. I am a shadow of the Princess of the Night, a set of memories and emotions taken pony form. A Tantabus if you will. A fragment of herself left behind after Luna's stay here a thousand years ago. I have no name but I will be here for you, child.” The shadow mare said softly before given Twilight a soft smile. “Tell me what is your name child. why are you in this cold lonely place? Who would hurt a pretty mare like you this badly?” The shadow mare asked as she pointed to Twilight's injuries.

“My name is Twilight Sparkle I am or I was a bearer of the Element of Magic and student of Princess Celestia. Princess Celestia was the one... she was the one that injured me and left me in this sorry state. She attacked me; called me a traitor and tyrant, she said she wouldn't let another King Sombra be born before she beat me this badly then sent me away to the moon. I found this place so I could get out of the cold. I just want to go home to my friends and family so I can end this horrible nightmare...” Twilight told the shadow mare before she broke down into tears.

The shadow mare walked over the cloud bed and sat on its edge. She wrapped her forelegs around Twilight and held her tightly with the blanket between them. “Don't cry Twilight you have to be strong. Only strength will allow you to survive here. You must be strong otherwise you will lose yourself to madness. Luna was once in the grips of despair like you and it grew to a point that the Nightmare Moon persona was born and it took a firm hold of her soul twisting her into a true monster before she left this place, do not let that fate befall you.”

Twilight cried into the cold barrel of the shadow mare for a long time before she looked up at the mare with blurry ears. “Your body is slightly cold to the touch but I can feel a little warmth coming from you. Thank you for listening to me and letting me cry on your shoulder.” Twilight told the shadow mare.

“It was nothing really. I have been here alone since Luna left and I have longed to hear the sound of another voice. I will listen to you when you have need of me.” The shadow mare said softly.

Can I call you Night Sky?” Twilight asked through her sniffles, wanting some way to address the mare.
“Yes, Twilight, you can call me Night Sky. Thank you so much for giving me a true name. I will try to help you as best I can while you stay here on the moon. I will try to keep you company as best I can but Twilight I am not a real pony so I only have the feelings that were in Luna's heart at the time of her stay here. I have very little love for anything save for the night and care for the creatures of the night. The only real feelings I have in abundance are feelings of hate. I only truly feel hate for the mare that hurt Luna, your cruel teacher, Celestia.”

“It's okay because I hate her too. She hurt me and took everything away from me. She has stolen my life, my family, and my friends from me. She even called me a tyrant and a murderer. I will get her back, I swear it. I will make her suffer like the monster she made me out to be.” Twilight said with anger in her voice.

“Good, Twilight, hold on to your hate it will help you survive here as there is much you will need to do if you want to get revenge on Celestia. I will show the way in time. First, we need to get you healed up. From there we will be making your body stronger. After your stronger physically we will work on making you powerful. Once that's done you will...” Night Sky said softly then trail off with a dark smile.

“I will what... Once I'm healed and much stronger in both body and magical power? What are your plans Night Sky?” Twilight asked.

“You will know in time, my dear Twilight. I have so much to teach you and you have so much to understand but for now, you must sleep child. You need to rest to regain your strength and in the morning I will help you mix a few medicines to aid in your recovery. I will show you around the grounds after you are better. Sleep well Twilight, I will watch over you until the morning.” Night Sky told Twilight before putting her under a small sleeping spell that would keep her from dreaming. Night Sky needed Twilight to hold onto most of her sanity if she was to get the revenge that she and Luna had been denied.

This was the start of Twilight's long stay on the moon and the beginning of a revenge plot that was a thousand years old, a long-nursed hatred that had yet to die. As the days turned into weeks, the weeks to months, and the months to years Twilight’s hatred grew. As Twilight healed and grew stronger her thoughts raced with anger and hatred for her former 'teacher' Princess Celestia. There were dark thoughts of Luna, the Princess of the Night, the controller of her new 'home' and prison the moon, at times. Night Sky was quick to place the blame where it needed to be, Celestia was the one to blame and should be the only one to reap the reward of Twilight's divine wrath.

Since Luna had been sent to the moon almost a thousand years before there were slight structures built into the surface, there was greenhouse area for food, a well for water, an area for practicing different types of spells both offense and defense, meditation garden, and the observatory that Twilight now called home. Twilight spent most of her time inside the observatory when she wasn't gathering food, fetching water, building up her physical strength, or practicing one of many spells she had been learning.

Luna had somehow used her magic to summon objects and books from somewhere, but none of them related to Equestria or anything close. Normally this would have made them all useless to Twilight if they had not talked about the older magicks that Princess Luna herself knew. They described how to use the beautiful stars to make you stronger, how to build objects out of thin air or reshape stone with just a single thought. It probably took Luna a few hundred years to build the observatory let alone stock it with books on powerful magicks both dark and light.

Twilight was quite impressed all of the ancient magicks at her hooves and that Night Sky knew how to teach a great deal of it. It was right then that Twilight swore that she would do her best to learn all that she could and return home to Equestria so that she could get her revenge. She also promised to give Night Sky a real living form so that she could finally live a proper life once their dark business with Celestia was finished.

The princess probably thought Twilight would become stupid and compliant if she was on the moon long enough. Maybe a few hundred years of isolation would break her mind so much that she wouldn't dare lift a hoof to Celestia in rebellion. Well if Celestia thought that she would be very wrong, so dead wrong when the time came to pay the piper. Twilight was getting stronger and smarter, her insanity driving her into the darker arts of Equestrian magicks and even darker rituals of other lands. Magic so powerful that it would destroy the Alicorn of the Sun in time, but not before Twilight paid her back in pain. Pain that would be tenfold what Twilight had experienced in her forced exile.

500 Years Later

Twilight pulled herself from the comfortable bed as she heard the magical grandfather clock chime 8 am. She needed to go out to the garden and gather food for the week and there were several magical experiments that needed to be tended to if she was to complete her study of summoning dark servants. As Twilight lay there with a cloud pillow over her head she knew that she had to get up soon. If she didn't Night Sky would come pull her out of bed to get her moving. There were things that needed to be done. After getting up with a groan Twilight busied with her morning routine before dressing and heading for the lab in the west wing.

As Twilight walked thru the halls of the observatory she now called her home and she groaned as the light of the sun shone through the windows. She so hated the west side of the observatory since it faced the sunny side of the Sea of Tranquility. The sun was a constant reminder of her punishment at the hoofs of the Princess of the Sun. A hateful mare that had sent her to this prison of loneliness and despair for no good reason.

She had been sent to the moon just over five hundred years ago and had somehow remained somewhat young though she did not feel that way. She felt old and bitter inside, a twisted up reminder of a pony's cruelty and mistrust. Most of all Twilight just wanted to get off the blasted moon, she would find a way to go home again to feel grass beneath her hooves and see the blue sky. That was just a fanciful dream at the moment since she knew it would take time and a lot more magic than she had at present to break free from her prison.

'Since I now gain power every time the moon is raised and lowered by Luna, I could just let that give me the strength I need to get off this blasted rock. I will still need to learn more of the dark history, a few more attack spells, and more of the ancient and dark magicks stored here if I am to face the Princess when I return to Equestria'. Twilight thought to herself as she entered the lab and checked a few of large jars containing several specimens of varies sizes and looks.

“I must not rush things, I have time on my side right now. Celestia thinks I'm up here repenting and that will be the last mistake she will ever make.” Twilight told herself as she checked the growth progress on last darkling servants' incubation jar before heading off to have breakfast. She did need cannon fodder to test her dark powers on sooner or later.

After a decade or two of nightmares and despair, the hate-filled mare had started to plot her revenge, hours of reading spells left by Luna every day turned to days of reading and magical practice. Day after day, week after week Twilight learned and grew in power under Night Sky's guidance. As time wore on Twilight's once bright and carefree eyes grew darker and darker over the time as the usual insanity of isolation took over. Spending five hundred years alone could do that to a pony though, especial an innocent mare like Twilight. Sure Night Sky had been there to help take care of her but the shadow of Luna's heart could not hold Twilight for her body had no true warmth. She could not comfort Twilight for she was just a fragment of Luna's heart left behind as an echo of the past hatred for Celestia. All thought she had kept Twilight from going completely insane she had turned Twilight into a far crueler and twisted being with one goal, the death of the Princess of the Sun. Much like Luna had wanted in the past and when the time came Celestia would die... only it would be her most beloved student that would deal the death blow.

Strength is hidden in Wisdom...