Prisoner's Keys to Insanity

The moon rose, taking its sister's place in the sky. The bright green fields dulled to the darkest of their natural colors, covered by the shadows created in the bleak cold night. Canterlought was overdue for winter, as cloudsdale had not sent them their proper weather. The cold gripped all those whom decided to tread the dark streets of Canterlought, leaving them sick after just a few minutes.

In the castle, Celestia sat, growing more corrupt by the hour. Her dilemma was simple, yet hard to answer. Defeat the darkness, but how? They were magic defiant, and powerful at the skill themselves. Her mind, riddled by the issue, was slowly leaning towards her darker side. The fate of Equestria would hang in the balance if they lost her, or so she thought. Twilight, Luna and Cadence would still be able to set forth the path, but could they? Would they? Celestia thought about giving up her crown and leadership to her sister and Twilight, but never decided if she should. She, being the powerful goddess that she was, could be used to defend the nation from attacks both small and minor to those large and terroristic.

Luna walked through the doors of the throne room, her intent being a collaboration with her sister about the letter from Selskire. Without coming to a decision, they might lose control of the situation and whatever happens with result in some incident like Zecora's for sure. When she entered she saw Celestia, obviously deep in thought, looking over the letter. Her mane was frizzled, painstakingly agonizing. It wasn't even flowing like usual. Her eyes, bloodshot, were wide and her coat was in knots. Her crown lay across the room, on the carpet cracked at the left ear. Luna trotted over to her sister, to comfort her, but Celestia rejected Luna. As Luna placed her hand on Celestia's shoulder, Celestia shrugging Luna off and then pushing her away. Luna fell off the throne, onto her back.

She got up and spoke to her sister in a rather harsh tone,"I want to help you sister, as you know we rule together to keep harmony, as if we are separate we will cause discord across the land.". Celestia then put the paper down, as if she was furious, but then she out into sobbing, finally regaining herself enough to say,"I'm so (sniff) sorry Luna! I don't know what came over me...please, let us work this out and after we will do something fun together, sound good?".

Luna, regaining her posture, returned to her sister and brought her in for a hug. After they released each other Luna spoke,"Of coarse, now let's finish this problem before it becomes any more hazardous.".

They then sat for hours, contemplating ideas. after Luna finished her's, Celestia them spoke her's shyly,"What if I kept the sun in an eternal state of rise, not allowing it to fall and give the creatures a chance to strike?".

Luna was baffled by her sister's proposal, though not extremely surprised. She thought her sister would see the dark ways of jealousy eventually. Although this was for an important cause, to keep evil out of their kingdom eternally. But one problem remained, when would she lower it? Would she ever do such a thing once the evil was no more?  Would they ever vanquish the darkness? She thought about it hard after she flew straight to an answer, regretting that decision for the next many moons.

Without heavy thought she reprimanded her sister,"The ponies of these lands won't be able to survive without the balance of night and day, for goodness sake think sister.".

Celestia turned from shy to full of rage, slapping Luna across her face. Her face, cut by the gauntlet on Celestia's wrist, bled from the deep wound. Celestia then forced Luna into a magic induced slumber, only to wake when Celestia saw it fit. She watched her sister slowly slump to the floor. The throne doors opened moments later by two royal guards: 8:30 p.m.: the usual time for the guards to check on her. She simply played off being a big sister and carried Luna on her back.

Once she reached the guards she said,"Luna fell asleep while we were deliberating upon a conclusion, please let me escort her to her chamber.", and with that she was off.

Luna's sleeping chamber was across the hall from her sister's, yet the decoration was abruptly different. Instead of ornaments meant for the day and peace, Luna dejected her thoughts into a lunar themed room filled with anti-Luna propaganda. Such as Solar empire posters created by regions of citizens over 1000 years ago, when she had turned evil. Celestia laid Luna down on her bed and walked out of the room, locking the door behind her.

The hallway was a luminous sight for her to see, moonlight shining through the stained panels. Celestia walked over to the first panel of her former student and her friends. The vibrant scene depicted the defeat the end of Nightmare Moon and the founding of the element's bearers. She shed a single tear, thinking of what she just did to her sister. She would wake Luna in the morning and tell her she had a bad dream. The dark night seemed to hold more than just it's usual quarrel. The Everfree forest was on its move, faster than anypony expected and it was moving fast. They hid through the shadows of buildings in the day and slowly traveled, advancing on royalty before nightfall. Their illusion was to discern the Royalists. Celestia would not wake as herself in the morning, not entirely. The shadows are capable of more than just basic magic practice. Both with and without a host they can use the most advanced of magic and its properties.

Celestia moved away from the panel and swiftly shut her room door behind her swiftly. The room was not as bright as Luna's, for Celestia's room was only bright during the day as Luna's would be bright at night. Pure symbolism of their destinies. She lowered herself into the bed, lying a blanket over her, prints of sunshine dashed across it. She tossed and turned for about an hour, finally settling into comfort and drifting off into dreamland.

The dark forced its way through the halls, unseen because of the candlelight the guards used was too dull to spot the evil creatures. They combined into one creature outside Celestia's room, slipping underneath the door and reforming at her bedside. As she breathed in the normal air the darkness entered through her lungs, transforming her body from the beloved sun goddess into a creature of Demonic wishes and greed. When it was done, the darkness would soon control everything Celestia would do, and there was nothing she herself could do to stop it. The rise of day was coming, and it would be eternal for all those whom wished to conceal it.*

Selskire waited anxiously for a response from the princesses. He soon decided to head to sleep himself, understanding that they must deliberate and pass an order. Something that would take more than a day to complete, and so he shall conduct business as usual. The night was brisk in Ponyville tonight, frost forming from the breaths of air from one's body.*

Twilight worked furiously, throwing books around her castle library looking for an answer after hearing Applejack's story. Her eyes were filled with tears and her actions were distraught. Though, this did not dismay her thinking, and she worked through the pain. She was very close to Zecora since they had first became friends, and now she would never see her lovely face again. She finally dropped her books, and herself, to the ground. Applejack walked over to Twilight and gave her a hug, Twilight hugging back. Twilight was beyond broken at this point, losing Spike last summer to a Timberwolf pack and now Zecora. The only things keeping her together were her books, her friends, family and mentor. Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash were sleeping in their thrones rather comfortably, considering the situation. But what could they do? Zecora couldn't be brought back and they didn't dare venture without knowing what force they were up against.

They soon turned in as well, tears welling in both of their eyes. They blew out the candles and allowed the moonlight to lead them to their spots of rest. The castle was empty except for her room and the room of her and her friends' thrones. The rest of the rooms remained empty, and they were mostly being used for her storage of books, as the library was overfilled with literature. Yet, despite the books, they were all clueless on what could have such a profound power on a creatures body as Applejack had witnessed.

The darkness was rising over Equestria, taking the most powerful force in the land, that in time, would take the lives of the country's protectors. All that stood in their way was a rebellion so large it would go down in the record books of history, never to be challenged if all went right on their fateful quest for peace and individualistic acceptance. The Everfree forest had its reins upon the nation, and soon the rest of the world beyond. Darkness knows no moral boundaries, it only cares for the destruction of the rest of the people in its way to the rise of power.*

Selskire woke from his lighthearted sleep, restless in his efforts. He walked to his room of work, where he filled his reports and made his decisions. The table was a bleak, lifeless color of the shades of grey. It was a cold metal desk, manufactured in the rural portion of Manehattan. As for the rest of his furnishings, they were bought in the local stores of Ponyville. All these desks and drawers were made of golden oak hardwood. Back in high school, Selskire took carpentry, now it is only to be a hobby. He walked to the corner of the room, of which sat his first toolbox, now housing papers and documents from his service. He pulled a badge out of one of the Mahogany sliding drawers. The badge was that of a royal crest, showcasing the Ying and Yang to Celestia and Luna comparison. Such was made to symbolize peace and the badge was to symbolize the protectors of balance. He pinned the badge to his Kevlar vest of grey, and he walked to the window to take in the dark night.

The crystal in the sky was shinning bright among the quiet town. This moonlight shadowed the darkest of the lands alleys, allowing passage for the creatures of the night. The safe travel would only bring pain and suffering to the people of the land. Though he did not know of the darkness's passage, Selskire thought something was amiss. His eyes parted from side to side, his gaze penetrating the night. Seeing nothing wrong he shrugged it off and closed the window as a breeze picked up. The cold in the air was thick on his face, discomfort showing, even after the window was shut. He sat at his desk and wrote of the night in his journal, knowing little of the comprehensible  future that lay ahead for him and the princess.