A murmur in her ears was the first experience, sending a jolt through her body. The motion was sluggish, her limbs feeling heavy. A murky, thick, warm substance engulfed her. She groaned and opened her eyes, only to be greeted by a dark green void. A vague, unpleasant pressure settled on her skull, and she realized she was upside down. Her motions ceased immediately, and her eyes darted back and forth as she tried to look around, but no shapes could be made out through the veil. She focused her hearing instead, but only her own heartbeat thrummed in her ears.
She gathered strength in her limbs, and her horn charged up, quickly turning white hot. The green substance boiled away from around it, and her forelegs wriggled to break free. The veil peeled back around her face, and cool air touched her snout, letting her draw her first breath. It was thick and hot, a foul stench mixed with lingering smoke and dust burning her nostrils. She pushed against the weakening mass with all her strength, her limbs forcing their way out one by one. Finally, the entire grip on her body slipped and broke away, letting her drop to the ground, legs first. They buckled as she landed, still feeling stiff, but they managed to keep her upright.
At first, she could only sway and take a few ragged breaths, a wave of nausea washing over her. She shook it off and lit her horn to look around, bracing herself for the inevitable onslaught of dark-coated drones and the cackling of their leader. When it did not come, she was left standing there, staring in confusion at her surroundings.
She was in the throne room, as expected, but instead of the vibrant decorations for the wedding, or even the usual decor of the place, the walls and floor were completely bare, a thin layer of dirt and ash covering them. Cracks adorned the smooth marble, along with several large black smears, as though caused by an intense fire. She held her breath and turned toward the windows, only to find herself facing another wall.
A noise from behind made her ears twitch, and she wheeled around. Faintly, she could hear the sound of hooves, rattling metal, and shouting from outside. She made her way down the steps and headed straight out the door, galloping down the hallways. Every single window or balcony she expected to find was blocked, yet somehow, despite the lack of openings or any discernible source, a dull, reddish light persisted within the castle. She frowned and made her horn brighter, the white glow calming to her nerves.
With each passing moment, the noises drew closer, passing the wall in front of her. Celestia moved closer to it, marching swiftly while paying close attention to any voices she could make out. Moments later, a deafening roar shook the entire building, and the shouts intensified, now accompanied by screams of terror and agony. She picked up the pace, heart beating faster as she noticed a faint light up ahead. A section of the blackened wall had collapsed, letting her peek outside.
The first thing she looked at was the sky, making her shield her eyes until they could adjust to the sudden change from monochrome walls. Thick black clouds obscured most of the heavens, a bright red glow seeping in through the gaps between them. It seemed almost as though the sky itself were on fire. The rooftops and spires faintly reflected this glow, the bright gold and whites of the city dissolved into a dull crimson. Almost every building was just as bare and scarred as the halls she just moved through, and a few of them had large chunks blown out, or were collapsed entirely.
Looking down, she found herself on the street level, a column of Royal Guard marching quickly down the cobblestone next to the castle. An officer toward the front of the column barked orders and waved for his comrades to pick up the pace. She recognized his insignia as that of a captain, but the features of the stallion himself were only vaguely familiar. Beyond the corner where the troops would step out of view, she heard the sharp sounds of metal crashing into metal and stone, along with the occasional loud bang, making the mountain itself shudder under her hooves.
All of a sudden, the captain turned around, eyes widening as he noticed Celestia staring at him. "Your Highness!" he called out, brushing past several guards to make his way toward her. “Get back in the castle! It’s not safe to—”
A large shadow swept over the group, making them tense up and turn their heads left and right, eyes scanning the turbulent sky above. One of them yelled and pointed with their foreleg, while the rest hefted their spears, crossbows, or lit their horns.
“What is going on here?” Celestia tried to follow the guard’s hoof, but there was nothing to make out among the dark clouds, aside from a blurry form that seemed to move along their surface every now and then.
"There is no time, your highness! We must attack!"
She turned around, opening her mouth to speak, only to end up staring at the empty spot where the captain stood moments ago. Her ears perked up as they searched for the sounds of the fierce battle, but were greeted with dead silence. There was no trace of the guards, no noises beyond the corner, and even the damage was gone from the walls.
Legs stumbling a bit, Celestia set off down the street, walking at a steady pace. Her hoofsteps echoed between bare walls, and the air felt heavy and warm. There was an odd, dull thrum in the background, akin to the sounds of a distant thunderstorm or a stormy beach. Occasionally, she could swear she heard voices as well. Laughter, ponies chatting, children shouting and running around, but whenever she turned to look, there was nopony there.
The cloud cover broke up somewhat, letting her get a better look at the sky, and she stared in awe when she recognized the source of its hellish glow. The sun had not disappeared at all. It had grown to many times its size, very nearly blotting out all of the sky. Arcs of chaotic plasma danced across its surface, which had turned from a pleasant yellow to the blood-like color now before her.
She paused, having lost track of her surroundings, and looked down again. Her walk had taken her right up to the gorge that bisected the mountain city. It was wide, the bottom disappearing into the black void, and the cobblestone road continued seamlessly on the far side. The bridge in between, however, had disappeared. Somehow, she had walked straight onto what was thin air moments ago, yet her hooves click-clacked on something solid.
Celestia held her breath and took another step. A split second before her hoof landed, large stone slabs would rise rapidly from the void in all directions, rushing in to attach to the edge of the cliff and form a walkway beneath her. She narrowed her eyes, noticing something on the white marble tiles that now formed her causeway.
Words. Numbers. Names, accompanied by a date. Two numbers side by side most of the time, or only the first, followed by an empty space for the second.
She looked away, and her hooves moved less steadily on the path. She even picked up the pace a little, only stopping on the far side of the gorge to glance back. The marble slabs had now shaped themselves into a familiar bridge, one of many built in the proud city over the years. The haunting presence of the words and numbers, however, remained firmly in place. Cracks began to appear, more words and numbers squeezing into every new shape that formed.
Celestia marched onward, tension growing in her gait as her surroundings warped more and more. Everywhere she looked, she saw half-finished buildings, towers twisted out of shape, and streets that led right off the edge of the cliff. The white, seamless marble of the city began to split up into individual blocks of various sizes. More names and numbers emerged on their surface, some of them more pronounced, even decorated, others barely discernible after time had taken its toll. If she looked closer, she could see the names starting to erode and fade away with every step she took, until there was nothing left but the smooth, white marble that she knew so well.
Her hooves froze again when something moved near the edge of her vision. She walked on, pretending not to have noticed, and waited a minute before stealing a few glances along the way. A tall figure stalked her, moving through the shadows between the alleys. A pair of glowing, blue eyes winked in and out, staring for a while before disappearing again.
Celestia paused, heart skipping a beat when she heard somepony sobbing nearby. Unlike before, the voice did not fade as soon as she paid attention. Holding her breath, she galloped toward its source, veering off into a side street lined with various stores, all of them empty. In the distance, a short, dark blue figure sat in front of a display case, face buried under their bright blue mane.
“Luna?”
The figure did not move. Its muzzle poked out from under its blue mane, her gaze fixed on the window before her. Behind it was an aquarium of some sort, drained of all its water. Plastic fish dangled from wires near plastic coral, feasting on paper seaweed.
“Luna!” The white mare ran up to the sulking form. “Is that you?”
The figure shrunk together a bit more, its head slowly turning to face Celestia. “Sister…” she muttered. A pair of bloodshot eyes appeared under the strands of her mane, tears gathering in their corners. “I’m… I’m so sorry…”
Celestia bit her lip, moving a bit closer and placing a hoof on her sister’s back. “What happened here?”
Luna turned away, staring at the false coral reef in the display case again. “This… all this was my fault…”
“Calm down. Just tell me what is going on.”
“I did this… I brought us here…”
Celestia blinked. “This… is this a nightmare?”
“Yes…” Luna sighed and hung her head. “...and no. It is my nightmare and yours. And that of everypony else.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I only wish this were a dream, dear sister.” An odd, joyless chuckle came from the smaller mare. Her voice shook as she fought to keep her voice coherent. “Then we could both just wake up.”
“Luna.” The taller Princess stood in front of her sister and gently used her hoof to lift the mare’s head, making their eyes meet. “Just calm down and tell me. What did this?”
“The Nightmare.” Luna’s eyes twitched, and her whole body shook as she struggled to get the words out. “It broke free. I… I tried to stop it… finally found a way to end it once and for all…” She had to pause and take a few deep breaths. Her forelegs came up to cover her face, muffling her desperate voice. “I should have seen it sooner! It must have figured out what I was doing!”
“Shhh, calm down.” Celestia moved closer and wrapped a wing around her sister.
“Now it’s free, roaming the lands to consume the dark dreams of all she finds…” Luna shuddered again. “And every other nightmare we know followed its lead.”
“Every other…?”
“It kept feeding. Fueling itself until Equestria turned into… this.” Tears streamed from the corners of her eyes, and her voice dropped to a frail whisper. “But not every fire was set by its hooves.”
Celestia shook her head slowly and looked away, her gaze wandering down the street. Each time she looked at one of the hollowed-out stores, she could hear the voices returning briefly, a different one for each display. “How could this happen?” she said. “Where is Twilight? Her friends? Couldn’t they stop this?”
“Twilight?” Luna blinked and turned to her sister.
“Twilight Sparkle. My former student.” Celestia’s voice got more alarmed when Luna still gave her a confused look. “Purple unicorn mare. Studied magic here in Canterlot, then moved to Ponyville to make friends.”
“Oh. Her.” Luna’s expression darkened. “If the two of you were friends... then maybe it’s better if you don’t know.”
Celestia’s eyes widened, and she was about to speak when a piercing scream cut her off. The air itself trembled around them from the sound, followed by a steady breeze sending clouds of dust down the street. Beating wings echoed off the ruined walls. Biting her tongue, the Princess carefully walked back to the corner and looked up.
Floating just above the rooftops, surrounded by swirling, dark clouds, was a figure that sent an icy chill down her spine. A large, black mass with warped legs, wings, and a pair of glowing blue eyes stared down at her, the slitted pupils narrowing as their gaze met. It roared again, making Celestia wince as the thing bared its fangs at her.
She instinctively took a step back and went into a low stance, horn pointing up. Behind her, she could hear Luna give a sob of despair, and her eyes widened when the Nightmare turned its gaze at the smaller alicorn. It frowned, giving a low snort, and coiled its body to swoop down.
“Stay back!” Celestia shouted at it. She leaped into its path, horn burning intensely as she formed a shield around Luna and herself. “Get away from her!”
The Nightmare was taken aback. It touched down in front of the barrier and stepped closer, trying to force its way through it. Celestia tensed up, bracing herself for an attack. Instead, the creature unleashed another series of incoherent, ear-splitting screeches at her face, the slitted eyes fixing her with an odd gaze.
Celestia heard her sister sob again. Gritting her teeth, she discharged her horn, the powerful shockwave making the Nightmare fly back. It flapped its wings, stopping above the rooftops and giving another howl. Without hesitating, the Princess sent an golden beam of energy at it. The Nightmare dodged and gave a loud roar, responding with a volley of its own. Blue bolts of magic slammed into the pavement and the walls, blasting out huge chunks and throwing up clouds of dust.
Celestia quickly took to the air, circling around and exchanging volleys with the Nightmare. The buildings nearby collapsed one by one, crumbling under the barrage as both sides kept using them for cover. Smoke and dust engulfed the area, becoming so thick that the Princess had to pause, losing sight of her opponent. No further attacks came, and the sound of the Nightmare’s wings had disappeared altogether.
She gasped for breath, eyes scanning the widespread destruction. “Luna…” she muttered. A knot formed in her insides. “Luna? Luna!” She flew back to the street where they met, turning back and forth rapidly, finding no sign of the mare. Heart racing, she took off down the ruined streets, calling out her sister’s name the whole time.
The gallop was aimless, and her hope dwindled the further she got. Eventually, she reached the edge of the cliff itself, the buildings disappearing around her altogether. She shuddered a bit as she approached the precipice and looked down at the vast lands stretching out before her, twisted beyond recognition. Mountains lined the blood red horizon like dark, jagged titans. Some had been reduced to broken stumps of what she remembered, others she had never even seen before. The once lush green plains were bare and scorched, and entire swathes of earth were torn up, as though giant claws had ripped into it.
There was only one spot with any semblance of color. One spot that was not scarred, but all the more twisted. Beyond the dead plains, the Everfree Forest still stood, none of the fires or other forces having touched even its edges. The canopy wavered and gave an eerie lavender glow. In a familiar spot near the center, a large stone structure rose above the trees, its walls intact, as opposed to the ruins in her memories. The glow was even stronger there, the shade of its color sending a chill down her spine.
“No…”
Despite being dozens of miles away, she could see everything as though she were standing right above it. There was a large clearing in the forest next to the castle, and a great herd of equine figures gathered from among the trees, forming up around a circle filled with strange runes, glowing brightly. The light intensified once enough ponies had accumulated, and a low hum rose from the runes, while the canopy around them wavered from a sudden gust of wind.
A pony stood at the center, her long, dark purple mane swaying in the breeze. She held her head high, and her horn lit up as she chanted in a dull monotone voice. The ponies around her repeated her words, and the symbols on the ground thrummed and glowed more intensely. They raised their voices in response, and the cycle repeated until the light was almost painful to look at.
Still, Celestia could not tear her gaze away. Her jaw dropped in horror as one of the ponies near the center gasped and started thrashing, a tendril of purple energy lifting him off the ground. He was brought before the unicorn near the center, and as soon as they were face to face, he stopped struggling and held his breath, limbs curling up in anticipation. The glow of the symbols around them began to rise and fall periodically.
The mare aimed her horn directly at the floating pony, and he twitched as his body lit up with an orange aura. Celestia noticed that his cutie mark had the same color, and it flashed to the same rhythm as the runes on the ground. Small fragments of energy broke off from the aura and drifted toward the unicorn, whose eyes shone brightly as she absorbed them.
Moments later, another pony, a pegasus this time, was lifted out of the crowd and brought in front of her to go through the same process. Earth ponies and other unicorns followed in quick succession, while the rest of the herd kept chanting. As soon as the glowing wisps left their bodies, the drained ponies dropped to the ground, gasping for breath, their limbs squirming weakly as they tried to get up. As quickly as they could, they stumbled away from the runes and returned to the crowd around them.
After three dozen ponies had gone through the same ordeal, five figures emerged from the herd, no magic forcing their limbs. They took up positions on the larger runes arranged around the lead unicorn, each one lighting up with a familiar set of colors.
“She is the last line of defense,” a frail voice said from behind Celestia. She did not turn to look as Luna slowly walked up beside her. “Drains the survivors of their magic regularly to drive off any who attack. The ponies focus their minds on her, which helps them prevent nightmares that can feed their enemy.”
The five turned to face the pony at the center and reared up, while she lifted her head, a wave of bright purple energy erupting from her horn. The aura throughout the forest intensified. “She knows her mission,” Luna went on. “But… it’s only a matter of time. It’s infecting her mind, making her crave more and more.”
Celestia could not tear her gaze away. The edges of the forest suddenly came alive as hundreds of dark figures scrambled out from among the trees, as though the lavender aura were expelling them.
“What about the Elements of Harmony?” she muttered. “Can we still use them?”
Luna hung her head and shook it slowly. “I tried to find them, but it was too late. Without any wielders, they were an easy target. The Nightmare destroyed them.”
“This can’t be happening.” Celestia looked at the gathering in the forest again. “Her friends. I can see her friends! They’re right next to her!”
“I’m sorry, dear sister.” Luna sighed and turned away. “I’m afraid this mare never learned about friendship. Power and knowledge is all she has. They were all she could use to protect them. And the more she gains, the more she is consumed.”
The wave of energy reached the mountains, and a large, serpent-like creature rose from behind them, giving a loud roar. It swooped in, carefully circling the forest. The lavender pony noticed it and sent a burst of magic in its direction. The beast just barely avoided the crackling beam, and it quickly turned around, roaring again as it took cover behind the dark peaks.
Horn still burning with excess energy, the unicorn’s eyes scanned the horizon with cold, calculated precision. They froze the moment they met Celestia’s own, and the elder sister flinched, backing away from the edge, despite the great distance between them. A bright flash came from the forest, and she leaped back just in time as a beam of destructive energy slammed into the wall lining the edge of the cliff. The explosion tossed huge slabs of stone in all directions, forcing Celestia to pick up and carry her weakened sister to safety. A second volley followed moments later, the beam sweeping the upper levels of the buildings nearby, blasting them apart.
Without thinking, Celestia ran back down the streets that led to the heart of the city, making several turns along the way to avoid further attacks. Her skin crawled as a familiar shriek rang out from overhead, followed by the sound of large wings. She willed her legs to move even faster, and her wings opened several times to take flight, only to fold back when another blast of energy obliterated the rooftops above their heads.
The Nightmare shrieked again, the sound of its wings getting closer and closer. Celestia could no longer make any twists and turns, as they would force her to slow down. She bit her lip, seeing the street open up a few blocks ahead, and she found herself across a large square with an empty fountain at the center. The dark creature swooped overhead, roaring as it circled around like a bird of prey, yet it would not move any closer.
The Princess gasped for breath, pausing next to the far edge of the square, where she gently set Luna down. Her head snapped up when she realized that the volleys of destructive magic had stopped as well, and the eerie drone took over the world once more.
“Come on, Luna,” she blurted out. Her forehoof reached out to nudge the blue mare, who kept staring at the ground in defeat. “We have to keep moving.”
“Why?” Luna murmured in response. “There’s no point.”
“We can’t just give up now. There must be something we can do.”
The thrumming of the void was slowly drowned out by a different noise, coming from straight behind them. A droning chant made by voices Celestia recognized.
“We don’t have a choice,” Luna said. She nodded her head at the far side of the square, and Celestia turned to find Twilight there, slowly marching down the street they came through. No emotion was on her face or in her actions. Every motion, every sound was surgical and hollow, while her eyes bored right through her mentor’s skin. Her five friends followed close behind, all of them wearing the same blank expressions as they kept up the infernal chant.
“Twilight!” Celestia called out. “Twilight, it’s me! Listen, you have to help. We—”
The mare did not reply. She simply kept walking toward the two, horn alight with immense energy. Her voice rose above the others, forming some kind of incantation in a dull tone.
“The Nightmare! We have to stop it! You have to use the Elements and stop it so—”
Celestia dove aside as a white hot stream of light vaporized the wall behind her. Picking up Luna once more, she lit her horn and put up a defensive aura around herself. Her voice shook desperately as she had to look into the soulless eyes of her former student.
“Please, Twilight…” Tears stung her eyes, yet she would not blink. “I’m begging you… don’t do it… d-don’t make me...”
Celestia screamed, her entire world turning into a blinding white blaze. It felt as though a dragon had slammed its full weight against her shield, and its fiery breath had managed to slip inside. Intense pain flared all over her body, particularly her horn. Gritting her teeth, she increased the power of her defense and stumbled back, trying to put some kind of obstacle between her and the unicorn.
Her hooves dug into the cobblestone, the powerful blast making her dig a trench into the street inch by inch, while the walls and the pavement around her barrier were torn apart. She carefully backed away, and as soon as she found herself near a corner, she focused her shield into a wave that pushed back Twilight’s beam. Gaining a few precious moments, she turned around and ran as fast as she could down the street behind her, not even bothering to pay attention to where it led.
They only stopped once she ran out of breath. Even after the screeching of the Nightmare and the chanting were just faint noises in the background, Celestia would not stop, while Luna clung to her back weakly. The streets blurred together, and eventually she collapsed against a lamppost, her legs nearly giving out under their combined weight.
“Why won’t she listen to me?” She blurted out, still winded from the escape. “That last one… it’s like she’s trying to kill me!”
Luna gently climbed down from her back. “You are no longer her mentor. She only sees you as another to destroy. Another source of energy to absorb.”
The white mare frowned. “What? How can you say that?”
Luna gave a painful sigh and pointed to a nearby display case. There were several mirrors inside, most of them broken or covered with soot. “See for yourself.”
A chill went down Celestia’s spine, her sister’s behavior a bad enough omen, but she had already turned to look. What stared back at her made her instinctively want to blast the image with every form of attack she could summon. She fell back on her haunches and quickly looked down at her hooves, seeing the familiar white limbs tipped with gold on her hooves. Her heart pounded in her chest as she kept alternating between the mirrors and the ground, unable to decide which vision she could believe.
The looking glass showed the opposite of a living being. It was a skeleton turned to stone, then fueled into motion by the fires of Tartarus, molten rock flowing like ichor out of cracks in its hide. Its mane was a veil of flames, the color of its strands identical to the dying sun above their heads. Its eyes were thin scars stretched down the middle of burning pools, and its face was twisted into a look devoid of life, not unlike what she saw on her former student.
The scream of the Nightmare rang out beyond the rooftops, and the chant was catching up to them as well.
“You spent years trying to help,” Luna said. “They took their toll.”
“No…”
“When you were gone yesterday, I… I thought you finally…” The lunar Princess looked away. “Well, it doesn’t matter now.”
Celestia shook her head. “This… this isn’t me...”
“We failed,” Luna muttered as her sister backed away from the mirrors. “There is no hope left for this world.”
“No…”
“Nothing but demons of the past. Ashes. Darkness.”
“No… no, I can’t…”
The walls nearby trembled as their pursuers gained on them. Luna calmly walked up to her sister and took her forehoof, gently leading her away from the display case.
“We will not survive, sister,” she said. “It’s over. But... we don’t have to suffer. We can give ourselves one last chance for happiness.”
She stopped and took a deep breath, aiming her horn at a spot in mid-air. The tip seemed to touch against an invisible barrier, and Luna slowly dragged the appendage along it. The elder Princess gazed in awe as a seam appeared along the line the horn traced, and a bright light erupted from beyond it. Luna groaned from the effort, making the gash a few inches wider before stepping back.
“There…” she said, struggling to catch her breath. “That’s the best I can do. I’ll need your help to make it wider. Follow me, and we can escape this void.”
Celestia stared into the wavering portal, her eyes not even blinking despite the intense glow. Faintly, she could see something within it, but the opening was too small.
“Hurry, sister! I can’t hold it open for much longer!”
For once, it was Celestia who would not speak. The portal did not widen, yet somehow the image within became clearer. She could see green fields and a blue sky once more. Mountains that inspired awe, not terror. A sun that gave light and life and color to the world.
“They’re coming!” Luna trembled as the Nightmare screamed overhead. “You’ve seen what they can do! We won’t stand a chance!”
Voices surrounded her again. Ponies cheering happily and stomping their hooves. Horns announcing the Summer Sun celebration. A little purple filly dancing and singing as she found her destiny.
“Please, sister! Help me! We have to go! Don’t you want to be happy?”
She closed her eyes, yet she could still see and hear them. They waved at her through the portal, beckoning her to join them. She could see herself walk through it and feel living soil under her hooves. She could breathe air that was not tainted and see her ponies under her sun once more.
“Don’t you want to see your friends again?”
Celestia opened her eyes. The portal was still there, only a few small steps away, and every sound faded away for a moment.
“No,” she said. A weak smile tugged on her lips, and she blinked away at the tears forming in her eyes. “I’m sorry.”
Luna cried out, her hoof reaching for the white mare’s foreleg. The blast from the beam that swept her away nearly knocked Celestia off her hooves, yet she would not move a muscle on her own. The tears streamed down her cheek, and she turned to look at the purple mare, the glow around her horn winking out.
“I don’t believe any of this,” Celestia whispered. “I can’t. But…” Taking a deep breath, she shook her head. “Even if it’s real… I won’t run away. I won’t hide in a dream.”
The blank eyes turned slowly to meet her own, and the chanting stopped.
“I trust you, Twilight,” she went on. “I trust you and your friends. As long as you are alive, I know I can have hope.”
She looked up and spread her wings, kicking off from the ground. Her horn lit up, sending a golden beam through the clouds to touch the sun one last time. The black veil broke apart, and the world around her was awash with color. Her eyes stared into the massive red star, the arcs on its surface growing more turbulent with every passing moment. Her forelegs spread out, and she exhaled, her wings opened wide on either side of her as she floated in place.
A scream brought her eyes back down. The Nightmare raced toward her, black tendrils of smoke trailing behind it. Hundreds, perhaps even thousands of interleaved threads. Beneath her, Celestia could see movement in all directions, the dark lines connecting with every shape that gathered in the streets.
She smiled, and her world went black. Pain engulfed her, constricting her body and setting fire to her veins. A warm light shone upon her face, and someone called out her name.
She breathed in and opened her eyes.
Author's Note
Thank you for reading my story. If I've managed to pique your curiosity enough, you may find a more detailed commentary on the fic here: (link)
