The fail-safe spell returned me to your old throne room, though in my weakened state I was left a little disoriented in the process. To be perfectly honest I didn't have a plan, only a vague idea of how I was going to proceed. Unfortunately I wasn't about to let that stop me, so I marched my way downstairs, trying to formulate a strategy for when we would eventually fight again.

So, how do you intend to "recharge our batteries"? Nightmare asked, causing me to roll my eyes. I was becoming increasingly exasperated with the mare, her attitude towards me having degraded steadily for years before we escaped the moon. Because there is no way in Tartarus you could handle a mayfly right now, let alone a grown pony. I imagine she was having her own problems, given how powerless she was, and venting at me over my failings was likely her only outlet for the frustration it must have caused her.

(...)

You seem to be forgetting that I wasn't always a power crazed lunatic. Of course I can be reasonable, otherwise I'd have never made it in that dreadful little cubicle farm I worked in for five years.

(...)

I'm not explaining what a cubicle is for fear of somehow unleashing the dreadful reality of them upon your innocent, naive little ponies.

(...)

You spend a thousand years with a wannabe despot and see how snarky it makes you. Anyway, Nightmare was in a mood to pick at me and I was too tired to have one of our usual verbal spars. So, I did what came naturally.

"If you keep at me like this, I'm gonna knock myself senseless and wait for Celestia's troops to come pick me up," I growled, not wanting to deal with her attitude when I was having trouble with just walking down a simple flight of stairs.

Oh, yes, I'm sure that would work out very well for the both of us, my sweet, idiotic prince. I let out a huff, spotting some sort of raised dais when the stairway opened up into some sort of antechamber and decided to put it to use. Wait, what are you-?

"Shut!" I slammed my armored brow against the edge of the dais, just beneath the base of my horn, feeling like someone had taken a hammer to my brain as a result. "Up!" And I did it again, causing me to stagger and drop onto my plot, the world spinning in and out of focus as a shrill ringing echoed in my ears.

(...)

I'm sorry, but did you forget that I was BLOODY FUCKING CERTIFIABLE?!? Of course it was stupid, but I didn't care! I'd dealt with her voice for a thousand years and I wanted her to shut the fuck up for once! You can't understand what it was like, never having a single, solitary moment to myself, always having to check my thoughts for fear of letting her know every little waking detail that passed through my mind! I'M GLAD I FUCKING LOST TO SIX LITTLE GIRLS BECAUSE NOW I'M FINALLY ALONE IN MY OWN GODDAMN HEAD AGAIN!!!

(...)

I'm just fine, thank you for asking, Your Worship! My life couldn't be any goddamn better if I fucking tried! Definitely no problems here when I'm locked in irons and being interrogated by a judgemental demigod that could either send me back to the moon for another thousand years or just incinerate me on the spot if she fucking wanted to! Why are we even talking about this still? You were either there or had your precious little student to fill in the blanks, so WHY AM I STILL HERE?!?

(...)

Posterity? POSTERITY?!?

0o0o0o0o0o0

I can't take it, I can't take it!

"You can take your precious posterity and shove it right up your stupid fucking plot!" I rail at her, teeth gnashing as I tug at my bindings, the guards flanking Celestia tensing at my outburst. "Sentence me, or whatever it is you're going to do, but just get it over with already!" Yet she stares at me, silently, her expression unreadable as if it was carved from solid marble. And how I hate it. I try to lunge but her magic holds me fast, leaving me helpless. "Just finish me off, damn it! You've won, so just fucking FINISH IT!"

"No." This one word, so innocuous and simple, breaks me. I grind my teeth and squeeze my eyes shut, yet the tears come anyway. I'm so tired. The fight with her, the aftermath, my defeat, it's all just left me so exhausted. Why won't she end it? So I cry; I cry until the tears stop flowing and I'm a snotty, red eyed mess. She's silent again, but a handkerchief dries my cheeks, wipes my nose and is promptly incinerated. "Are you up to continuing now or do you need some more time to rest?" Why? Why does she want me to tell it? I don't understand and so I slump, defeated again, this time by her composure, submitting to her reluctantly.

"I'll be fine." Liar. "Let's just get it over with."

0o0o0o0o0o0

Right, so I just got done braining myself pretty hard. I couldn't even hear Nightmare, though I'm sure she was taking this opportunity to point out what sort of moron I was for trying to dash my own grey matter out on a hard piece of rock. I admit, not my finest moment, but it bought me at least a few moments of silence. The headache, though? I definitely could have done without it, but that was my own stupid fault I guess. Alicorn recovery speed being what it is, though, my head began to clear up and I was left staring at the thing I'd just tried to lobotomize myself with via blunt force trauma. On top of the dais sat a pedestal, crowned by a large, cracked stone sphere draped in vines and moss, with five arms sprouting outwards in different directions, each bearing a much smaller orb than the one that served as the sculpture's centerpiece.

"What the hell is this?" I asked once I was capable of forming words again. "Looks like a tacky piece of modern art, except, you know, ancient." Dead silence. "Great, we're back to the silent treatment." I let out a snort. "Who knew that a being over a thousand years old could be so petty and childish."

I'm petty? I'm childish? You just tried to brain yourself in an attempt to silence me! I smiled, the incredulity and frustration in her voice music to my ears. You are the most imbecilic, brainless, gormless, feckless, useless ape I have ever had the misfortune of encountering in my entire existence!

"I love you, too, Nightmare," I teased her, to which she gave an inarticulate scream that caused me to chuckle evilly.

(...)

I was crazy. Crazy people don't make sense. We covered that already when I told you that I tried to bash my own brains out. After a good solid minute of cussing me out, Nightmare Moon finally ran out of steam, though she was definitely not happy with me at all. Me? I had the biggest shit eating grin on my face, pleased to have gotten under her skin for once. "So, what is this thing?"

It looks like the pedestal that once housed the Elements. Nightmare's answer was reluctant, the mare clearly still rather upset with me over my antics. However, I sense very little of their presence within this place.

"So she moved them then?" I asked, looking over the spheres more closely, thinking that a perfectly reasonable course to take. Except you didn't, as I was about to learn.

No, I do not believe she did. This caused me to arch a brow in query, though I knew she couldn't exactly see it. Touch your horn to one of the spheres. I wish to test something.

"This had better not blow up in my face," I muttered but complied, the tip of my horn coming to rest lightly on one of them as she'd requested. At first I didn't notice anything and began to feel rather foolish as a result, yet something changed after a few moments. I began to feel a hint of warmth from it, a sliver of some ancient power that stood my hair on end and caused a frown to form on my face. "No way. Did she really...?"

Leave the Elements of Harmony sitting out to collect dust? Nightmare sounded just as disbelieving as I felt. Yes, yes she did.

"Why?" I asked, my mind boggling at the idea of such a weapon being left out for just anyone to take at their leisure. Of course I wasn't yet aware of how they functioned or how dangerous a place the Everfree Forest is to the average pony, but we'll get back to that later.

Because they are functionally useless. I tilted my head, wondering what she meant. The sixth Element is not present. Without it, the other five are all but powerless. She hesitated briefly. At least that is the only reason I can conceive of as to why Celestia would simply abandon them like this.

"Well, it doesn't really matter," I announced, knocking the spheres from their perches, one by one. "There's no way in hell I'm getting sent back to the moon." I pressed down on the first with my hoof, increasing the pressure until the stone cracked apart, then ground the pieces into powder before scattering them to the wind. "And without these there is no possibility of that happening ever again." I did the same with the others, satisfied that the threat they represented to me was well and truly dealt with. "Now, on to Pony-" And I froze, staring out the window at the moonlit forest that surrounded the old castle. But that was the problem. "Nightmare, please tell me I'm hallucinating."

Fortunately you are not succumbing to another of your "episodes", my prince. I let out a string of incomprehensible grumbling at her tone but didn't interrupt. It seems somepony has taken up the task of moving the sun and moon in my sister's stead.

"Are you sure it isn't her?" I asked, half expecting you to show up somehow fully recovered at any moment.

You may relax, Artemis. My paranoia amused her apparently. There is no means that Celestia would be willing to use to recover from your battle with her in such short order. Well, that was a relief, let me tell ya. No, she likely has a team of unicorns on standby for just such an occasion. They moved the sun and moon in ages past, so they could be instructed in how to do so again. I swear I could hear her frown for the next part. However that would place a great deal of power in the common pony's hooves. Power they might use to try and leverage control away from her, should they be so ambitious as to challenge her right to the crown.

"So she teaches it to a bunch of ponies she trusts, right?" I dismissed it easily, not really caring after all. "Not that it matters. Her government is the first thing to go once I have her head on a pike."

A classic image. Quite. But let us not celebrate too soon. You did, after all, let her get away during your last battle with her, so-

"So I'll just cut her head off next time and be done with it!" I interrupted her snappishly. "She could have an army marching on the forest as we speak, so let's just get a move on already!" And I took to the sky, wings flapping hard to get to Ponyville before you launched whatever counterattack you might have had planned. Had I known your actual plan, though, I imagine I would have laughed myself sick over what you considered to be a sound strategy. One wonders as to the state of your mind, Celly. One truly does.

0o0o0o0o0o0

When I arrived at Ponyville I found the planned festivities to be in full swing, with no sign that anyone had any idea as to what transpired earlier that day. The celebration was centered around a large tree, with ponies making quite the ruckus, at least as far as it looked from where I sat perched on a handy bit of cloud I'd found on the way. I took a look at the surrounding countryside while I was up there, unable to see any sign of an army of any sort, nor could I detect any hidden with the magic I could spare to do a quick sweep of the area. It was frankly puzzling and, admittedly, a little concerning.

"Why hasn't she moved out yet?" I whispered, glaring downwards in my confusion. "She knows how dangerous I am, doesn't she? I could flatten this place easily, magic or no magic." So why, I wondered? Why would you not have at least evacuated the area? It's not like you wouldn't have had the time, after all. "I don't understand."

My sister's machinations are mystifying at even the best of times, I fear. Nightmare Moon was equally as puzzled it seemed. So then, where would you like to start? I wasn't really sure. I looked down on the ponies as they made merry, all blissfully unaware that their death loomed so close, and felt a kernel of envy grow inside my chest. You seemed to despise that talkative marshmallow earlier. Why not find her and have some fun?

"Good question," I muttered in response, again finding myself hesitating. Part of me wanted to just leap down on them and start ripping the entire lot to bloody shreds, while another part felt queasy at the thought of stamping out so many defenseless lives. But then I realized that I didn't have to kill them in order to slake my thirst. Besides, I told myself, simply killing them would be too quick. "This celebration was supposed to be visited by Celestia, wasn't it?"

So that frivolous unicorn said. Even the mere mention of you seemed to stir Nightmare's ire. Why? Do you have something in mind? I grinned like a hungry shark and told her my idea. Oh, yes, that will be perfect! I cannot wait to see the looks on their precious little sun loving faces!

"Neither can I~"

0o0o0o0o0o0

"Are you sure this will work?" I whispered, lurking in the rafters of the town hall some time later as ponies filtered in slowly below me. "Do we have enough magic for it?"

Trust me, I know how to work with my moon. I kind of had to take her word for it, since I don't know the first thing about how the magic behind it works. Just do exactly as I say and it will be no trouble at all.

"If you're sure," I murmured, though I held a few doubts. "It'd better be worth the effort."

Believe me, they will simply lose their heads when the moon fails to set. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, feeling strangely nervous. Do not tell me that appearing before a crowd frightens you? You faced down the full wrath of my sister earlier and this will be nothing compared to that!

"It'll be my first time speaking to so many people in over a thousand years!" I hissed, cheeks flushing with warmth out of embarrassment. "I'd like to see you put on a performance after so long, Moony!"

Do not be such a colt, Artemis. I let out a quiet snort. And if I could then it would be simply foal's play. Speaking to the masses is a required skill when you are royalty, so it is only natural that I would take to it again with absolutely no trouble at all.

"Yeah, yeah, shut up," I grumbled, her bragging getting on my nerves, even if it was over something so irrelevant. "The show's about to start." An earth pony mare stood at a podium, speaking to the crowd, several of which I recognized from my little jaunt through the market. She went on about how she was so honored that Ponyville was hosting the celebration this year, blah blah blah, I didn't really start paying much attention until she started your introduction. Wait, now that I think about it, how did they not know you weren't going to show?

(...)

You normally teleport in? What a showoff.

(,,,)

Wait, how do you get the timing-no, never mind. I really, really don't care.

(...)

Because shut up. Now, like I was saying, I only started paying real attention when she started your introduction, leaning over the beam I was perched on in anticipation of the curtain being drawn. Of course when it was you didn't show, causing an awkward silence to fill the room when you failed to appear. The marshmallow unicorn with the purple mane from earlier checked back stage but naturally she didn't find you, announcing that you were simply gone. Oh, yes, the beginnings of fear stirred in them then, the crowd murmuring to each other and just when the earth pony told them all not to panic is when I made my move.

My laughter started low at first, a rumbling that filled the hall and quieted the ponies as their fear spiked. It then echoed loudly as thunder crashed and lightning flashed in the swirling vortex I became, the entire display all flash and no substance of course. I didn't have the magic to waste on real lightning, not at that point at least. Slowly the vortex funneled down to the stage, my form coalescing out of the starry mass, causing the crowd to gasp in shock. I grinned, though the expression was more a baring of teeth, letting them see my sharp fangs, my laughter ringing out anew as they trembled before me, feeding my power with their burgeoning terror. Then someone had to spoil the mood by opening their know it all mouth.

"This isn't right!" A young mare called out, my grin turning into a rather displeased frown as I searched the crowd for whoever had dared to speak. "You're not supposed to be a stallion!" I spotted her, a unicorn with a lavender coat and a striped mane, looking displeased by my gender, of all things. "The prophecy was specific, telling of the coming of the Mare in the Moon, Nightmare Moon, not some stallion!" She opened her mouth to continue, only to freeze up as I glared at her with all the fury at my disposal, causing her to shrink back with ears drooping and eyes wide. "I-I mean-"

"Be quiet." I didn't shout, my tone completely reasonable, which only served to make them even more afraid. "Prophecy? Mare in the Moon? Well, I guess your precious soothsayers were wrong." I stepped toward the crowd, the lot of them stepping back in response. "As for who I actually am-"

"Oh, oh, I love guessing games!" My jaw clicked shut and I ground my teeth, the pink pony who had run off shouting about party supplies having interrupted me that time. "How about...hokey smokes? Oh, maybe King-mnf!" A mare wearing a stetson had the sense to gag the pink thing with a handy cupcake, otherwise I don't know what I would have done to silence her.

"As I was saying," I continued, trying not to let the interruptions bother me too much. "I am Artemis and I am afraid your precious Celestia will be unable to make an appearance as she is currently...indisposed."

"What did you do to our princess?!" A cyan coated, rainbow maned pegasus demanded, even making an attempt to blitz me, only for the same stetson wearing earth pony to snag her tail between her teeth with a muffled "whoa, Nelly".

"I proved that I am the superior alicorn, of course," I boasted, remembering our battle fondly. "I will admit, your princess was strong, but in the end she proved to be no match against me."

"Liar!" The pegasus shouted, to which I laughed cruelly.

"You will have all the proof you need when the sun fails to rise," I told them, their fear returning once again at my ominous words. "I hope you made the most of this day, little ponies, for it will be your last. From now on the night shall last forever!" I played up the thunder, adding another laugh for good measure as the ponies screamed in terror.

"Stop him!" The mare who had made the speech before the unveiling ordered the nearby guards. "He has to know where the princess is!" She was probably right, of course. You were likely busy licking your wounds in Canterlot during all the fun I was having tormenting your darling little ponies.

"Get away from me, you worthless insects!" I snarled, striking them down with what looked like lightning but was mostly a burst of concussive force. I decided a quick exit was in order, wanting to feed on their panic from a comfortable vantage point without having to deal with any more idiots. So, taking the form of a cloud of stars, I seemingly disappeared into the night. Of course I didn't go far, but watching them conduct a search for me was certainly amusing in its own right. I was once again perched high above them, resting on the cloud I had positioned above the town earlier, just taking it all in. The guards eventually expanded their search, but what caught my eye was the lavender unicorn who had called my gender into question came running out of the town hall, looking determined and focused as she ran for the tree that the party had been centered around before. Not long after she was followed by the pink party pony, the marshmallow unicorn, the stetson wearing one, a butter yellow pegasus and the loud, angry cyan pegasus with the Roy G. Biv mane.

I had to admit, I was curious, so I took on the form of a starry cloud and went down to see if I could listen in. The tree, it turned out, was a library and I was able to spy on them from one of the second story windows with ease. The six of them were talking about me, which was flattering, but they seemed to be of the mind that they stood a chance of stopping me. Of course their plan was to find the Elements, which would have caused me to laugh if I'd had a mouth. Still, I figured I would save them the trip and cut their little nightly jaunt short at the edge of the Everfree's only path. My appearance was met with several gasps, my smile cold as I looked them all over more closely. The unicorn leading them, the lavender know it all, was one of the first to recover, eying me as if I were a puzzle she could figure out the solution to.

Next was the cyan loudmouth, who was glaring at me angrily, though I could detect the undercurrent of fear she was trying to mask. At least she wasn't a complete idiot. I noted her more athletic build when compared to most of the others, some kind of sports enthusiast I imagined. Third was the pink earth pony with the poofy mane and tail. Still not sure what to make of that one, to be honest, with her happy go lucky grin and perky disposition, like she was living in her own little world compared to the rest of us. The stetson wearing orange coated earth pony was the fourth I observed, her expression determined and the only other pony who seemed to be athletically inclined. Given her hat and oddly Southern accent, I pegged her for some sort of farmer or cowgirl. Fifth was, of course, the hoity toity Rarity, who was looking me over like someone was holding a turd under her nose. Finally the butter yellow pegasus, who was half hiding behind the cyan one. She looked ready to faint the moment I locked eyes with her.

"You all must have some sort of death wish," I drawled casually, starting to slowly circle the small group, like a predator would its prey. "Did you really believe I would just let you find the one thing that could threaten my reign?" I let out a derisive snort. "Don't make me laugh." I came to a stop in front of them once again. "Do yourselves a favor and just go home. You'll find nothing at the castle but your own deaths."

"Oh yeah?" The cyan one, Rainbow something I think is what one of the others called her. "Well I think you're just scared!" I raised one brow at her claim, not at all impressed. "If we didn't pose any threat to you, why would you be out here trying to get us to quit?"

"Because I'm trying to save your lives," I replied bluntly, the stetson wearing one staring at me in surprise. "Not only is this a dangerous forest, and you lot are clearly no soldiers, but I don't feel like wasting my time with a bunch of children trying to play at being heroes."

"That's super nice of you and all, but we were kind of hoping to go anyway," Pinkie, yes, that was her name, spoke up next. "We'll just borrow the Elements for a bit and make everything all better, so please, please, please let us pass?" I narrowed my eyes at her pleading expression, again wondering what was going on in that bubbly brain of hers. I'm not sure I actually want to know, now that I think about it.

"Besides, darling, how is Equestria supposed to function when it's always night?" Rarity decided to add, the mare flinching as she drew my gaze. "I-I mean, crops would wilt, ponies would freeze and you'd end up ruling a land of ice."

"She's right," the stetson wearing one piped up, the fear in her gaze tempered with a steely resolve that I found surprising, to say the least. "If we don't starve first we'll just end up freezin' ta death instead!"

"I'm not an idiot," I told them, rolling my eyes at their protests. "I've been assured the light the moon reflects can be altered and amplified, so you won't have to worry about any of that."

"Assured by who?" The lavender one spoke at last, analyzing me just as much as I was her. "Your presence here still doesn't make any sense to me, either, but errors in translation from Old Equestrian to the modern dialect could explain-" The stetson mare nudged Twilight pointedly. "A-anyway, your odd choice of words aside, I think you're bluffing."

"Oh really?" Curiosity piqued, I had to hear the reasoning behind her claim. "And how did you come to that conclusion, little Twilight?"

"I might not be an alicorn, but I'm no slouch when it comes to magic myself," she began, her gaze traveling up to my horn as she spoke. "That little show you put on in the town hall was just that: a show and nothing more. Those guards weren't even injured by that 'lightning' you conjured either." I cursed her silently, having not expected her to see through me so easily. "I think you really did fight with Princess Celestia, but it took most of your power to do so, didn't it?" I said nothing, but she was on a roll and wasn't about to stop. "And now you're trying to scare us off because you don't have the magic to waste in case she comes back." I began grinding my teeth. "So, am I wrong?"

"Fine," I hissed, wishing I could spare a bit of magic to wipe that confident smirk off of her face. "Go to the castle. Risk your lives for nothing. See if I care." I took off, Rainbow shouting insults at my back. Damn them, I thought, why couldn't they just go home?

Relax, my prince. Nightmare's tone was soothing, but it didn't help my mood. Let them waste their time trying to find the Elements. It matters little in the grand scheme of things.

"You're right," I conceded, deciding to head to the castle in order to rest in a place where I wasn't likely to be disturbed. "I'm sick of being nice, so if they die it's their own damn fault."

0o0o0o0o0o0

I sat on Nightmare's old throne, doing some simple breathing exercises and just trying to recover from our battle. I didn't think about the six mares foolishly risking their lives in pursuit of something that was doomed to fail, nor did I focus on the future and what ruling this quaint little land of yours might actually entail. Oh, who am I kidding? Of course I wondered what drove those mares to risk their lives and of course I wondered if ruling Equestria was what I really wanted. But I had come too far, I reasoned, to stop just because of a few misgivings. My course was set and nothing would turn me away from seeing it through. Or so I believed. But as I sat there, in the dark and silent throne room, I felt your presence moments before you flew in through the hole in the roof. I opened my eyes, your form giving off a faint light, and glared at you heatedly.

"What are you even doing here?" I asked, voice tight with barely restrained anger. "If you want to continue our fight-"

"No." You cut me off, much to my displeasure. "I've come to talk."

"About what, exactly?" I found the idea of talking with you about as appealing as having my ears slowly ripped off. "Unless it involves your surrender then we have nothing to discuss."

"I want you to reconsider the course you seem determined to follow," you said, my mouth tightening into a thin line as you continued to speak. "The path you are on can only end in pain. Please, don't-"

"What would you know about pain?" I asked, seething with hate as I stepped down off of the crumbling throne. "I was forced to endure hell because of your mistakes!" Your calm mask cracked, allowing me to see a hint of confusion peaking through the seams. "A thousand years, Celestia! A thousand fucking years of being under the hoof of that callous bitch you call your sister!"

How dare you-

"Shut up!" I snapped, causing you to flinch back slightly. "I've had enough of you manipulating me! This is my show, now, my future, my decisions and you have no goddamn say in any of it!" I imagine I was quite the sight, seemingly yelling at the air and all. Nightmare cursed me but had no power to affect me outside of the construct, so I tuned her out to focus my attention on you once more. "I'll make you pay for forcing me to endure all the pain she put me through, Celestia! Even if it takes me another thousand years I will find a way to make you suffer!"

"Don't do this, Artemis," you pleaded with me softly, your concern for someone who had tried to kill you only making things worse. I wasn't in any mood to listen, though, not to you or anyone else. "There's another way-"

"Be quiet, damn you!" I yelled, only to freeze as I heard something coming from downstairs. Several ponies moving around, my expression one of surprise before shifting to disgust. "I told them to go home!" My body shifted into my favorite mode of travel and I blasted past you, ignoring your cries for me to stop.

"We'll have to search the castle," I heard Twilight say, just moments before I made my appearance. Theatrics forgotten, I merely took shape and stared them all down, murder in my eyes.

"I can't believe how stupid you ponies are," I growled, baring my fangs as I pawed at the moth chewed carpet beneath me with one hoof. "Do you all want to die that badly?" I heard your hooves on the stairs and wasted some magic on collapsing the stairwell to slow your progress. "Fine then, I'll give you the death you clearly wish for so dearly!"

"You don't scare us!" Rainbow shouted, drawing my gaze like a hawk to a darting mouse. She would be first, I thought.

"Besides, Ah know ya'll don't want to kill us!" The stetson pony called me out, freezing me mid step. "Ah consider mahself a good judge of character and Ah sure as heck don't have ya'll pegged as a killer."

"Well guess what?" I cleared the distance between me and the group of mares in an instant, my hoof cracking across the stetson wearing one's jaw with brutal force, knocking her to the floor in a limp heap. "You're wrong this time. I have absolutely no qualms about ridding the world of a few useless idiots like you."

"Applejack!" Rainbow's cry drew my attention once more. "You jerk!" She flew at me head on, no skill, no finesse, just straight up trying to deck me in the face. It was child's play to avoid and even simpler to strike her down just as I had her friend.

"You were right about me not having the magic to spare, Twilight," I began quietly, the other four staring at what I did in horror. "But I'm more than strong enough to beat you all to death!" I rushed them, my first strike halted by a hasty shield that Twilight managed to raise. I'll admit, she's got some serious talent, but I wasn't going to let her stop me. "I told you to go home!" I struck the shield a second time, a crack forming beneath my hoof. "I told you that you'd only find your death here!" A third, the crick widening. "I destroyed the Elements, you idiots!" My forth blow shattered it entirely. "Just like how I'll destroy the lot of you!"

"Artemis!" I growled and turned at the sound of your voice, glaring at you balefully. "It's me you want, so leave them alone!"

"They became involved when they disregarded my warnings!" I countered, gesturing to the mares as they checked on their friends. "Choices have consequences and they need to learn that the hard way!"

"You don't fool me, David!" The use of my old name made me flinch. "You could have easily killed them just now, yet Applejack and Rainbow Dash are both still breathing. You even spared me, the pony you claim to hate the most. Those aren't the actions of a killer."

"Sh-sh-she's right," the meek pegasus confirmed, having been the one to fully check them over. "Th-they're unconscious b-but they're okay!"

"Shut up! You don't know one thing about me!" I yelled, backing away and trying to shut you all out. "I do hate you! I hate you more than anything!"

"I don't believe you do," Rarity countered, of all ponies. "If you did hate her as much as you claim to, then why spare her life? Why simply knock out our friends? After what has transpired tonight, I do not believe you have it in you to do something so brutish as to commit murder."

"Don't you dare and try to analyze me, you sycophantic marshmallow!" I spat, the mare flinching but not backing down. "I won't hesitate to kill every last one of you if that's what it takes!"

"B-but that will only cause more pain!" The yellow one protested, shocking me as she stepped away from her friends. "Not only to our loved ones, but to you, too!"

"You don't have to keep acting so mean," Pinkie added, offering me a wide smile. "Turn that frown upside down, mister grumpy pants! How can I throw you a party if you won't even so much as smile?"

"You're all crazy!" I shouted, not believing my ears. "I've hurt your friends and you're offering me pity?! None of you ponies make any goddamn sense!"

"It's not pity," Twilight argued next. "It's compassion. I won't claim to know your reasons for wanting to overthrow Celestia, but my friends are right. I don't think you have it in you to be a killer, no matter what you say."

"THEN YOU KNOW NOTHING!" I roared, my hatred, confusion and pain spiraling around me in a dark purple vortex of violent energies, the whites of my eyes shining with green light. I let my desire to cause pain to fill me, to take complete control where once I'd fought to keep it in check. "I'LL SHOW YOU ALL HOW WRONG YOU ARE!"

"Stop this, Artemis!" You pleaded above the screeching roar of my rising power. "You don't want to slip into the abyss!"

"A-and Ah wasn't wrong about you before!" I heard Applejack gasp, the mare sturdier than I gave her credit for. "Don't go making a liar outta me now, dagnabbit!"

"Please, you don't have to do this!" The yellow one tried to get through to me as well. "You don't have to be in pain anymore!"

"Yeah, Arty, cheer up!" Of course, Pinkie would say something. "Let's be friends!"

"Yes, darling, listen to us!" Rarity, surprising me yet again. "We can help you if you'll let us!"

"And if you try, really try, then nothing will keep you down!" Rainbow, also hardier than I thought. "You can be so much more awesome than this! You just have to give us a chance!"

"BE QUIET!" I railed against them and you, feeling as if giving up would be the worst path I could take. "IT'S TIME TO DIE!" And yet, as I stared into those earnest faces, I once again found myself hesitating. So sure that they could help me, that everything would work out and be okay. So naive, so...innocent. Could I really do it, I wondered?

What are you waiting for?! Nightmare demanded of me, like claws scraping over my mind. Destroy them, now! I felt the power to crush them utterly within me and yet I couldn't bring myself to do it. So be it. A crushing weight settled over my consciousness, my body trembling as Nightmare tried, for the first time ever, to take back control of her body from me. If you are too weak to do what must be done than I shall do it for you!

"No!" I snarled, the sound of my voice swallowed by the rising gale of magic that surrounded me. "Back off, Nightmare! This is my fight!"

I should never have tried to use you! She hissed, the weight on my mind increasing as she tried to crush me. You are nothing but a weak, simpering foal and I will now do what I should have done the moment you invaded my body! But something else was happening as we struggled, something I could barely make out past the fight going on within me. Twilight and her friends, standing amidst the chaos, defiant to the end. I couldn't hear what the lavender unicorn was saying, but I saw the outcome as the Elements somehow reformed as a set of golden torcs and a single, resplendent tiara. An idea, desperate and poorly thought out, came to me in that moment.

"You want your body back, Nightmare?" I ground out as the six mares were surrounded by a prismatic display of light. "Then go ahead and have it!" I ceased my struggle and let her take it back, just as that light swept towards me. I heard her scream, felt a searing agony and a blissful warmth pass over us until I blacked out entirely, consumed by the rainbow light.

Author's Note

Well, you guys asked for more, so here it is. I'll probably get called out for how the chapter ended, that it's cliche and corny and all that, but it's my story and this is how I always planned things to go, though you can thank my girlfriend for the cliffhanger. I hope you enjoyed reading anyway and that you'll continue to do so in the future. Lemme know what you think either way and I hope you all have a nice day