Shadow of the Sun
Celestia stood in her castle looking at the Castle of The Two Sisters through her window, it was the castle that they had previously lived in and inhabited.
She was waiting for any news about the battle/ fight, but nothing was coming.
And nothing was also showing up on the telescope that she was looking through, it seemed like there was no activity at the castle either, but then suddenly there was a big black cloud that boomed upwards and outwards in an explosion, and even from here in the Royal Canterlot Castle she could still hear the boom of the explosion. Then he saw it coming towards her and the castle, and she embraced and readied herself for the incoming blast of the explosion. Soon enough the blast of the explosion came to her and the castle.
And when the blast of the explosion came she had to deflect the power and strength of it, and it passed over her without doing her any kind of harm.
But after it passed over her she looked into the telescope again only to see her worst fear, the castle, it was now completely destroyed and gone, nothing was left of it or remained, not even the ruins which it was now stood to remember it, it was as if there had never been a castle there at all that had been lived in.
And now Nightmare Shadow had taken a piece of their past with him, and it was just too much for her to take in, he had taken her sister and now the castle, he had endangered all the lives of the pony citizens of these lands.
What more could he possibly take from her, or what else could he destroy?
The answer came very quickly in the form of the stars, for now in the evening sky were these words written upon the stars themselves that shined eternal.
I have successfully defeated your sister and have her imprisoned and trapped, her rule is now over, and mine is just starting. And while you may control the sun by raising and lowering it, I control thousands of stars that are suns, your power is weak compared to your sister’s, or rather mine now since I have control of her power and strength, so I must ask you this dear princess, what will you do now that I have her? Will you come and save her now, or will you abandon her again like you did so long ago? The question is only yours to answer, and I expect and hope for a response very soon, sincerely yours, the Prince of the Night, Stars, Fears, Hopes, Ideas, Dreams, and Darkness, Nightmare Shadow.
“Oh that stallion, I don’t know either he’s incredibly smart, wise, clever, and genius, or if he’s stupidly crazy,” she said to (mostly) herself in the castle.
“Are you talking to me?” one of the guards that stood by her side asked her.
“No,” she said, “Forgive me, I was just talking to myself, bad habit of mine.
Resume your duties and please feel free to ignore whatever I say.”
And with that said the guard grumbled to himself and then went off and away.
Then once he had left she turned towards the horizon on the sky and said this, “I’m coming for you Luna, I will find you my sister, and I will save you, I can promise you that, nothing will stop me, not even Nightmare Shadow will stand up against me in my way. I will recue you, even if it means the danger and peril of my life, you mean far more to me than you can ever think, after all, you’re the only family I have left. And I only wish that you could hear me, but there is just something deep down inside of me that tells me that I won’t be able to talk to you, and that I will not be able to see you in my dreams, thoughts, or ideas either. I don’t care what it takes or what I will face, I will save you, I promise.”
And with that said she put on her battle armor and flew to the castle without thinking, and even though she knew what this what he probably wanted, her emotions overpowered her sense of reason and logic, and so she went anyways.
And the battle and fight that they had, well that’s best left for another story.
And she had to return to the castle, broken, defeated, weak, she wasn’t able to save her sister from his clutches and prison, and perhaps just maybe she wasn’t ready to, she might never be ready to, but there might be others, just maybe perhaps, others ready and willing to fight for her, and to save her sister from the monster named Nightmare Shadow, but that was yet to be seen.
And so Celestia eventually decided to lay down on her bed to rest, for she was tired now after the intense battle and fight that she had just endured, and with troubled thoughts and ideas that night she eventually fell asleep, but she did not sleep very well, for not only could her sister no longer visit the dreams of other ponies, but with the worry about the safety of her sister, she just could not sleep, it troubled and worried her all night just thinking about it.
And so with these troubled thoughts and ideas in her mind she eventually fell asleep, but instead of having a good dream like she always usually did, she had a nightmare instead, and this time there was no Luna to help her out, she was all alone now, and that was reflected in the dream since she saw herself stand over the grave of her dead sister, it was her worst fear to see her die.
But what was even worse would be if she knew that she could save her, but then failed to do so, thus disappointing her sister once more again.
But she couldn’t do that, not again, not after what happened last time when she turned into Nightmare Moon, a corrupted evil version of her sister formed by the emotions of grief, sorrow, anger, hatred, and pain she had hidden deep down inside of her and kept secret from every pony, including her sister.
She couldn’t save her sister, but she also knew that she couldn’t be hurt either because Nightmare Shadow was still part of her, even if just a mere shadow or reflection and a corrupted nightmare version of herself when she was much younger. They still had a connection, and one that he would try to separate.
And she knew that if they were separated that she could defeat him, but that it would also probably be too late to do so.
And so the great war and debate and conflict was fought in her head as she could not decide what to do, for it was just too much for her to take in at once.
But eventually she did decide to do one thing, wait.
She would wait until the end was near, and only then would she act.
And so as the days, weeks, months, and eventually years went by she slowly prepared both herself, her student and her friends, and all the other ponies and citizens of Equestria for the great war that was to come.
But never once during all that time was there any hint, clue, or mention of him, he did well to hide himself, but as a creature of darkness and shadow that was to be expected, but what was unexpected and shocking and surprising was how well he hid his mind and location from Celestia herself.
For she knew Luna and her thoughts, ideas, fears, hopes, and dreams, but she still did not hear them at all even after all that time and so many years had passed. But as time went on very slowly there was even less hope for a chance or opportunity to recover or save her sister, and all seemed dull and gray.
But eventually there was a small spark of hope and light that did come.
And it came in the shape and form least expected by her.
It came from her previous mentor.
Star Swirl.
And so it was that she was finally ready, but so was he.
Yet she would make sure that he would lose.
He would not rule over her kingdom, over their kingdom.
He would not risk the safety of other ponies by putting their very lives in danger and peril, and he would pay for the very thought of it.
His plan would not succeed, she and others would make sure of that.
And finally, he would never ever again cast a shadow over the kingdom again, never again over the Princess of the Sun, never again.
Epilogue: Promise
Nightmare Shadow walked inside his castle all alone, and while it had once stood formerly as the Castle of the Two Sisters, it was now his by right.
He sighed with disappointment at the latest failure with his current prisoner, the Princess of the Moon and Celestia’s little sister, Luna.
She had resisted all attempts that he had made, and he tried all that he could do to make her see and understand the truth, but she still would not listen to him, and while she did not attempt to escape as part of their agreement that they had made so very long ago, she would not stay in her cage for long either.
And so he went to the only place where he could go to remind himself of what he was fighting for, to remind himself of whom he was fighting for.
He slowly raised his horn and used his magic to reveal and enter the hidden room that he had recently made that only he knew about and kneeled on the floor before several pictures which hung around the room reminding him of all the great leaders in the past who had failed in their quest, Queen Chrysalis, Tirek, Discord, Starlight Glimmer, King Sombra, and finally Nightmare Moon.
“I made a promise to you,” he said towards the picture facing its direction, “And I am going to keep it no matter what it takes, I don’t care what the others or rest said or how far they might have come or what strength and knowledge and power that they might have had or gained or even if they failed in their noble quest and pursuit, I will succeed where all else have failed, I will rise above the ashes of the ones who have fallen, I will take their place as the great and wise and noble leader, the one that Equestria needs and deserves, I will replace your sister and take over the kingdom, and finally I will bring you back if I can.
I made a promise to you, and soon it will be complete, soon it will be done, soon there will be nothing to stand in our way of fame and glory and riches and power and strength and knowledge, and maybe perhaps even love.
I know that it is a foolish thing to wish and hope for, you taught me that, you were the one who said love made you weak and stupid after all, and I know that, but I still can’t help falling in love with you, or at least caring for you.
And I know that I must get rid of that weakness, and that is why I cannot hold your host body here anymore, she will be set free today, and the only reason that I do this is so that I may overcome my weaknesses and have none, and then I will truly be free and strong, and then nothing can stop me.
I will finish what we started and nothing will stand in my way, and we will be together once more again very soon enough, I can promise you that.” And with that said he finished his speech and gazed very slowly at the horn of King Sombra.
