Final Fantasy Equestria: New Beginning

Chapter 5

The Princess of the Moon and The Princess of Darkness

(Meanwhile, in Canterlot Castle)

“Prepare to lose, Luna. Your fate is sealed!”

“Mercy, Please! I beg of you!”

“There is no mercy, only darkness.” The first voice echoed throughout the room… shortly before saying something else. “My rook takes your queen. Checkmate, I win.”

“Son of a bitch! This is the fifth time I've lost to myself! How can I lose this many times?!” Luna cursed, caught off guard by her counterpart when she won their fifth straight game. Only this time with a different angle on how it’s played.

“It’s clear that you aren’t good at three dimensional chess seeing how you suck on so many levels.” The Dark Knight pointed out to her, before motioning her hand towards each of the three different levels on the board.

“Do you think my sister would fare better against yours?”

“Hardly…” The dark knight replied, shortly before hearing a shout from farther down the hall.

“WHAT MADNESS IS THIS!?! HOW CAN I LOSE AT A GAME OF CHECKERS!!?!”

“See what I mean? I think that also proves both our points now that we’re from a different world, right?”

“Well, at least you’re not like Discord after he was reformed. He tried playing cards with us, only to be hiding a few spare cards up his fur. He called it the ‘Ace up his sleeve’ but it turned out to be more than just an ace when an entire deck fell out of it.” The Princess sighed before looking back at her counterpart. “Still… I think there are some things we should discuss before we try finding your companions… and I also have a few questions for you.”

“I take it you saw what happen when your royal guards attacked me?”

“Both of us did,” Luna then added. “In this world, that form you took was the same one I did when I was overcome with jealously and hatred for Celestia, why I became a monster and was banished to the moon for 1000 years. How are you able to do it and not have the same repercussions?”

The Dark Knight’s expression soon changed from a calm demeanor to a serious one as she looked down at her hand. Upon doing that, a small flame of darkness appeared in the palm of her hand.

“It took me a while to become accustomed to becoming one with the abyss. In Ishgard, my home. There was a kirin by the name Frey, that helped me come to terms with the darkness you called Nightmare Moon. During the way point of my training, I was called in by one of the ponies at Coerthas about somepony that looks like me attacking one of the bases there. Once I got there it turned out that it was Frey that was responsible for that….only when I was talking with Frey he was already dead from the moment I met him. As his body went limp, Nightmare Moon or myself appeared from out of the shadow of him and we began to fight.”

“So… you had to overcome the darkness in you… and show that you are in control?”

“More like coming to an understanding with one another. Light can not survive without darkness, just as darkness can not survive without light. When both sides can find a neutral ground to exist.” The Dark Knight’s body was engulfed in flames of darkness before it revealed her in the form of Nightmare Moon. “Then you’ll be as strong as possible.”

“Does… the same thing apply to your sister?”

“No, Paladins are different from Dark Knights. They have their code, while we have ours.”

“Yet, light and dark are two sides to the same coin?” The Princess of the Night then spoke up.

“True, but unlike us. She would prefer to settle things without having to kill.”

“It’s the same for both my sister and I, unless somepony forces my hand on the matter.” Luna replied. “It happened a few times during our chess games… it did not work out so well.”

“There is a huge difference between us from what I can gather from both looking around this castle and from this chess game.” That surprised Luna as she looked back at her Dark Knight counterpart while they were walking through another courtyard.

“Oh really? How so?”

“It’s true that this world has faced enemies from the past. But unlike you both who would lock away your enemies or show them mercy, we take them down….permanently.” That had the princess of the night look back at her in surprise before speaking again.

“Yes, that is one thing…” She told her. “But unlike your culture, ours has been at peace for a long long time. Celestia’s been watching this world and with the elements of harmony, they were able to overcome many challenges. Yet… I believe there was only one time that somepony was taken down permanently.”

“King Sombra, but he was nothing more than a shade of how he was before the corruption. But do you really think that your world’s peace will last long? Can you truly rely on these Elements of Harmony?”

“He was destroyed when the crystal heart was reformed… and I believe in Twilight and her friends. They saved my life from that of Nightmare Moon after all.”

The Dark Knight sighed to her answer as she reverted back to her normal form. “Putting your fate into somepony else is good. But given the fact that there would be an enemy much stronger then your Twilight and their friends, what would you do then? Would you yourself face them? Would Celestia? Or would you have the sorry excuse of this world’s royal guards?”

“I would do anything, even risk my own life, to keep these people safe.”

“Not to sound like I’m raining on your parade. But you and your sister are weak.”

“Yeah… we heard that.” Both Luna’s turned around to see both the Princess of the Sun and the Paladin standing behind them. “In fact, we’ve been hearing you monologue for the last ten minutes.”

“Your point sister? You know I’m right about this.”

“Sister, you can’t just point out the flaws in someone without providing a way to assist them,” The Paladin reminded her. “Besides, we still have to make sure to find the others.”

“I’ve already been informed of what’s going on from Princess Twilight from a letter she sent me not too long ago.” The Sun Princess replied. “Your companions are in ponyville. However, we don’t know the whereabouts of this Starlight or Trixie your sister was talking about.”

“.....Princess Twilight?”

“Yes, it appears that this world’s Twilight Sparkle has become an alicorn princess as well,” The paladin replied. “Most notably, the Princess of Friendship. But from what I was told, even though she isn’t a summoner, she’s highly skilled with magic.”

“I’ll be the judge of that when the time comes.”

“She took on Lord Tirek single handedly when he broke out of Tartarus after we gave her our magic along with Cadence.” Celestia replied. Ironically though, that was when a certain princess soon stepped inside.

“Hey Aunt Celestia, am I interrupting something-” That was when Princess Cadence looked up to see two versions of both Celestia and Luna as she looked at them with wide eyes. “......... I knew I should’ve saved the wine for later. I’ll just… come back later.” The door was closed… followed by what sounded like loud frustrated screaming as the princess of the sun sighed.

“I knew I shouldn’t have used up the last of the wine earlier…”

“And ponies thought I drink too much.” The Dark Knight said with a chuckle.

“To be clear this was before either you or your sister showed up,” Celestia told them. “So when I first saw you, I thought it was an effect from a really bad hangover.”

“And I think we’re done with this conversation.” The princess of the night interrupted them. “We will need to make haste towards Sugarcube Corner where your friends are waiting at.”

“That might be a problem.” The Dark Knight said as she stood up from where she was sitting.

“Oh? How so?” The sun princess then asked.

“You both can’t sense it can you?” The Paladin asked as she unsheathed her sword and shield. “There’s somepony here that is not of your world watching us.”

“...... I have a bad feeling about this.” The lunar princess then sighed as she looked back at them.

“So, even those who aren’t chosen by Hydaelyn can sense our presence.” Appearing from out of a void of darkness near the doorway, a pony wearing a sinister looking robe and a red mask underneath his hood appears in front of them. “I must say this is quite interesting for you to come this far.”

That had both princesses look back at one another before looking back at the Dark Knight and the Paladin. Shortly before Luna spoke up. “What the-? Who’s this guy?”

“So you’re the Ascian that our father mentioned in his records.” The Dark Knight said as she drew her claymore from off her back and aimed it at the colt. “What are you doing here in this world that you do not belong in?”

“We are merely here to see how this world fairs compared to yours Knight of Darkness.” The Ascian said before appearing next to Luna and placing a hand on her shoulder. “We were… surprised to see you survive your battle against the primal god Bahamut. That battle would’ve made things much easier for us to sink this world into chaos. But seeing how the warriors of light are here...this has made things…..complicated to do that.”

It was only after he finished speaking that Luna jerked for a moment, moving one of her legs and trying to hit the Ascian with a kick below the waist. “Back off, you perverted creep!!”

This caused the Ascian to appear near the end of the room they were in as he chuckles. “I would save your energy for something else then with me, beast. Unlike your friends in Ponyville, you don’t have the means to stop us.”

“Still doesn’t make you less of a creep…” Luna muttered.

“Why are you here, Ascian?” The Paladin asked, still glaring at the colt while still staying cautious.

“Only to see what this world’s last line of defense are. I’m a little bit disappointed that their only line of defense are a bunch of girls who rely on a beam of harmonious magic…..how….cute.” The Ascian said as he looked over at the window. “This world’s Celestia. I have a question that I would like for you to answer.”

“And that is?”

“If one of your “Elements of Harmony” were to die. Would you have another means to defend your world?” The princess of the sun soon glared at him, slowly having her magic radiate around her in anger as her mane almost became fire like.

“You dare touch one of them… and I will personally send you to the sun myself.” She growled.

“Bold words from a ruler who spends her days locked away from the world she so desperately wants to protect.” He said as he turns his attention to The Dark Knight and Paladin. “As for you two, give the warriors of light this message. “Your past will come to haunt you once again.” With a blink of an eye, The Ascian quickly disappeared from their sight. Leaving nothing within his leave.

Leaving everything quiet… until they heard Cadence speak up upon coming back. “Okay, just WHAT THE BUCK WAS THAT!?!”