What is scarier than a nightmare? The truth.
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Darker Than the Night, Stronger Than the Sun
What is scarier than a nightmare? The truth.
"How could she do this to us?" Princess Luna inquires of her sister.
The two regal alicorns study the map of Equestria covering a large round table. Tokens and figurines dot the map.
"Quite easily, it seems," is Princess Celestia's icy reply.
The far western part of Equestria on the map grows dark as a shadow slowly spills across Whinnyapolis. The Crystal Empire no longer remains in the light. Trottingham also falls to the darkness.
Only one day since the declaration of war from 'Kaetsara Deathly Belladonna of the Tricorns' and twenty-five percent of Equestria is now out of Celestia's hoof. Deathly Belladonna had used the Summer Sun celebration as the perfect time to attack and had sacked the Crystal Empire in an hour. Celestia slams her hoof through the marble table.
Luna rests a comforting hoof on her sister's withers, "My heart aches for Cadance's and Shining's death, too, sister. We can not let their deaths be in vain."
"She executed them, Luna! Without mercy! For everypony to see!" Celestia laments and falls into her sister's comforting embrace.
"At least Twilight and her friends are in the human world handling the problems there."
Celestia breathes in deep. She pulls away from her sister and her eyes burn with conviction. "We shall confront her head on!"
"What about our allies? We should trust—"
"No," Celestia cuts her sister off. "They have all been turned away from us right under our nose. Deathly Belladonna wants to see me suffer for everything I have done to her."
Luna steps away from her sister as Celestia stamps her hoof to the ground, shattering the granite.
"She is harming my—our—ponies when she should be dealing with me directly!" Celestia roars.
"Then we should take the fight to her directly to cease these senseless killings!" Luna states, stomping her hoof.
Their conviction shakes when they feel the wards of the room break. A pink circle of magic pools in front of the double doors of the war room. A familiar cerise tricorn emerges from the pool of magic. She wears a golden crown and smile on her face. She has grown to the size of Luna with a flowing mane and tail.
"My ears were burning!" Deathly Belladonna giggles.
"Your whole body will burn!" Celestia threatens as she rear her head back to release her charging magic.
Celestia levels her horn with the floor letting free a blast of powerful magic. She picks her head up and huffs at the destructive tunnel she leaves behind which leaves the corner of the room missing where the afternoon light spills through.
"Temper, temper, Tia," Death mocks from behind Celestia.
This time Luna levels her horn at the cerise pony and unleashes a dark blue torrent of magic. Death sighs and redirects the magic to Celestia with a magical mirror. Celestia does not have a chance to block the blast and flies against the wall.
"Tia!" Luna cries.
Death grabs Luna with magic as the blue alicorn tries to fly over to her sister. "Nuh-uh-uh! You're playing with me!"
Celestia watches as Deathly Belladonna and Luna blink away in a pink light. Before she can react, the double doors break open. Two guardsponies slide across the ground, leaving streaks of crimson behind them. The white guard had been decapitated and the gray guard had his head wrenched backwards which left his face twisted in horror.
Click. Click. Click.
The tapping of shoes only announces the approach of one pony. Celestia jumps to her hooves and prepares a second spell. As soon as the white muzzle pokes around the door, Celestia releases her magic on the door. She leaves a tunnel of destruction that rips through several rooms. Gold armor falls to the ground along with a burning body.
Celestia's face transitions from anger to fear.
"Ha! You should see the look on your face!"
Celestia turns her head up to the ceiling and glares daggers at the ivory tricorn wearing tinted goggles hanging from the chandelier. She watches Shade flip off of the chandelier and onto the floor landing without a sound.
The ivory tricorn wields a grin and Celestia hides her disgust as the scent of blood permeates the air and intestines slides off of the tricorn's back which makes a sickening "smack!" on the floor.
"What will your friends think of when they find out your actions brought about the end of Equestria?" Celestia reproachs the tricorn.
Shade smiles. Before Celestia's eyes, the pony begins to transform into Daybreaker.
"Don't you mean 'we' will be the end of Equestria?" Daybreaker sneers.
"You will never win, monster!" Celestia rebukes the flaming alicorn.
"But look at what that pink bitch did to your precious ponies!" with a flash of white light, Celestia and Daybreaker are hovering over a battlefield.
Celestia barely contains the contents of her stomach. The ground is practically a blood red soup, with pony limbs, griffon wings, yak heads, and entrails floating around like toppings. Death and Luna continue to battle but as Celestia stretches her wings to aid her sibling Death pierces Luna's shield with a glowing pink spear.
The spear impales Luna and sticks out of her back. Death grabs the dying blue alicorns head and manipulates the spear to stab the back of Luna's head. With magenta magic, Death folds Luna's body back in half. Celestia watches helplessly as her baby sister falls to the ground looking like a pretzel.
Death's gleaming pink eyes lock onto Celestia. Fury burns through the solar princess' veins as the tricorn smiles up at her, as if inviting her for tea.
"Unleash our power! Avenge your ponies! Avenge your sister!" Daybreaker hisses in Celestia's ear.
"Raarggh!" Celestia unleashes a primal yell of anger and pain.
Her eyes turn black, her gold ornaments grow into orange flames along with her mane and tail. The world around her fades to nothing. All she sees with her glowing yellow eyes is a cerise tricorn smirking up at her a distance away.
"Temper, temper, Tia," Death jeers.
"I am Daybreaker! I am far more stronger than Celestia. I will let nopony stand in my—" Daybreaker releases a blast of magic from her horn at Death, "—way!"
Death yawns as the magic flying at her. In a crimson flash, Shade pops up before Death and absorbs the magic with her left hoof. Daybreaker gawks with disbelief.
Shade begins to glow white and a white light flashes from her. When the light fades, she is the size of Princess Celestia: three foot long horns protrude from her forehead, her mane and tail resemble black flames, she has the wings and tail of a dragon, cloven hooves like a centaur, a slightly pink coat which match her draconic parts, a fiery crown of black flames rests between her horns, and abyssal black armor protects the pony.
"Daybreaker," Death steps from behind the new trilicorn, "meet my daughter: Shadow Mare."
In a blink, Daybreaker no longer sees Shadow Mare. A blast of magic burns her side and sends her to the ground. Daybreaker leaps up in time to dodge a hoof that shatters the ground. From her position, Daybreaker fires a blast of magic at Shadow Mare's belly which connects. Shadow Mare growls in pain and is sent sliding across the ground leaving four streaks in the rock.
Shadow Mare channels bubbling black magic to her horns. Daybreaker channels flames to her horn. Daybreaker sees the magic cease flowing to the black knock-off's horns and uses this to her advantage. She shoots her magic at Shadow Mare.
Shadow Mare puts up a shield to block the magic. Daybreaker had planned for that and launches herself at the black shield. Shadow Mare lowers the shield and smirks at Daybreaker who is a foot away from her.
Daybreaker's grin disappears when she stops short of her quarry. She turns her head back and sees a black spear protruding from between her wings. She looks down and can see the spear sticking up from the ground that had speared her through the chest. Two more pop out of the ground and enter her belly. A chilling hoof touches her cheek. She meets the gaze of the glowing yellow eyes of the ivory tricorn.
"My friends will think I saved Equestria from you," Shade answers Celestia's previous question.
"You…re… evil…"Daybreaker labors. She grins at Shadow Mare and slumps to the ground.
Celestia sits up in her bed gasping and coughing for air.
"Breathe, sister," Luna comforts Celestia by draping a blue wing over her sister.
"So you see why I have not been sleeping well?" Celestia questions her sister as she leans on her.
"Yes. But what I take from it is that Shade has truly mastered herself. You still fight with yourself. I know because I also struggle with Nightmare Moon."
"No," Celestia denies. "Daybreaker's opinions are not my own. I have never felt that way before."
"Of course, dear sister," Luna hugs Celestia and pets her polychromatic mane gently. Her eyes turn pale yellow and serpentine, "Of course."
