A dark cloak crept across Canterlot as Celestia lowered the sun. Luna’s great moon ascended to take charge of the sky as the stars began to wink open, giggling at the world in their sparkly splendor. A swath of light illuminated all underneath the great gleaming orb’s gaze, and all was still. The Great Princess was in the Sun’s Royal Chambers, resting after a full day of administrating over all of Ponydom in Equestria. The Alicorn’s bed was soft, cradling her imposing form gently and serenely, rehabilitating her body while the stillness and calmness of it all brought peace of mind. She looked about her room lazily and her gaze eventually glided out of the large open door in her chambers that led to her balcony and into the violet night sky. A smile sneaked its way onto her white visage.
“I’m glad to see the she’s right back in the groove of things when it comes to these absolutely splendid night skies,” Celestia said to herself, taking in the various nebulas and stars before her, “For a thousand years I could never create anything as spectacular as this, even when I dedicated myself fully I could only barely attempt something that would only barely shadow her magnificence.” The Alicorn angled her head down a bit, the first of her sister’s nights returning to her mind…
“Are you sure I can do this?” a nervous Luna asked her pink-maned sister, who smiled at the filly’s adorable insecurity.
“You’ve been practicing for weeks now Luna, you’ll do fine,” the elder sister lovingly replied, lowering her head her head in acknowledgement before taking two steps back to give the filly Princess some space. Luna narrowed her eyes, and began to concentrate, small bits of indigo magic beginning to spark from her horn that crackled and skipped through the dark, moonless night. Celestia had seen the various drawings and sketches her sister had doodled in the months preceding this monumental event, a green galaxy here, a shooting star there, perhaps a few constellations of the sisters? The Sun Princess, while excited and proud for her sister, figured that the first night would bring nothing too spectacular, and contained her blooming excitement to keep Luna calm and focused.
The indigo Alicorn’s wings flared open, her entire body clenching as tremendous amounts of magic tore through her limbs. Suddenly, Luna began to levitate, and with her came the pale moon’s face, peeking over the horizon to greet its new summoner. Her horn had become a beacon of light, its purple hues soaring across the sky as the magic continued to crackle and sputter. Suddenly, a massive wave of purple magic blasted from the filly’s horn, spreading into the night’s ether. Celestia’s jaw dropped in pure awe as her brain desperately tried to take in the beauty of the deepness and vastness of Luna’s first night. The tiny Princess descended to the ground, her head spinning from the scale of the spell. Celestia caught her sister on her back and carried the filly back to their castle, but not before taking one last look at the essence of beauty that lay within her baby sister’s hopes and fantasies.
Princess Celestia sighed and rose from her cushions, striding to the balcony. Not a hundred yards from Canterlot Castle was the place where Princess Luna proved herself to everypony, the place where a tiny indigo filly found her place in the world, the place Celestia had gone out of her way to avoid for the past millennium. The Princess smiled and looked out into the Castle Gardens, where one stone statue stared in horror at the world of Harmony and Friendship around him…
“Would you look at this, somepony’s been trying to control my Chaos!” Discord cried out, rising from his throne and lifting his arms to the sky, which was ablaze with swaths of orange, red, and yellow as the sun began to lower. Celestia’s horn glowed a bright gold as she brought the sun down gently, anxiously watching her sister take on the agents of Chaos the draconequus had conjured to battle the sister Alicorns. Ponies with too many wings, with too many horns, horrid tentacle things, animals with legs the size of buildings, Luna had been fighting them all. Her horn fired bolts of starry black magic everywhere, incapacitating, crippling, and disabling her foes, but never killing. The Spirit of Chaos laughed heartily at the Alicorns’ futile attempts, drinking from a flagon of mead and all-in-all, just plain enjoying his obvious omnipotence.
The moment Celestia lowered the Sun to the horizon, she cried out, “Now Luna!” Her sister fired a shockwave from her violet horn that blasted the minions of Chaos from her, and shot into the sky, her horn shining a very bright, very deep, indigo. The Moon began to rise in front of the Sun’s descent, and the world shook with reaction. The sky exploded in color as stars began to shine brightly alongside rainbows that seemed to shoot on forever. Sparkles of magic’s very essence tumbled out of every leaf, rock, and Pony as Discord began to realize the sheer power the sisters held. But instead of cowering in defeat like any normal soul, the draconequus laughed louder and more manically than ever.
“Oh this is rich, this is rich!” he declared, tumbling mid-air. Luna opened an eye and glared at her family’s mortal enemy. Discord wiped a tear away and flashed to Luna’s level.
“Do you really think your ickle moon will make you any more significant than your proud, glowing, angelic, sister?” he poked her with insults and slurs that cut into the Lunar Princess, “Wittle Woona, no-wun appweciates your nights, your stars, and especially not that BIG. DUMB. MOON,” Discord’s words dropped two octaves and gained five voices as he belted out the final words of his mocking monologue. A bit of gray, barely noticeable investigated thoroughly, appeared at the tip of Luna’s great flowing mane. Discord’s grin spread across his face and he descended to the ground, giggling furiously. Luna’s eyes went white as six circles appeared in the spectacle of color and light above the two sisters.
“WE HAVE HEARD ENOUGH OF THOU, NOW BE STILL!” she bellowed, the circles becoming three-dimensional and floating down to the sisters. The glowing orbs of white light began to take shape, becoming gleaming stone spheres, radiantly colored designs adorning the fronts. A balloon, a lightning bolt, an apple, a butterfly, a diamond, and a six-pointed star appeared on their each individual orb. The Chaos Spirit was slightly amused.
“Oh no, bits of colorful white stone!” he dramatically cried out in faux-worry before shooting Luna a glance.
“Oh, Luna, did I forget to mention?” Discord’s voice began to grow in volume, quickly beginning to sound as if a universe of Chaos was screaming at the Alicorns, “When I killed your parents, I laughed, JUST, LIKE, THIS!” The draconequus threw his head back,, rose his lion paw to the sky, and let out a deafening cackle.
A rainbow appeared between the two enraged sisters, circling and gaining strength, before it finally shot out at the draconequus. His body became encased in a white stone, forever stuck in his position of dark mockery at the demise of most of an entire Pony race. Forever, he was trapped, looking as though he was cut from the same rocks that had imprisoned him. Luna fell from the sky and collapsed by her sister, a sweaty, panting mess. The two looked at each other and wistfully closed their eyes as the eternal sisters gave their last signs of respect for their fallen race.
She was never the same after that... Celestia thought to herself, a flood of memories from the First Government swelling into her subconscious. The reconstruction of Canterlot, early expeditions into the Everfree Forest, the ascension of the Griffon nation into the global theater, and of course, the absolutely breath-taking nights Luna would always pull out of her crown. Over the centuries following Discord’s imprisonment, the Moon Princess had become incredibly productive, creating vast amounts of extra-terrestrial artwork for the wanderers of the night to gaze upon and lose themselves in. As it became more and more evident to the nocturnal mare, however, barely anypony in all of Equestria cared much for the moon and the stars when a good night’s rest put a well-harvested field in jeopardy. Of course, they all loved and respected both Princesses, but for many generations, Luna’s pride went unobserved and left only as a vanity project for the Princess of the Night.
“WHAT?!?” an angry Luna screamed, slamming her strong hoof into the castle floor. The stone cracked beneath her mighty stomp, and various items about the Alicorn’s abode fell from their perches. Celestia, her pink flowing mane appearing a bit deflated, lowered her face and took the waves of her sister’s rage.
“I spend my sleepless days creating ART and force myself awake through the nightly patrols in pure exhaustion just for them to SLEEP THROUGH IT?!?” the stars in the Night Princess’s mane began to flare and turn red with every scream as she ranted through her pacing. She stopped for a moment, breathing deeply, before glaring at her sister, “You do just fine, ‘Tia! Everypony just loves to frolic through the radiant colors of your days! Even the rooster finds it his responsibility to remind all of Equestria about how glorious you are by celebrating my moon’s descent with song!” Luna grated her teeth, her graying mane swirling like a vortex. Various black holes had formed in her billowing, starry mane, giving it a very airy and less kept-together appearance. Celestia’s sorrowful eyes looked on at her sister with pity.
“...Luna, please, calm down. You’re causing yourself too much stress! Just look at your mane and coat!” the elder Alicorn pleaded, motioning towards her sister’s chest, hooves, and mane. Luna’s face contorted in displeasure as her eyes darted around, examining her growing discoloration. A scowl crept on the younger sister’s face and she walked off into the darkness. Celestia turned and slowly walked away from her fuming sister, shimmering tears coming to her eyes as the world slowly began to come down around the alabaster alicorn.
Determined to win over all of ponydom with pure effort, Luna’s great starry mane and sleek black coat had begun to go gray over the years, stress and paranoia slowly eating away at her youth. Unable to deal aging while her older sister kept the eyes of every stallion in Equestria, Luna had a massive meteorite slam into the Everfree Forest. Taking her faction of guards, the Princess of the Night carved out the monstrous rock into her own castle, towering over the trees in a dark glow of jealously and rage. The finest Lunar blacksmith took the remaining meteorite and fashioned a set of armor for his Princess. A quick enchantment later, and Luna’s thick celestial mane was filtered out through her armor, leaving only great clouds of dark blue space tp serve as her mane and tail. Her magnificent violet coat slowly came to reflect her heart and thoughts, and turned black. Her eyes, once large and cerulean, contracted and shifted, following her coat’s lead and narrowing into slits on sickly green irises. Her name was even changed to reflect her new appearance. Princess Luna as she was known was banished to the dark oblivion, Nightmare Moon had risen, tendrils of fear and malice reaching out to all of Ponykind, searching for their love, and their harmony.
Princess Celestia finally turned to her desk, where the still-glowing helmet of Nightmare Moon sat. It still was ever-so vibrating, even after all this time Luna’s powerful magic was still infused in the armor. Perhaps it wasn’t her magic, however…
“LUNA!” Celestia screamed, tearing into the sky above her sister’s castle, “WE MUST SPEAKEST WITH THOU, NOW COME FORTH!” A wispy cloud of space eeked out of the castle’s cracks and reformed before the Sun Princess.
“WHAT IS IT THOU WISHEST FROM US? THE MOON HATH NOT GOING TO ASCEND ITSELF!” Nightmare Moon bellowed back. Both sisters, in a mix of rage and a battle for superiority, used the Royal Canterlot Voice, each trying to best each other with louder and louder bouts of vernacular prowess.
“WE HAVE HEARD TELL OF HUSKS OF OUR SUBJECTS FOUND IN THEIR BEDS AFTER A NOCTURNAL SLUMBER! IS IT TO BE THAT THOU HAD A HOOF IN THIS CONSPIRACY?” Celestia’s mane flew wildly, both eyes visible and streaked with red veins. Her sister closed her eyes and turned up her nose.
“BAH! THOU HAST ACCUSED US OF AN ACTION AS THOUGH T’WAS A CRIME!” Nightmare Moon crept open one eye and examined her sister, never refraining from her powerful stature. The two glared at each other, a battle for superiority. Finally, Celestia had had enough, and lowered her gaze.
“I… I can understand… your wrath, dear sister,” she spoke softly, a warm whisper on the cold ears of the Night, “but it is our duty as Alicorns to protect the Ponies of Equestria, not use them as tools for, for,” Celestia desperately tried to finish, but could never picture her sister, her Little Luna, could ever-
“We shall not limit unlimited magical progress as a simple reaction to what thou speakest,” Nightmare Moon’s words were coated in jealousy and detest left to fester and ferment for centuries. The Night Princess’s voice may have dimmed, but her tongue continued a vicious assault on her sister’s heart. Celestia turned and flew back to Canterlot Castle, beads of tears slowly trickling down her face. Nightmare Moon grinned, her sharpened teeth glistening in the darkness. The message had gotten across; Nightmare Moon was no longer the playful child Celestia had known, but a powerful equal in their immortal world.
Years later, Celestia departed from her chambers one morning to raise the sun, just as she had countless times before. Yet, the moon still dominated the sky, taunting the drowsy Ponies below with its menacing glow. The elder Alicorn flared her wings, ready to confront her sister, when three Pegasus guards, beaten, sweaty, and panting, crashed into the ground before her.
“Your Majesty, it’s Manehattan,” the largest of the guards choked out, blood dribbling from his mouth. Their wings were tattered and, upon further inspection, Celestia saw that the guard in the center of the heap had his wings completely snapped.
“Why? What happened?” Celestia became frantic, her pink mane swirling erratically, “Where’s my sister?!?” The guard’s eyes fluttered for a moment.
“She’s there… she did this… night… eternal…” his voice trailed into nothing as his eyes closed and his body slumped. The Sun Princess stood, dumbstruck by what she had heard.
“NO!” she cried out, golden magic encircling the wounded guards. She whistled, and a regiment of Pegasi bolted through the air and hovered above her. A small group of nurses ran from the castle to tend to the guards as Celestia shot into the sky to address her army.
“You are the Canterlot Royal Guard! A group of elite Ponies that we selected because you were the strongest, the fastest, the best, in all of Equestria! Now is the hour to defend your nation! Now is the time we liberate the world from Nightmares!” Celestia’s voice rocked through the night, her imposing frame and audacious speech riling the soldiers into a cheering mass. She spread her wings and soared off to Manehattan, followed by a line of golden-clad ponies, ready to die for their fellow Ponies.
“I was hoping the trade capital of Equestria would put up a better fight than this!” Nightmare Moon chuckled, keeping a stern watch over her newly conquered city. Screams tore through the night air, followed by a number of loud crashes. The Night Princess turned her head to see none other than her sister leading a massive amount of Canterlot Soldiers. A few clouds had gathered, and a storm began to brew. Her eyes narrowed behind the meteorite helmet, and she let out a loud screech that broke every window in the city. Suddenly, scores of black pegasus ponies with bat wings and budded ears took to the sky, taking formation behind the black Alicorn.
“WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS, NIGHTMARE MOON?” Celestia yelled, gold magic glimmering about her horn. Her sister laughed a dark, demonic chortle.
“You can’t remember, dear sister? A few missing guards every week or so is just something the Sun Princess finds unoteworthy, I suppose,” Celestia’s pupils shrunk, her eyes wide open, “But of course, this kind of permanent transformation requires some delicate and, might I add, rare materials, something the ponies of Equestria were glad to supply,” Nightmare Moon pointed a hoof at one particularly large Nightmare Soldier, his sharp teeth and purple armor shining as the rain began to pour. Celestia’s mouth hung agape as she hovered, dumbstruck; how could her little Luna use the souls of innocent sleeping ponies to corrupt the bodies of others?
“Luna!” Celestia screamed through her tears. Her adversary’s ears perked at the sound of her old name, “Luna… I love you! Why… why would you,” she bit down hard on her words, anger beginning to boil in her ever-forgiving mind, “This is a crime against all that we stood for against Discord, all that we have built Equestria on for centuries,” Celestia looked into her sister’s eyes with a gaze that would turn most ponies into a quivering mass, “But if I must defend my kingdom, then I shall do what I must,” her horn instantly shot out a massive bolt of yellow magic, striking a Nightmare Pony and blasting him apart.
The two armies screamed in response and charged through the air at each other, crashing into a mob of blood and metal. Celestia’s guards looked to incapacitate their foes beyond fighting, tearing off wings and gouging eyeballs, but the Nightmare Soldiers were trained to aim for the throat with their sharp teeth and to crush their opponent’s chests with powerful hooves. Blood and bodies rained on the town below, and the two sisters engaged in a gorgeous display of Alicorn war magic.
It was dazzling, to say the least. Two divine entities, Gods amongst Ponies, slammed into each other with their powerful builds and blasted each other half to Tartarus with magic prowess gained from centuries of training and practice. Celestia was able to best her sister when they came close, her larger frame battered the lankier alicorn and her long horn gored out an ear and a few holes in the side of the Nightmare Alicorn. The two only closely engaged at far and few moments, and throughout the rest of the battle Nightmare Moon dominated. Months that Celestia had spent running the country were spent honing the Nightmare Princess’s magic to absolute mastery. Bolts of dark violet magic screamed through the air, singeing the pink-maned Alicron’s grand white coat and crippling one of her forelegs. Flaming meteors, scorching hot and bearing no allegiance, defaced Equestria’s once beautiful green landscape. The eclipse above quivered with the attacks of the sisters. The plants turned a sickly brown and the oceans roared for days.
Days after the Battle of Manehattan, the two sisters had ripped Equestria apart with their battle. Their combat ranged all over the country, before returning to Nightmare Moon’s Fortress. Celestia touched down on one end of the stone cold Fortress’s top. She was exhausted and could hardly find a breath. She swore she heard a familiar, chaotic laugh in her ear. She looked upon the corrupted Alicorn one last time and made the ultimate decision.
“Luna, one last time,” a fit of coughing stopped the Sun Princess’s final plea. Nightmare Moon descended to the top of her Fortress, a smug grin creeping across her face. Her sister was an absolute wreck, her wings ragged and horn nearly burnt out. One of Celestia’s eyes was a black mess of burnt skin and eye-matter; she had taken a direct hit from one of the meteors. Much to Nightmare Moon’s satisfaction, Celestia had trails of blood running down her face after her coughing.
“…one, last, time,” Celestia’s voice was a ragged insult of its once-elegant and proud volume and pitch, “stop this… and we can rebuilt…” Nightmare Moon laughed heartily and slammed her hoof into the stone.
“No one begs for peace unless they are either on death’s door or have a secret ready to be revealed. Seeing as how you can barely call yourself an Alicorn princess in that state, I can only assume that these are going to be the last words I hear from the great Princess Celestia,” a dark purple light formed about her horn, “Farewell, Celestia.”
Celestia’s own horn exploded in light, blinding her opponent momentarily. When the Nightmare Princess looked upon her sister again, five orbs circled the alabaster pony and a grand crown sat atop her pink-maned head. Nightmare Moon stepped back erratically in horror.
“The, th-the Elements?” she cried out, mouth agape. Celestia’s eyes went white as dual rainbows encircled her. The two rainbows shot out to her sister, encasing her in a tornado of colors. The corrupted Princess Luna looked upon her sister’s powerful face one last time before all went black. She didn’t know that she had screamed, but in her fear, a shrill cry rang out through the night, rocking Celestia to her core. The rainbows dissipated, and the Elements fell to the ground. Panting, Celestia looked up to the setting moon, which now bore the silhouette of the banished Princess.
“Farewell, Luna dearest,” she whispered. Her mane, now bearing four pastel colors that sparkled in the morning, billowed behind her as the one Ruler of Equestria looked out at her broken land.
The castle halls were dark as Celestia navigated through their winding passageways. She climbed the Starswirl Staircase and emerged atop the tallest tower in the castle. There, Luna sat, looking out over Equestria, sleeping in absolute harmony. The Lunar Princess turned around.
“You need something, sister?” Celestia strode to the violet pony and nuzzled her.
“Nothing now,” she cooed, holding onto the one pony that would always be with her, her little Luna.
