Obscurum Descensus

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Warning: The following chapter contains scenes gore and mild language. I bet you don't really care, though, if you made it this far. This is my darkest chapter. Fair warning to you all.

To increase the effect of this chapter, imagine this song playing through the whole thing.

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Princess Luna sat and stared at the two massive doors in front of her with tears streaming down her face. She didn’t make a sound. She didn’t move a muscle. She didn’t even try to think coherently. All that could come to her mind was the look of Dime’s rigid body and the malicious sneer plastered on the pony that defeated her Night Guard and her friend.

There are consequences for every action that is made. The smallest movement, the slightest whisper, can send ripples through reality and command the very fate of the future. A gust of wind can topple a tree while a wrong step can crack a twig and alert a predator to the location of its prey. The results are permanent, irreversible, and must be accepted rather than dwelled upon for the nature of life to go on.

Luna made the decision to leave Dime at his request. He wished for her to go as he knew duty to a greater whole must be put forth before the value of a small and insignificant relationship between two ponies. An action resulting in Luna assisting Dime could have consequences that would be positive in the short run but detrimental in the long run. Luna understood why Dime made his choice but she could not accept that he was gone. She couldn’t accept that what she had done was permanent, irreversible.

There was another seductive chuckle from behind the midnight blue alicorn but she didn’t turn to look and instead continued to stare at the doors in front of her. She just wanted some peace and quiet and time to remember Dime and for everything he had done for her.

When Luna had returned from the moon her old Night Guards were wary and even hostile towards her for the pain and suffering she had caused for their ancient ancestors. Their once strong nation the dark and strange ponies came from had been drained of citizens to fuel the great Lunar war machine to the brink of extinction. It was bad enough that she was receiving hostile glares from the Canterlot citizens but when she started seeing those same glares from within her own guard, Luna broke down and cried in her room.

It just so happened that a new recruit to the Royal Guard by the name of Dime had come to deliver a message from her sister that the Night Court was ready to begin. When he was allowed entrance, he saw his red eyed and shaking princess and immediately told one of the guards outside of Luna’s room to cancel the Court tonight. Instead of leaving the princess to her royal duties, this new recruit saw that one of the most powerful ponies in all of Equestria was in a very vulnerable state and chose to comfort her instead.

When the sun had just started to rise over the hills, Dime had managed to get his princess of the night to laugh a grand total of twenty three times. Dime thought past the history and malice that came with his princess and instead saw that she had changed. She was no longer the evil Nightmare Moon that had threatened to throw the entire world into an Eternal Night. Instead, she was a young princess who didn’t have a friend in the world. That sunrise he was her first actual friend since her banishment to the moon.

From that moment on he introduced and acquainted her many members of the Night Guard, traveled with her on various expeditions across the land, and advised her on multiple occasions on anything from diplomacy to a few changes in her precious night sky. He rose through the ranks to become one of the Lieutenants of the Night Guard rather quickly but was soon reassigned to be Luna’s own personal advisor.

“I see that you were fond of him. Was he your first friend?” Came the same seductive voice behind her.

Luna slowly turned around and faced her Nightmare. She recognized her form but she was… different. Her face was stretched into an enormous and eerie smile while her eyes looked to be hollow with red, dilated irises instead of blue ones. Her wings were three times their normal size and looked more like a crow’s wings rather than a pegasus’s.  Her mane and tail were also distorted and seemed to flow irregularly in a very slow and circular pattern.

“Not what you were expecting? Oh, I should have guessed.” The Nightmare hopped down from pedestal that held the Element of Chaos and took a few steps towards Luna. “I draw most of my power from the fear and anger that festers inside of you, ‘Princess Luna’. Common emotions that are not all too powerful in most ponies. But you are an alicorn. Practically a goddess! Your emotions carry more weight with them than all of pony kind combined.”

Luna shrank back at the sight of Nightmare Moon’s approach. With every step she took towards the Night Princess clouds of shadows and darkness flowed off of her hooves and left hoofprints on the cobblestone floor. The Chancel felt unnaturally cold. The candles on the chandeliers that lit the room flickered for a second.

“You look so afraid. Frightened. Terrified. You have seen things, felt things, that no pony should ever have to experience. You are forever mentally scarred. Am I right?” Nightmare Moon continued to walk slowly towards Luna, closing the distance between them to a mere legs reach. Darkness rose from her skin like steam and her eyes flashed. She lowered her head until it was even with Luna’s.

“Of course I’m right.” The black alicorn snarled, her face threatening to break that giant smile she continued to wear. She quickly turned away from Luna and walked over to another part of the Chancel. She remained silent for a time while Luna simply watched her as her wings slowly unfolded and dragged along the ground.  She stopped in front of an old and enormous tapestry that had a castle sewn into it.

“Heheh, Everfree Castle. It was such a beautiful place. Massive weeping willows filled its gardens while gorgeous obelisks and ornately decorated fountains were scattered throughout the castle grounds. The castle itself practically shone white in the sunlight and was like a beacon to all traveling creatures. Ponies, zebras, gazelle, and even griffons came from all over to visit the pride of Equestria. You remember that don’t you?”

Luna stared at The Nightmare with a sense of confusion. “How do you know of Everfree? There is no possi…”

“…possible way for me to have seen Everfree Castle at the very height of its power? That I could not have known that its halls were filled with creatures large and small all seeking an audience with the King and Queen? That Queen Galactica made her last stand against the Lord of Chaos to defend two young, sniveling, helpless little fillies in the Tower to the Stars? My my, you are quite ignorant.”

“I… What do you mean?”

“Have you ever wondered how something like me can manifest itself inside one of the most powerful beings in all of Equestria?”

“I can’t say I ever wished to remember you.”

“Ah, but you remember me every day. I can feel your thoughts about me tug your inner conscience. You feel you are to blame for what happened a thousand years ago. It’s as if you think you were in control during your little experiments on the Element of Chaos.”

Luna just stared at Nightmare Moon with a sour expression on her face. The Nightmare flared her wings and turned to face Luna, that giant smile still on her face.

“Let me tell you a story. I was never created out of any of your petty spells you used on the Element of Chaos in hopes to learn how to use its power to try to get ponies to like you again. A year after you were born, your mother and father started to work on a project that would allow them to harvest the energy that radiated from the sun and the energy that radiated from the moon. They set to work on gathering energy from the sun first, enlisting the aid of the High Unicorn Council to help them. In no time your parents were able to confine the energy from the sun and begin testing it.

“Your parents ran into a problem though. No matter what type of magic they tried they could not seem to manipulate the sun’s energy. To their luck, however, they found that Celestia had reacted to the sun’s energy and could freely manipulate it at her will one day during one of her daily magic training sessions. Upon this discovery, your mother and father would bring Celestia each day with them to experiment on the sun’s energy and hopefully manipulate it to be compatible with their magic.

“Finally they were successful in their months of testing and work and were able to convert the sun’s energy into magic. The magic wasn’t normal magic that all ponies can use, however. The magic drew upon the essence that makes up a pony and converts it into Harmony, or what makes up one of the forces that keeps the universe in balance.

“Harmony was then divided into six separate elements in order to channel its power effectively. They were Honesty, Generosity, Kindness, Laughter, Loyalty, and then Magic itself. Your parents hid these elements away once they had been divided successfully and kept the entire thing secret from your sister. Oh, how frustrated she was.

“Galactica and Sol then set to work to harvest the energy from the moon. When they reached with their magic to the moon, however, they found that their access was barred by something like a protection spell. They spent days and months in vain trying to figure out what was protecting the moon from their access. Finally, late one evening, your parents came into your room while you were fast asleep and carried you to their study. They looked at you with sorrow and guilt but never the less they charged up their horns.

“Your parents ignited the power of your magic early. They used their combined powers to draw out the essence that is built inside of you, still festering and developing, so that it may reach out and touch the moon. They wanted you to have a direct connection to the moon so that they may use your powers to draw the moon’s energy to them. They were successful. When they had finished their spell the essence inside of you started to attract the magic of the moon.”

Luna stared at Nightmare Moon in disbelief but the black alicorn continued on, walking towards the midnight blue alicorn.

-She lies.-

“Your parents then took the moon’s power and tested it and manipulated it. They spent years upon years performing little experiments trying to harness and control the power that was at their disposal. They couldn’t believe the power the moon had. Its energy was five times the power of the sun yet it was completely and utterly random. No matter how hard they tried to focus energy to do a simple task it seemed as if the energy would want to do something else entirely unrelated.”

The Nightmare stopped when she was inches from Luna and lowered her head. The smile she had been wearing had finally left her face and was turned into an intimidating snarl. She stared directly into the princess’s eyes.

“There are dark and mysterious entities that exist in this world that not even the essence of the moon knows about. They hunger. They vie for power. And they will do anything they can to get it, little princess. When the Element of Chaos was created, ripples of power echoed continuously like a beacon, beckoning any creature with enough power to come get it.”

She then turned and took flight with a powerful flap of her wings, bringing her easily to land next to the pedestal containing the Element of Chaos. It stood like a miniature column with spikes that came out from the capital, giving a sense a demonic claw was protecting the Element from being taken away from its home. Luna got to her hooves and slowly and unsteadily made her way to the orb.

“Discord was at the forefront of this hunger, his magic being naturally connected to what you ponies would call Chaos. When he felt the echoes emanating from the Element of Chaos he could not resist this hunger and started to make a dramatic path for himself straight to the Element. Nothing could stop him as he flipped the world everypony knew upside down, some of the effects we know that have been irreversible.”

-Do not believe a word she says.- Luna blinked but continued forward to the pedestal.

“When Discord reached Everfree Castle your mother had already sent the Elements far away, masking their presence with a spell that only broke when the essence of the bearers of the Elements vanished. Your mother and father were not connected to the Elements even though they created them. The ponies whose magic was connected to the sun and the moon were the bearers.”

Nightmare Moon paused and turned to look at Luna. The princess had stopped five feet from the pedestal holding the Element of Chaos, standing at the foot of the stairs.

Suddenly The Nightmare’s voice twisted into a demonic echo. “There is a twist with the Element of Chaos however. Your parents never removed the source of the protection spell from the moon. The spell that kept them from siphoning its energy for their own whims.”

The Nightmare started to walk down the steps to Luna, dark clouds of shadow and rage drifting off of her coat. The princess felt a sudden change in emotion of the Nightmare. She knew something that Luna didn’t. She wanted something and Luna was going to give it to her. She started to creep away from Nightmare Moon as the black alicorn advanced on her.

“When you took the energy from the moon you took me along with you! You bound me to this Element and its power! You bound me to you! You draw upon the power of the moon and you draw upon the power of me!”

She stomped her hoof angrily as Luna was backed into a wall. Suddenly the Nightmare’s voice became very quiet.

“But I know how to free myself from this prison inside of that orb. I just need a vessel. One that wields the power of the moon and can effectively use the dark magic you call Chaos Magic.” That eerie grin started to creep up along her face again as she spoke. “Heheh, I’m going to do things a little differently this time. Instead of luring your mind out of its conscious and trapping it with your subconscious I’m going to kill you and reanimate your body with my essence. Sound fun?”

Luna’s turquoise eyes widened as Nightmare Moon’s red eyes dilated to the size of peas. She was in no condition to defend herself, let alone fight her own Nightmare which also happened to be a part of the essence of the moon. An idea came to mind.

“You’re a liar” Luna accused. “What you told me about my parents is not true. And what you told me about my connection to the moon is false.”

Nightmare Moon was taken aback. She faltered and took a few steps back. “What makes you say that, hm? Please, do explain yourself.”

Luna edged herself from between the wall and Nightmare Moon and walked a circle around the Nightmare until her back was to the Element of Chaos. “Inside everypony there is an essence, a soul, that is connected to the magic that flows throughout Equestria. The essence is what gives individuality and a sense of acceptance. We like to call it our special talent but it is entirely random. Ponies are not predetermined to find out what they will be contributing to the land of Equestria until their mind and body make a connection with their essence whether it be through emotional attachment or through a psychologically powerful event.”

The Princess of the Night started to back up towards the Element of Chaos as Nightmare Moon approached her. “There is one exception to this, however. Alicorns are predetermined to what our “special talent” is. We are born with cutie marks already bearing what it is we are intended to do. I was never forced to submit my essence to the moon, my essence is from the moon. It is the only possible explanation as to why I have always been able to manipulate the moon’s energy.”

When she bumped her back hoof against the stairs she stopped and glared at her Nightmare. “As for my parents, they could always manipulate the moon’s and the sun’s energies. Their essence lives on with the solar system and stars around us. They created what we have today. When Celestia and I were born, they transferred their power over the sun and the moon to us. Celestia and I do not control the power and magics of the Sun and the Moon, we can only manipulate it. Instead, we use Elements, the raw energy of the sun and the moon, to project their power.”

The Nightmare’s smile faded again and she gave a deep and demonic snarl. “So perhaps you –run- have seen through my little façade but what is it that you have accomplished? You bought –run Luna- yourself some time in hopes that I may rethink my plan? No, no no no no. You do not understand. I am going to kill –get the Element- you and… What are you doing?”

Luna had jumped up the stairs next to the Element of Chaos. She looked at the orb as the green and mystical energies inside of the crystal-like ball swirled and formed magnificent clouds. She could hear the unfurling of wings at the bottom of the stairs but instead of turning to see what Nightmare Moon was doing, she grabbed the orb with her teeth.

“Don’t you dare…”

Suddenly there was a tingling feeling going throughout the princess’s entire body. She looked down as she was enveloped in magical green energies. The Nightmare’s charge fell short as she smacked against a wall. A brilliant glow emit from Luna’s eyes and the room was blinded in a white light, igniting an explosion and throwing Nightmare Moon back to the huge double doors.

~~~

“Luna, are you positive that this spell will work?”

“Yes, sister. The orb itself is tied to the moon through the small essence that is trapped inside. If I can just sever that connection and then destroy the orb, the Element of Chaos should be no more.”

“The magic is dangerous. If you’re not careful you could be permanently confined to a vegetative state. Let me co…”

“No… ‘Tia, please just trust me on this”

~~~

Princess Luna slowly opened her eyes and groaned. The Element of Chaos was rolling across the ground in front of her, sucking back in the green tendrils that had shot out of it earlier. She heard a smash as some more stone from the ceiling came tumbling down after the explosion that had rocked the room. She got to her hooves and flapped both of her wings.

Wait, both of my wings?

The princess looked back and noticed that her broken wing had been healed. Unfortunately all of the other injuries she had sustained through her time in this castle had not been healed such as her shoulder or her back hoof. She could fly once again and gracefully used a flap of her wings to fly next to the orb. Upon landing next to it, she instinctually used to magic to levitate the orb in front of her. Her broken horn was fixed too! She gave a faint sigh of relief.

Luna’s moment of relief was short lived when she heard a growl from the corner of the Chancel and suddenly had to dodge a blast of red energy. Luna stumbled over when she landed a little too hard on her back hoof and barely managed to dodge a second shot of the red energy. The dust settled and a battered Nightmare Moon glared at Luna, her massive wings fully flared in fury.

“You insignificant little foal. Your stalling has gone on long enough. Prepare to become another one of my personal science experiments.” The Nightmare threatened angrily as she charged up her horn for another blast.

Luna quickly shot off a light blast of energy at the Nightmare to disrupt her magic and jumped behind a fallen pillar. She scooted along to the other side and peered around the corner only to duck again when a blast of red energy collided with the ground just in front of her. She kneeled down and looked around her, an idea coming to mind.

She turned around and cut half of the pillar with a simple cutting spell. She then took a deep breath and in a matter of a second charged up enough energy to send the fallen pillar flying across the room. As it reached its high point Luna shot a burst of turquoise energy and then a harsh gust of wind right at the cut in the pillar, causing the pillar to crack in half and slightly rotate. The Nightmare saw this and quickly shot off a burst of her magic at one of the halves, breaking it apart and shattering around her while she side stepped the other.

There was an enormous crash but Luna wasted no time to hesitation. She flapped her powerful wings and soared straight at the Nightmare with tremendous speeds, smashing herself straight into the black alicorn. The two went flailing directly into one of the stone walls, leaving a large impact crater in the side before collapsing to the floor. Luna let out a groan and quickly lit her horn and teleported away back to the pedestal, still slumped on the floor.

“What’s the matter, tired already?” The Nightmare sneered as she got to her hooves and charged up her horn.

Luna barely had any time to react and teleport away as a massive ball of red energy was shot towards her, ripping apart the pedestal and sending the Element of Chaos to smash into the base of a giant statue dedicated to Baron Darkwing. She quickly got to her hooves and took flight to hide behind one of the intact pillars.

Everything fell quiet. All that could be heard was the crumbling of loose stone as it fell from various forms of debris now littered throughout the Chancel. Luna took the chance and started to slowly peer around the pillar towards the spot the Nightmare was last standing. She wasn’t there.

The princess quickly brought her head back around the pillar and started to look in every direction she knew she could be seen. Where is she? I should not have lost sight of her. If I can get to the Element of Chaos…

Luna paused her thought process has she heard an unusual sound come over from her left. When she turned back to look around the pillar she spotted the Element of Chaos as it had rolled off of the elevated floor where the giant Darkwing statue sat onto the floor and was now wedged up against some debris. She took in a deep breath, looked around the Chancel in case the Nightmare had come back out into the open, and then made a leap for another piece of cover not too far from the pillar she was behind. She started to hop and creep from cover to cover, trying her best to remain as inconspicuous as possible as she drew closer to the green orb.

Finally, after many leaps and a throbbing hoof later, Luna had reached the Element of Chaos. She looked down at a second before bringing her head down to pick up the orb. She stopped, however, as a dark and quiet chuckle came from behind her. She spun around only to be hit by a metal hoof to the face as the Nightmare stood over her, smiling that large smile and giving another sinister snicker.

“Oh don’t be so naïve, foal. Come on, get up. GET UP!” The Nightmare snarled before that large grin spread across her face again as Luna finally got to her hooves, her cheek throbbing with pain. She stared at the Nightmare with contempt, making sure to stand over the Element.

Why is she playing with me now. Not even five minutes ago she wanted me dead so quickly. Luna wondered to herself as she set herself into a defensive fighting stance, sticking one hoof in front of the rest of her body and lowering her head. Another plan had come to Luna’s mind and she had only one chance to make this work. She was hoping her opponent was aggressive enough to attack first.

The two stood staring at each other, one with a look of determination while the other with a look of malicious amusement.  Nightmare Moon finally broke the eerie silence. “I would have thought that the Princess of the Night, one of the rulers of Equestria, could have put up more of a fight than this. You’ve done nothing more than gave me a few scratches and rustled my feathers. Watching your mother die was more amusing than this.”

Luna flinched but recovered from the insult. Unfortunately, her body language did not go unrecognized by Nightmare Moon. “I do have to say I enjoyed watching that cunt’s head spontaneously combust and become a personal fountain for Discord’s chocolate milk. He sure had a knack for having creative ways for disposing of ponies. I would have much rather been bound to him than to a pathetic whelp such as yourself.”

The princess growled as tears started to form in her eyes. Her horn started to charge up a spell. The Nightmare continued. “Sure, your father’s coat was used as Discord’s new banner when the Equestrian Pegasus Army was brutally slaughtered by those mutated flutterponies. That was a brilliant idea. But that could never top the Galactica Fountain. ‘Prrriceless’ as Discord would say. He sure was proud of it. You know, I won…”

Nightmare Moon was stopped short as a powerful burst of magic shot from Luna’s horn. She barely managed to dodge it and gave a successful wink at her attacker. The princess’s wings were fully flared and she took to the air as her eyes glowed a brilliant white. “I will kill –stop Luna- you”

Her horn lit up again and she started to let out volley after volley of turquoise colored magic at Nightmare Moon, ripping apart the cobblestone floor and sending dust and debris everywhere. The Nightmare gracefully dodged her attacks and then bounced off of a pillar, straight at Luna, and shot a beam of energy into Luna’s chest and sending the midnight blue alicorn across the room into the statue of Darkwing.

Nightmare Moon landed in front of the decapitated statue and was about to fire another beam of energy into the dust where Luna had landed when suddenly a massive, blue wave of energy shot out and blasted the Nightmare back into the middle of the Chancel. Luna shot out from the dust of the statue, a faint scorch mark left on her chest, and dived right into the Nightmare before she had a chance to recover onto her hooves. The impact dug into the ground and left a giant rut in the cobblestone.

Luna was about to send a powerful beam of energy straight into the Nightmare’s face when her opponent teleported out from under Luna, causing her to thud against the ground. Without any time to recover a pair of hooves were brought down upon Luna’s back, sending massive ripples of pain throughout the princess’s entire body. She screamed in agony, watching as the Nightmare hopped off of her back and landed in front of her.

“A futile attempt but congratulations, you caught me off guard.” Nightmare Moon chortled and started to charge up her horn for an attack.

Luna was quicker, though, -Luna, stop please- and sent a light blast of magic straight into her enemy’s horn, causing the Nightmare to yelp and jump back in retreat. The dark blue alicorn winced in pain as she got to her hooves and charged her horn. Waves of light shot from Luna’s horn as she charged up a massive ball of blue energy and shot it directly at the Nightmare.

Even if she had tried to escape, Nightmare Moon would have still been hit by the blast of the massive impact as the ball made contact with the far wall of the Chancel, completely obliterating everything in the vicinity. The black alicorn was set flying across the room and she slammed straight through one of the pillars, causing the section of ceiling it was support to completely collapse. Dust and debris filled the entire Chancel.

“Feel the awesome power of a –She is not mortal- star” Luna said to herself quietly as the dust began to settle. Her jaw dropped.

Standing at the other end of the Chancel, ragged and seething with rage, was Nightmare Moon. Black clouds of fury drifted off of her ruffled coat while her wings were singed and smoking from the blast. Her armor was badly beaten and the crescent moon on her chest plate was not even visible anymore. A red aura shone around her horn and her smile had turned into a vicious snarl.

“You. Will. Die.”

-Get the Element-

She made a dive straight to where the Element of Chaos was, dodging an attack from the Nightmare as she turned herself into a supersonic missile of magic and slammed into the far wall of the Chancel with a deafening explosion of stone and mortar. Luna landed on the stone next to the orb with a heavy thud and quickly started to look around for any kind of sharp object she could use. She spotted a dagger next to the statue of Darkwing and, picking up the orb, she galloped over.

Suddenly there was another explosion and a bright red light from behind her. Luna turned to see that the Nightmare had recovered from the impact was headed straight towards her again, horn lit in a red aura and a face filled with malice. She took up a defensive stance and powered her horn, charging it until the black alicorn was 20 feet from her. Luna threw up a field of magic around her, using it as a shield.  Nightmare Moon made contact with the shield, cracking it and sending a massive shockwave in all directions, ripping up the floor to the right and left of her.

Luna faltered under the impact but quickly recovered and then pushed more magic into the shield, repelling the Nightmare and sending her head first into the side of a fallen column. Not wasting a moment to watch her handy work, Luna turned back and levitated the dagger to her front leg. She bit her lower lip, took a deep breath, and made a deep cut into her skin.

The princess kneeled down and made a circle around the orb in her blood. As she was just closing the circle, there was the sound of rocks crumbling and a whoosh of air as something large took flight. Luna turned and managed to grab a huge section of column in her magic as it headed straight for her. Grabbing the massive column left her open for attack, however, and in a second Nightmare Moon had taken flight and scooped Luna up into her hooves, flying straight towards one of the remaining columns that was still supporting the ceiling. She struggled to break free from the Moon tyrants grip only to get her wish when she was forcibly thrown through the column, causing it to collapse and send a huge section of the ceiling down on top of it.

Luckily the column wasn’t able to stop the force behind Luna’s free fall so she was able to escape most of the debris that fell from the ceiling and instead landed on her side in one of the far corners. When she tried to get to her hooves, her head was slammed back into the ground by a powerful hoof.

“You’re not getting up, little pony. Just lie down and scream in agony as I tear the skin from your body with my teeth.” The Nightmare started to chuckle maniacally as Luna groaned from the further pressure exerted on her face.

Taking in a deep breath and gathering her magic, Luna started to create a condensed ball of energy below Nightmare Moon’s body just out of sight. However, as the condensed ball started to grow larger the light that shone from it could be avoided and the Nightmare looked beneath her, her eyes growing wide just before Luna released the ball.

A terrible explosion rocked the corner of the Chancel, flinging the Nightmare across the entire room yet again and smashing her into the far wall, sending a shockwave that created ripples in a large radius around her impact site. The entire section where the explosion was in the Chancel collapsed, filling it with dirt and debris.

Luna had managed to escape the chaos with a quick teleport to where her unfinished ritual was laying. She staggered slightly from the amount of energy she had been releasing against the Nightmare. Her power still wasn’t fully restored since her return from the moon so her abilities were not quite up to par from a thousand years ago. She nearly collapsed to her hooves in front of the Element of Chaos.

She levitated a sharp stone from the debris that surrounded her and started drawing various arcane symbols equidistant from one another around the circle of blood. She had to press the stone hard into the ground in order for the symbols to faintly show up. When each symbol was finished, Luna gave power to it causing it to glow with a bright turquoise light.

She was just about to finish the last symbol when there was a flash of red light and the Nightmare was now standing near the massive doors for the Chancel. The skin from the entire right side of her body was brutally burned, totally ripped off in various places with blood dripping from the now exposed flesh and bones. Her wings were still intact, if only barely, and half of her face was twisted into a smile from her exposed skull while the other half was scowling in contempt. Raw power was now radiating from her form.

“I am done playing games you foal.” She said flatly as she started to advance towards Luna. With each step she took an imprint of her hoofprint was left behind. Luna quickly returned her focus back to the ritual, charging up her horn and feeding power into the Element of Chaos.

“I am going to show you a magnitude of power that nopony here in Equestria could hope to match. You are going to know eternal agony, you are going to know pain, you are go… Wha-what are you doing?”

A magical aura started to encase Luna and the ritual she was performing, a faint but noticeable glow of turquoise energy becoming visible. The Nightmare stared at the sight for a bit before charging her horn and sending a blast straight at the princess. The blast was stopped short, however, by a magical shield that was put up around the growing vortex of energy. She sent a few more volleys of magic at the shield only to be met with the same result.

“No! No no no! Stop this at once! You do not know what you are doing!” Nightmare Moon cried out, charging straight for the massive tornado of energy that encircled the pedestal where the Element of Chaos had once been. When she made contact with the shield she was violently forced back across the room, skidding to a halt at the base of the massive doors. Her eyes were wide with terror.

The Nightmare of the Moon’s skin started to dissolve, rays of light shining from the patches that were left behind. She was screaming in torment as more of the rays started to pierce through her flesh, bringing a magnificent amount of light to the room. With one last demonic shriek she exploded, the blast surrounding the cyclone that protected Luna.

The princess watched as the light started to encase the swirling mass of magical energy she was in. She could feel the ground start shaking as the light started to rapidly expand outward. She looked down at her hooves at the Element of Chaos and saw that it had started to dematerialize, the orb slowly fading away to dust while the green energy inside floated up through the middle of the cyclone and through the ceiling.

The shaking started to intensify and the alicorn princess started to feel the fatigue from the battle against her Nightmare take its toll on her. She collapsed onto the ground and was panting heavily, trying to keep her eyes open to see the shape that was taking form in front of her. The slender legs of a very tall pony appeared in front of her while an ethereal tail was swirling like that of a galaxy behind the pony. Intricate, purple, metal shoes started to form on the pony’s orange hooves. The mare lowered her head to reveal her beautiful orange eyes.

-I am so proud of you Luna-

~~~

I would like to apologize for the speed at which this chapter was put out. I have been wrapped up in the Bronies vs. Benders competition over on Reddit and preparing for school so I have had little time to write. I did, however, have a few brain blasts while writing this and was able to cough up 3,000 words one night.

I hope you all have enjoyed Obscurum Decensus so far. The epilogue is all that is left. I plan on writing a story based off of Celestia's and Luna's childhood but I'll save the details for that for the author's note at the end of the story.