The Stars Answer to Her Call

Chapters

Ch.1 - The Lonely Princess
Ch.2 - Treachery
Ch.4 - Banished
Ch.5 - The Return
Epilogue
Ch.3 - Birth of a Nightmare

Ch.1 - The Lonely Princess

Long ago, in the Magical land of Equestria there was a princess, and this princess was desperately alone.

The princess had been happy once, surrounded by friends and loved ones and admired by many, but over the years that gradually began to change. It was so gradual, in fact, that the princess didn’t realize anything was changing. Over the years her friends and loved ones began to move on or pass away, as she remained, ever unchanging, forever young. It was something she had made peace with long ago, but now, unlike in years past, no new ponies came to replace the old.

And so, as time marched ever forward, the princess became more and more isolated. Not even recognizing what was happening until she found herself wandering the halls of her castle, and realized that there were no friendly faces in the crowds of ponies she passed by. She looked back and realized that, other than her sister. She didn’t have a single pony who she could call a friend, her sister loved her dearly, but was so busy she rarely even saw the lonely princess.

But although she had no friends, the princess was not too worried, ponies still admired her from afar, she was their defender after all, their champion, the one standing between them and the terrors of the night. She would make new friends, she was an outgoing pony, and had done it often enough before. It was only a matter of time. So, since she had no one to spend her time with, she threw herself into her duties, defending her subjects from anything that might harm them. She hunted monsters and beasts large and small, from titanic Hydra to swift wolf, all the while hoping for a pleasant encounter and someone to share her time with.

Many stories were told, and songs sung of the princess’s exploits and courage. But ponies by nature are afraid of what lies in the dark. As the cities and villages became safer, and ponies further divorced from the dangers the princess fought against, these stories of courage and bravery slowly turned to rumors of slaughter and bloodlust. Ponies who had once cheered in the streets began to fear her and hide when the lonely princess arrived.

The princess was angry when she heard these rumors of her bloodthirstiness. She had spent centuries defending the ponies of the land. It was her duty to defend them, so, despite the rumors, the princess continued to travel from town to town, protecting her ponies from greedy dragon and tiny parasprite alike. The rumors, however, only grew stronger as she continued in her efforts, ponies whispered that the princess’ bloodlust had consumed her, that it was only a matter of time until she turned on the those she claimed to protect. That she was a Nightmare, who fed on fear and death, and wouldn’t stop until she had gorged herself on the whole world.

The princess’ sister tried to support her, to convince her to ignore the rumors, saying that they would go away in time. As they became more and more common, though, the princess could feel herself cracking. Until one day the princess broke. She couldn’t go on, she needed someone who cared, who could convince her that she wasn’t the monster everypony thought she was, to give her a reason to continue. In her desperation something found her.

-Excerpt from ‘The Tragedy of the Moon Princess’ by Sunny Skies-

Luna was sitting in her room, crying. As she looked in the mirror she thought, contemplating her situation.

Why do ponies spread these lies? How can no one see that I’m just trying to help them?

When had her ponies become so afraid of her?Luna tried to recall the last time someone, other than her sister, had smiled, or waved a friendly greeting to her, and was at a loss to realize she couldn’t.

Granted, Luna didn’t spend much time among the populace these days, but when had the general nervousness at her presence mutated into outright fear? Ponies may hold their tongues around her sister, but Luna heard their mutterings. Ponies whispered that she was Celestia’s evil twin. That she was the dark side to Celestia’s light, that she was a Nightmare that only remained because Celestia didn’t have the power to destroy her.

Celestia did her best to comfort Luna, but she was so busy that they hardly ever got to spend time together anymore. Luna hadn’t realized until now just how alone she was. As she walked around her personal chambers she looked out into the star-filled sky. Her heart broke as she desperately wished she had someone, anyone who she could call a friend, someone who she could talk to, anyone-

‘Don’t worry. I’ll be here for you!’ A young-sounding voice said.

Luna started, the unexpected voice breaking her out of her thoughts. “Who’s there!?” She demanded.

‘A friend.’ The voice stated, giving the impression of a cheeky smile.

“Where are you? Show yourself!” She commanded.

‘Well if you want to know who I am you’re going to need to look at me first.’ The voice said, sounding amused.

It was then that Luna noticed that her mirror didn’t show her reflection at all. The mirror showed an alicorn filly, one that looked like a much younger version of her, a happier version, back before Discord, before the pressures of ruling had weighed her down.

“What are you?” she asked, nervously. She couldn’t detect any magic at work. If someone was able to sneak some enchantment past her and her sister’s wards without them noticing they were either very powerful or very skilled.

‘I’m Moonbeam!’ The filly in the mirror stated happily, beaming up at her.

“That doesn’t answer my question” Luna stated flatly.

‘I don’t know what I was before I appeared here.” Moonbeam stated sadly, her smile faltering slightly. “All I remember is hearing someone calling out. They sounded so lonely, and I wanted to help. So, I started looking for the voice, and the next thing I know I’m here, talking to you. You seemed lonely, and I was all alone too, so I decided to come and cheer you up!’ The thing – no – the filly in the mirror said, cheer returning to her voice. “I, uhh, don’t actually know how to leave though now that I’m here. Can I stay with you?”

Luna’s heart melted at the earnest expression on the filly’s face. Centuries of experience told her that Moonbeam wasn’t lying. “Ok, she said, you can stay.”

Moonbeam cheered ‘We’ll be the best family ever!’ she shouted.

Luna flabbergasted once again by the filly’s comment I never really thought about being a mother. She thought to herself. It may be just what I needed though.

Author's Note

Here it is. My very first fanfiction. I had the idea for this while reading various stories on this site, and it just wouldn't leave me alone until I had written it. If you have any helpful tips, ideas, or corrections, please leave them in the comments.

This story is finished, and backed up in multiple places, so you won't have to worry about it being abandoned. I will be updating it every week either on Friday, or on Saturday morning.

Unless someone's comment sparks major revisions the story will be 5 chapters with an epilogue, and currently sits at just over 12k words, so it's not a novel, but I enjoyed writing it, and I hope you'll enjoy reading it just as much.

Ch.2 - Treachery

“P-please.” The mayor of the small frontier village trembled. “W-we don’t want any trouble”

Luna sighed tiredly. She did that a lot these days, here was the mayor, a full-grown stallion for Faust’s sake, trembling in his horseshoes from her mere presence. “I’m not here to cause trouble. I’m here to stop the manticore attacks that have been plaguing this town.”

“We’ll do whatever you want, Nightmare, just take your monster and leave” The mayor stammered out, clearly not really listening to her.

“I don’t control the manticore.” Luna growled. “I don’t want anything. I was simply following procedure by letting the relevant authority – you – know that there would be an operation in the area.”

“O-of course. Thank you.” The mayor said, still shaking.

“You’re welcome.” Luna said brusquely, and left the small town hall.

I don’t know why I even bother anymore. She thought. It’s not like talking to them serves any purpose.

‘Well, they make some funny faces when you show up. Like that one stallion from Stalliongrad last week. He looked like he was going to wet himself when he saw you. Or those three mares in Trottingham’ Moonbeam laughed ‘that was the funniest thing I’ve ever seen.’

“Scream and run around in circles, it’s our only hope!” indeed. Luna thought back with a smile. It had been funny. It would be funnier if it didn’t happen every single time I went anywhere though. Luna contemplated as her smile fell.

‘At least they didn’t throw anything this time, or call the guards. Whenever that happens it turns into a fiasco that makes me want to beat someone over the head until their brain starts working properly’ Moonbeam grumbled.

Luna couldn’t really blame Moonbeam for her opinion. She had been tempted to crack a head or two from time to time. Even if she knew she would never do it, the attitudes of some ponies occasionally made it difficult to resist. Six months ago, she had been attacked by the local militia upon entering a village. Celestia had dishonorably discharged the officer who ordered the attack and reprimanded the militia ponies, but it didn’t help. The event was just seen as the Nightmare manipulating things behind the scenes against them. The officer had even gone on to become a minor celebrity among her more vocal opponents for ‘Holding his ground against the Darkness’.

I know the feeling. Luna thought back. But even if they deserve it, I can’t just go around bashing in the heads ponies who are mean to me.

‘Maybe not, but I can dream.’ Moonbeam thought back bitterly.

Faust, I’m tired. Thought Luna as she flew through the predawn air over Everfree City three days later. Even if monster attacks have become rarer in the last couple of years it would be nice to have some help. The Lunar Guard was stretched thin, receiving fewer and fewer recruits over the years as public opinion turned against her.

‘We’re at the castle’ Moonbeam said, breaking her out of her thoughts, making her realize that she had dozed off and had almost flown right past the castle.

Thanks. Luna replied. That could have been embarrassing.

Alighting on her balcony she was getting ready to collapse into bed when she heard a knock on her door. “Enter.” she commanded, trying not to yawn.

A guard in golden armor opened her door. “Princess Luna. Celestia has requested that you meet her in the throne room as soon as possible.” he said.

Luna groaned, walking to the door.

“Lead the way.” She said wearily.

The negotiations with the dragons must have gone poorly, Celestia wasn’t supposed to be back for another two days. Luna thought. If I came back only to have to leave again without a night in my own bed and go fight dragons I just might scream.

Luna tiredly shuffled into the throne room. “Celestia, you had better have a good reason for calling me in right now. I’ve just spent three days in a forest tracking a manticore. It’s less than an hour to sunrise and my bed is calling.”

“Hello Nightmare.” Said a voice from the direction of the twin thrones.

Luna’s head snapped up, all vestiges of exhaustion leaving her as adrenaline filled her veins. Celestia was nowhere to be seen and the Captain of the guard, Bright Sword, was sitting in front of Celestia’s throne with a grim expression on his muzzle. Bright Sword was a tall, muscular unicorn just passing his prime with a golden sword for a cutie mark. His colors were hidden by the same illusion of a blue mane and white coat that all the solar guards wore while on duty.

‘This doesn’t look good’ Moonbeam muttered as the doors slammed shut behind her.

“What is the meaning of this? Where is my sister?” Luna demanded.

“Celestia is far from your corrupting touch, Nightmare. It’s time we ended this farce.” Bright Sword stated.

“What are you talking about?” Luna asked, confused.

‘Where are the lunar guards? I haven’t seen any since we entered the castle’ Moonbeam commented apprehensively.

“For too long you have worked your dark magic from the shadows, haunting the ponies of Equestria, and invading their dreams.” Bright Sword said, anger coloring his voice. “Once we have excised the blight of your tyranny, Celestia will finally be free of your taint and take her rightful place as sole ruler of Equestria! Leading us into a golden era of prosperity!”

‘This stallion is obviously not sane.’ Moonbeam thought.

Thank you, captain obvious.

“You’re mad.” Luna said flatly. “Guards! Detain Captain Bright Sword. Celestia and I will be having words with him about this when she returns.” She commanded.

Nopony moved.

“Guards?” Luna commanded again, slightly uncertainly.

“Ha! The solar guard is free of your taint Nightmare! We are faithful to Celestia and will not be influenced by your unholy magics. With you at your weakest during this, the shortest night of the year, and with the corrupt Lunar Guard out of the picture we fill finally be able to rid Equestria of your darkness!” Bright Hoof proclaimed.

With that statement, the dozen guards who had been watching the confrontation with blank expressions until this point lowered their weapons. Not at Bright Hoof, but at Luna.

‘You’re in no shape to fight now, we should retreat, find backup return later to deal with this.’ Moonbeam said nervously.

Yes, I am far too tired to fight off a dozen combatants alone. I need to find the Lunar Guard.

Something Bright Sword said registered at that point.

“What do you mean the Lunar Guard was ‘out of the picture’?” she asked.

“The corrupted traitors of the Lunar Guard were offered the chance to surrender and renounce their evil mistress, but they would not accept the truth of our message.” Said Bright Hoof said, sadly enough that one could almost believe that he actually felt remorse.

He wouldn't. thought Luna, dread pooling in her stomach.

“The traitors refused to turn from their evil ways and were disposed of.”

Luna’s vision went red.

‘This monster is not worthy of being called a pony.’ Moonbeam growled.

“You MONSTER!” She roared, launching her magic at Bright Sword.

Bright Sword quickly brought up an azure shield to block the oncoming storm of power. Luna’s spell, which should have reduced Bright sword to ashes in the wind, was stopped cold as his shield pulsed a bloody red. What? Luna thought, taken aback by the display of power. There’s no way Bright Sword should have been able to block my spell so easily. Even the best barrier specialists in the guard would have been hard-pressed to survive that.

“The Nightmare finally shows her true colors! Guards! Rid Equestria of this menace!” Bright Hoof shouted as he raised his sword in his magic.

‘Luna look! Around his neck. It’s the Alicorn Amulet!’ Moonbeam shouted in Luna’s mind as Luna brought up a shield of her own and lept over the attacks with a flap of her wings.

What is that cursed artifact doing outside the Vaults? Luna thought as she began weaving around the attacking guards’ weapons. Even in the hands of an amateur spellcaster the Alicorn Amulet it a serious threat. The Amulet may have removed Bright Sword's sanity, but no one would call him unskilled. I’d have a hard time fighting him empowered by it even if I was well-rested and he was alone. I need to retreat and find help. Luna prepared to teleport to safety but was interrupted as pain split through her head like a bolt of lightning. The wards are active.

The throne room was equipped with powerful wards to prevent entry and exit through magical means, though they weren't supposed to be activated except in an emergency. They would take serious effort for her to bypass. Effort that she couldn't spare as she had to focus on keeping herself alive under the guards' onslaught. They prepared their trap well. There’s no choice but to try to fight my way out.

The guards' efforts continued to chip at her shields as she weaved around the room, dodging spells and weapons, throwing back magic of her own whenever she saw an opening. Bright Sword's empowered attacks were making the fight much more difficult than it should have been. His overpowered attacks were cracking her shields when they hit and scoring the heavily reinforced walls when he missed, lighting up more defensive wards. Looking around the room Luna despaired, she had only brought down four of the traitors so far and she was slowing. She had already been tired when she arrived and adrenaline could only carry her so far. She wasn’t going to make it out of this one without a miracle, and with the Alicorn Amulet in play, the odds were stacked heavily against her.

She looked toward the thrones and saw Bright Sword charging up an artillery spell, shielded by several of the unicorn guards he had brought with him. What is he thinking!? Spells like that aren't meant to be used indoors! Luna needed to stop that spell from being completed. If Bright Sword completed the spell, empowered as he was by the Amulet, he’d bring down half the castle!

‘We have to disrupt the casting! If we can get his spell to backfire, we may just make it out of this.’ Moonbeam said. Luna could tell she was only just managing to keep from panicking.

Luna immediately stopped dodging, trusting that her shields would be strong enough to protect her from the guards’ attacks for a second while she focused on her casting. With a glimmer of hope, Luna released the strongest disruption spell she knew. She only needed to unbalance the spell enough to stop it from forming. The backlash would put Bright Sword out of the fight. At the very least, without their strongest combatant, the guards would be unable to prevent her escape.

Luna’s barriers were beginning to crack as she released the disruption spell. She immediately resumed her dodging, only to be thrown across the room as an earthshattering explosion shook the castle. The explosion, caused by Bright Sword’s failing spell, smashed the treasonous guards against the pillars and walls of the throne room, killing several of them and leaving the rest moaning and bleeding on the floor. Luna herself had been protected from the worst of the blast by her shields, but she was still stunned from the impact. Bright Sword himself was floating, held in a pulsing red corona of dark magic, screaming as waves of poisonous miasma flooded from the Alicorn Amulet. Did I manage to destabilize the Amulet itself? She wondered as the Amulet released a shockwave of red-tinted magic.

The wave of dark magic passed over Luna's shields and struck the runes protecting the throne room, causing them to blaze to life and instantly sealing the doors and windows. Luna immediately began casting every protection spell she knew as the shockwave rebounded, returning to Bright Sword and the Amulet. As the wave struck the captain it released another, even more powerful pulse, which rebounded to create a third pulse, and a fourth, and so on. With every wave that struck the Amulet, it released another, more powerful burst of dark magic, the waves creating a feedback loop of dark power that grew in potency and pressure by the second.

‘This isn’t good. We’ve been trapped inside a thaumic resonance bomb with an unlimited power source.’ Moonbeam nervously remarked as Bright Sword began rapidly turning to ash under the onslaught.

Our only hope is that the wards on the throne room break before my defenses, though I hate to think what a bomb with this kind of power will do to the city. Luna thought back grimly, pushing as much magic into her shields as she could. As the pressure mounted, though, Luna’s shield began to crack, and she resigned herself to her fate. Goodbye Celestia, I’m totally going to come back and haunt you. She thought with dark humor. As her shield imploded her final thought was: Goodbye, my Little Moon, I'm so sorry.

The last thing she heard before everything went away was Moonbeam screaming. ‘MOM!’

Author's Note

Well here's chapter 2, I hope you enjoy it.

If you see any grammar or spelling mistakes please feel free to point them out in the comments. I try my best to keep them out of my writing, but I always worry there are some I've missed.

Ch.4 - Banished

Celestia cautiously opened the doors and entered the pitch-black throne room. As she lit her horn to cast a light spell she was startled to hear Luna's voice coming from the darkness.

“Why weren’t you there for her?” Luna growled, her form barely visible in the dim light from Celestia's magic.

"Luna? Thank Faust you're okay." Celestia said, relieved to have found Luna, seemingly unharmed. "Something is blocking my control of the sun, probably the same thing that attacked the castle. We need to find whoever is doing this and stop them.”

Luna chuckled bitterly as she rose to her hooves. “Always so concerned about you little ponies” she spat. “Never thinking to look beyond their smiling faces, their worship of you. Totally failing to see what was happening right under your nose. Do you want to know who chained your precious sun? Look no further, you’ve already found her.” She responded venomously, igniting the throne room’s torches with black and red flames that seemed to paradoxically make the room darker while still revealing its contents.

Celestia’s jaw dropped and she took a step back in shock. The creature that stood before only shared a passing resemblance with her Luna, but she could feel from her magic and her voice that this was undoubtedly her sister. “What has happened to you Luna?” she whispered meekly, unable to form a more coherent thought at the sight that met her.

“I’ll tell you what happened. Your ponies tormented Luna relentlessly, unceasingly until she could bear it no more. She was breaking, and when they ambushed her with this-” Luna said, grabbing the drained Alicorn Amulet from its resting place near the thrones. “-they shattered her into a million pieces. They created the Nightmare they always feared. Luna is dead. Nightmare Moon has risen in her place, and I will not rest until they have paid for what they put her through.

“Luna, please –” Celestia began.

And you.” Nightmare Moon spat, interrupting her, the torches flaring in their sockets as Luna loomed over Celestia. “You are the worst of them all!” she shouted. “You, who Luna would have followed to the ends of the earth, left her alone!” She fired a bolt of magic that crashed into Celestia’s shields. “You abandoned her!” She stepped forward, launching a wave of black fire, which was once again weathered by Celestia’s protective magics as it blackened the stones. “You left her to die!” Luna -no not Luna, this isn’t her- Nightmare Moon roared, unleashing a titanic wave of raw dark magic that finally broke Celestia’s shields and tore the roof off, tile and stones raining down into the courtyard. This display finally broke Celestia out of her stunned stupor. She sprung up with a flap of her wings as Nightmare Moon’s next spell blasted the tiles where she had been standing to dust.

Celestia knew of the power of the Alicorn Amulet. Many had been tempted by its power over the millennia and its return had always brought misery. That it had corrupted her sister in its most recent reappearance nearly broke her heart. The only bright spot in the situation was that its victims weren't unrecoverable.

“Luna!” Celestia pleaded “We both know you’re better than this. You need to snap out of it. You’ve spent years defending our ponies. I know this isn’t something you want.” She said as she took flight, doing her best to weave around the Nightmare’s spells.

“Luna is dead!” Nightmare Moon retorted harshly. “Your ponies brought doom upon themselves, and it’s nothing less than they deserve!” She shouted, taking to the air and following Celestia into the sky.

“No!” Celestia responded. “Luna would never let you do this to our ponies, and neither will I!”

Nightmare Moon scoffed. “And how are you going to stop me? Luna was always a better warrior than you, and I have all her experience and power and more.” Nightmare Moon laughed confidently, summoning a dozen spheres of dark fire and launching them at Celestia.

Celestia folded her wings and dove under the attack as she lit her horn and prepared to return fire. At this point, there was no choice; she was going to have to fight her sister. She unleashed a searing column of solar fire at Nightmare Moon, lighting up the sky as if the sun had risen after all. Nightmare Moon gave a powerful beat of her wings to avoid the beam. It was true that her sister was far more skilled in combat than her, but Celestia bore the Element of Magic. She would make up the difference with sheer power.

She was preparing to fire again when she was struck from behind by the Nightmare's opening attack. Celestia hadn't noticed the attack changing direction and homing in on her after she had dodged it initially. The dark fire splattered against her defensive spells and began eating away at them rapidly. The spell also had the effect of weighing her down and slowing her movements.

Celestia blazed with light and magic as she burned away the spells that had been clinging to her, but the distraction had given Nightmare Moon enough time to prepare her own assault. Celestia immediately had to bring up further defenses as dozens of spells rained down on her. Spells ranging from ice to poison to lightning rained down on her protections. She was forced to counter each of the effects individually, each being too different for a single shield to stop completely, preventing her from regaining the initiative. It was only a matter of time before Nightmare Moon cast a spell that she couldn't counter in time. This occurred when an arrow of pure shadow, nearly invisible against the dark sky, pierced her wing and knocked her from the sky. With a cry of pain, Celestia fell into the ruins that remained of the throne room, cratering the floor and kicking up a cloud of dust.

Nightmare Moon laughed maniacally as Celestia fell from the sky. Nightmare Moon wasn't going to kill her, that would be far too kind a fate. She soared above Everfree city, its citizens trapped in an unnatural sleep by her magic, locked into stasis until she decided that she was ready to wake them.

What would be a fitting retribution these ponies’ crimes? She wondered to herself.

She smirked as she thought of the perfect punishment. She would wake them one by one, alone in a silent city, wandering, watching their fellow ponies sleep. Unable to wake them as they realize that this isn’t just a nightmare, despairing. Until their bodies give up. Yes, that sounded suitably ironic, dooming them to feel the same loneliness they had inflicted on Luna. Maybe Celestia would even find some of these tortured souls and stay with them until they invariably died, leaving her once again isolated until she found the next one and the cycle repeated.

She smiled a wicked smile and began weaving her spells. She'd have plenty of time to play with these wretched souls. After all, this night was going to last forever.

Celestia reached the Royal Vault. She was out of breath and her wing was aching and bleeding where Nightmare Moon's arrow had struck it. Dust and ash covered her white fur, staining it black and her mane had lost its ethereal quality, hanging limply. Her subjects would have been horrified to find her in such a state, but, of course, there were none around to see it.

She hurriedly worked her way through the spells and locks guarding the vault, nearly ripping the huge door off its hinges when she was done. She tore through the vault, searching for the Elements of Harmony. There!

She grabbed the Elements with her magic. They were her only hope of saving Luna and her ponies. Celestia ran out of the Vault, throwing herself out of the first window she could find, shattering it and taking flight despite the pain it caused her damaged wing.

As she flew, she saw Nightmare Moon, in the center of a sprawling mass of shadows and of dark magic, huge tendrils of darkness reaching down into the city, but they faded away as spied Celestia's approach. Nightmare Moon’s confident smirk morphing to surprise when she saw the Elements in Celestia’s magical grip.

Luna smirked and pulled back her magic when she saw Celestia jump out of a window. Back for round two, I suppose? But her smug look vanished when she saw what Celestia had with her, changing to pleasant surprise. The Elements! Why hadn't she thought of the Elements? If anything could heal Luna it would be the Elements of Harmony!

As the Elements began to glow and Celestia floated in their magic hope she had thought dead rekindled itself within her.
Moonbeam's face split in a joyous smile as the light of the Elements struck her, giggling joyfully. The Elements would fix Luna! She cheered within herself, ignoring the pain of the Elements burning the Amulet’s dark magic from her.

No, she mentally chided the elements, pushing their magic towards the fragments of her broken mother, focus on Luna first, I can wait. The Elements had other ideas though. They refused to be directed by someone they had not chosen as a bearer, violently tearing the dark magic from her. Burning away the magic she was using to try to hold Luna’s fragmented soul together and scattering her fragments far and wide.

NO! Nightmare Moon shrieked at the Elements within her mind.

This isn’t what was supposed to happen! The Elements were supposed to fix Luna not break her further!

Screaming, Nightmare Moon pulled back on the dark power that the Elements had torn from her. Throwing the full force of her magic against the Elements, she forcefully ejected their power from her mindscape. Dark magic wrapping around her body in an inky black aura of power as she tried to resist their power. She cried as the Elements, now barred from her mind, began attacking her body.

I’m sorry mom. She thought as her body dissolved, and her spirit was ejected from Equestria, locked in the moon. I guess it’s just me now.

Looking down on the green and blue orb of her home, her sorrow and pain threatened to crush her, fraying away at her sanity. Her hope had been taken from her, leaving her feeling even more empty than when Luna had first been destroyed. Even the Elements had failed to save her.

304 ANM (After Nightmare Moon)

–in the end the princess’s body was destroyed, her soul doomed to watch from the moon for eternity.

Celestia penned the last words of the final chapter as she sat at the desk in her study. She put down her quill, pushing aside the manuscript to keep her tears from staining the page. She dried the parchment with a quick spell and closed her book. The cover, in silver letters, proudly stated ‘The tragedy of the lonely princess’ by Sunny Skies.

When the Elements had struck, the dark magic that had been under Nightmare Moon’s control was torn from her. It had been absorbed by the land surrounding Everfree Castle and had infected it, warping the surrounding forests into a twisted nightmare populated by horrors. Wolves made of nothing but sticks and loam attacked the city in droves. Titanic creatures, appearing as if the night sky had come to life smashed down the walls and tore apart buildings. The dead rose and even the shadows themselves ambushed ponies. Under this assault, the ponies of Everfree were forced to evacuate, harried all the way by monsters and undead, migrating northward to the plains once occupied by the absent Crystal Empire.

After Luna had been banished and Everfree City abandoned, Celestia had withdrawn into herself, living in a haze. After what had happened, nothing seemed to matter anymore. She had drifted, wandering the wilds and rarely interacting with ponies, fading nearly into myth. During her absence division had arisen among the ponies she and her sister had ruled. The tribes had separated, only interacting out of necessity, and had eventually erupted into a war that had nearly destroyed them completely, and had buried the northern plains in ice. Only an unlikely friendship tapping into the latent magic of the Crystal Heart that had lingered behind had saved them from extinction.

Celestia had visited the resettled Equestria, and she had found new purpose in teaching and spreading knowledge among the ponies there. She had taken a position at a local school of magic and 'Sunny Skies' had quickly distinguished herself as one of the leading experts of Ancient History and Magic.

A knock at the door of her office broke her out of her memories. "Enter!" She called.

A purple, white-maned stallion entered the room. “Thank you Sunny, I could use your expertise on something I've been working on recently.” Starswirl said. “In my studying, I've come across stories of a creature referred to as 'Nightmare Moon'. When I first saw the name I assumed it was a simple myth, but there are far too many stories that are too consistent to be a simple fairy tale. I began researching their origins and discovered an immensely powerful spell anchored in the moon. After study I found it to be a binding spell trapping something in the moon. Of course, I was interested in the mechanics of such a spell and began analyzing it as much as I could. I've learned so much about sealing spells and binding! You wouldn't believe how complex and intricate those enchantments were, this research could push magical theory forward centuries."

Celestia smiled sadly, she knew far more about those particular seals than she could ever want. "Yes, thank you for the information, but what did you need help with? As much I'd like to hear about what you've learned I do have work to do."

"Oh sorry, I guess I was rambling." Starswirl apologized. "The problem is that the spells are failing."

Celestia’s eyes widened. The seal isn’t permanent! She thought, a faint glimmer of hope igniting in her chest. “Well, this is grave news” She stated solemnly. "Give me a few minutes to finish up some paperwork and we can reconvene in the library to see if we can find a solution."

Starswirl thanked her and left, closing the door behind him.

Celestia smiled, chuckling and reopening ‘The Tragedy of the Lonely Princess’ to add a single line. ‘But the Seal upon the princess wasn't as perfect as her sister suspected. One day the Lonely princess will return.’ She wrote with a flourish, closing the book and adding it to her bookshelf. Celestia's heart may have begun to heal, but she would never feel truly whole without Luna by her side, and now she had hope. It would likely take preparation and careful maneuvering, but when Luna returned she would be ready. It was time for Princess Celestia to take charge once again.

This time, Luna, I’ll free you from the one that has taken you from me, no matter what it takes. She vowed, diamond-hard determination solidifying in her mind. I won’t let anything stand between us ever again.

Author's Note

As I was looking over what I had written for this there were a few parts I didn't really like. I ended up totally rewriting Celestia's fight with Nightmare Moon. I also ended up changing a lot of the final scene with Starswirl, which I'm still not totally happy with.

Ch.5 - The Return

The night of the 1000th summer sun celebration.

Nightmare Moon walked through the ruins of her ancient home, lost in thoughts of the past. When she had been banished, she had thought her hatred to be undying, inextinguishable as she waited for an opportunity to exact her revenge. But as the years turned to decades, and the decades to centuries, the fires of her anger had dimmed to smoldering coals of bitterness and defeat. After over nine hundred years on the moon, Nightmare Moon had had a hard time feeling anything but apathy for her situation.

It was then that the bars to her prison had finally fallen, and she had been thrown back to Equestria. Seeing Celestia standing over her in her new throne room had briefly reignited her anger. She had enjoyed irony as she banished her with a spell modeled after the very chains she had been held by for so long

As Nightmare Moon spoke to the terrified citizens of Ponyville though, her apathy began to once again drown out her anger. Why should she care about these ponies? None of them hated her like those in her own time, none of them had hurt her mother. Only a single purple unicorn, clearly an academic, had even heard anything but foal’s tales of her. Feeling empty she had retreated to her one-time home, the castle Everfree, unintentionally waking the echoes of magic and nightmares that had had been unleashed when she had been defeated so long ago.

Entering the remains of what had once been the largest city in Equestria she looked upon the abandoned ruins. Old memories, ghosts of ponies and other creatures long dead played through her mind as she trotted along the narrow forest paths that were once bustling streets. As she entered the castle she passed through the gates her nightmares had torn off their hinges as they exited the castle. Wandering through the decaying halls of the old castle, she tried to rekindle the rage she had felt when her mother had been killed, but all she could feel was sorrow.

If she took her revenge on ponies who were so far removed from the ones who had wronged her that they didn’t even recall Luna’s name, would she be any better than those ponies of old? Hurting those who had done no wrong and tearing down the innocent? Returning to where it all went wrong she looked around the throne room, she gazed upon its cracked walls, shattered windows, and missing roof. She sighed tiredly.

Nightmare Moon wandered the halls aimlessly, finding herself in what used to be Luna’s personal chambers. She found that, other than the effects of time, it was exactly as it had been the day she had been banished. As sorrow overwhelmed her Nightmare Moon broke down and wept.

After she had cried herself out she simply lay there, unable to muster the will to move. It wasn’t until she heard voices and the clatter of hooves echoing down the corridors that she finally stirred from her place on Luna's ancient, dusty bed.

Who could that be? Nopony lives within a dozen miles of this place. She thought, heading toward the source of the noise. She followed the noises, eventually finding six mares wandering around in the throne room. The group consisted of two ponies of each race.

The pegasi were a study in opposites, the rainbow-maned blue pegasus, with her prismatic lightning-bolt for a cutie mark, she looked confident, strong, and brash. The yellow pegasus with three pink butterflies for a cutie mark, on the other hoof, looked about ready to faint. She trembling as she hid behind her pink mane, seemingly trying to will herself into invisibility.

The unicorns both seemed far out of their element. The first looked like one of the stuck-up nobles that always plagued any feudalistic society. With her perfectly groomed purple mane and white coat, triple-diamond cutie mark, and upturned nose, Nightmare Moon disliked her instantly. Nightmare Moon blinked, surprised to see she was also missing most of her tail. The lavender unicorn was the one who had identified her at the festival and was clearly a bookworm. She bore a six-pointed star cutie mark. Neither seemed particularly physically fit, and were clearly suffering from their long hike in the woods.

The earth ponies also seemed to be very different from one another. The orange one was, in a word, solid. Her three-apple cutie mark identified her as a farmer, and she seemed the dependable type. She had a powerful physique that spoke of long days on the farm, and a Stetson sat on top of her straw-blond mane. The other was simply pink. She seemed unable to stay still as she looked around curiously, literally bouncing, making boinging noises as she pronked along. She froze mid-bounce when Nightmare Moon had entered the room.

The ponies peered around the room spun to face Nightmare Moon and gasped as they saw her, the pink one actually saying the word ‘gasp’. Nightmare Moon stood up. “What are you doing here?” She demanded, amplifying her voice with her magic.

Each of the mares, with the exception of the purple unicorn -Twilight, I think that’s what the others called her- took a step back. “Were here to stop you Nightmare Moon!” she proclaimed.

Nightmare Moon laughed. These mares were either stupid or suicidal to think they can do anything more than anger her."Really?” she asked, grinning menacingly, displaying her sharp fangs. “And how do you plan on doing that?”

“We will stop you with the power of the Elements of Harmony! All we need a spark of magic.” Twilight declared, lifting the stone orbs lying at her feet and pouring her magical energy into the orbs.

“Too late.” Nightmare moon mocked, overpowering the unicorn’s magic easily and crushing the orbs to dust. Cheap replicas, ha! I can’t believe she thought they were the actual elements. “Now what is your plan?” she said, looming over the mares.

“You think you can destroy The Elements of Harmony just like that?” Twilight announced confidently. “Well, you're wrong, because the spirits of The Elements of Harmony are right here.”

“Actually, I’m pretty sure they’re scattered all over the room.” She snarked as Twilight launched into a speech about how each of the other ponies embodied one of the elements. Nightmare Moon simply waited with a patronizing frown on her face as she waited for her to finish, amused by this unicorn's seeming inability to realize she was outmatched. But then the Elements began appearing on the mares' necks.

What the hay is happening here!? She thought, unable to bring up a more coherent thought due to the sheer unexpectedness of the events that were occurring. That's not how the Elements work!

When Twilight finished her speech each of the other mares sported an element, in the form of a necklace that matched their cutie marks. One was missing though, only five of the elements were present, Magic was still absent. “You still don't have the last Element! The spark didn't work!” Nightmare said.

“But it did! A different kind of spark.” Twilight said, turning to her companions. “I felt it the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you, to see you, how much I cared about you. The spark ignited inside me when I realized that you all... are my friends! You see, Nightmare Moon, when those Elements are ignited by the... the spark, that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the sixth element: the element of... magic!” Twilight smiled as the Element of magic, a crown with her starburst cutie mark on it, came into existence resting on her head, and the power of the Elements of Harmony was unleashed.

The rainbow light washed over Nightmare Moon, but, unlike last time, they didn’t burn. This time the bearers had focused the elements in a totally different way, each unique to them.

Twilight wanted Celestia back, defeating Nightmare Moon was secondary to the return of her mentor and second mother.

Applejack only wanted for her family to be okay, to return to find them safe and sound.

Rarity wanted to be able to return to her shop and hug her little sister.

Rainbow Dash wanted to protect her friends, and maybe rough up Nightmare Moon a bit.

It was Pinkie and Fluttershy that made the real difference though.

Even though Nightmare Moon’s black fur had hidden them well, Pinkie had noticed the tear stains on her cheeks, and a weight she knew far too well from her younger years on the rock farm. Pinkie just wanted to lift that weight, to show Nightmare Moon that the world wasn’t as bad as she thought it was, to give her a reason to smile again.

Fluttershy also saw Nightmare’s sadness, how she was like a wounded animal, lashing out at the world around her. As the Element’s power enveloped Nightmare Moon, Fluttershy wished to comfort her, to help the damaged alicorn like she helped her animal friends, to heal her of whatever it was that had hurt her so badly.

And the Elements, now wielded by a full six bearers, each exponentially increasing their power, complied.

As the Elements finished their work the sun rose through the broken windows of the castle.

“Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student. I knew you could do it.” Celestia said, walking gracefully out from within the shining light of the sun, beaming at the six mares.

“I’d like to apologize for manipulating you into this situation, even if it turned out well.” Celestia said “I needed you to find the Elements. The ponies, not the artifacts as you suspected, but if I had told you to do it, you would have seen it as a test. You would have been so focused on the goal that you never would have formed the bonds of friendship necessary to use their power to power the Elements help Luna, my sister.”

The Elements reeled back as they saw a blue alicorn with a bright starry mane laying where Nightmare Moon had once stood, slowly rising to her hooves. They were further confused as she tried to rise, only to fall again as a small black blur impacted her side. “MOM! I’m so glad you’re okay, I thought you had died! I thought I’d never see you again!” The blur, now identifiable as a small pitch-black alicorn filly bawled into Luna’s chest.

“Tis alright Little Moon I have returned and I will never be leaving you again.” Luna said, tears streaming down her face.

As they held each other and cried Celestia finally recovered from her shock enough to speak. “Mother? Luna? When? How!?” She sputtered. The eyes of the other six mares were bouncing back and forth between Celestia and the other two alicorns, watching with curiosity and bewilderment. Twilight, in particular, seemed caught between laughing at Celestia's reaction and mortification at her teacher’s loss of composure.

“Oh!” Pinkie exclaimed “Was she a puppet you made to have someone to talk to but you weren’t satisfied with the puppet just being a puppet so you wished on a star for and the puppet came to life and called you she called you mom and you took care of her and the puppet wanted to be a real filly and went on an adventure and learned to true meaning of happiness and magically became real and you became a family but were tragically separated and just now found each other again?” Pinkie asked.

Luna and Moonbeam giggled at Pinkie’s rapid-fire speculations. “No that is not what happened.” She replied, smiling. “A few years before my banishment a spirit taking the form of a young alicorn filly named Moonbeam appeared in my bedroom mirror. The filly did not know from whence she had come, and lacked anyone to care for her. She asked to stay with me, and I agreed.” Luna explained. “The elements seem to have had the unforeseen effect of giving her a body, for she had solely been visible to me before today.”

“And now we’re a real family!” Moonbeam exclaimed, still clinging to Luna. “Ooh, can I call Celestia ‘auntie Tia’?”

“Of course you can, my Little Moon” Luna replied. “I think ‘auntie Tia’ may have a few questions for us first though.”

Celestia visibly pushed aside her confusion, sending Luna a look that said she would indeed have more questions for her as soon as they were alone, and she moved to stand by her sister’s side.

“Ooh! This calls for a PARTY!” Pinkie shouted gleefully. “We’re going to need a welcome back party for Luna, a birthday party for Moonbeam, a ‘new princess’ party, it’ll be the hugest party ever! We’ll have moon cakes, and moon pies, and little cupcakes shaped like crowns –” Pinkie was cut off by Celestia.

“No.” She said simply. “That won’t be necessary.”

“What dost thou mean by that sister? Will I not be returning with you?” She asked, afraid that her sister was rejecting her.

Celestia’s gaze softened. “No, I meant we won’t be returning to Canterlot. I’m retiring.” She replied.

“WHAT?!” The Elements shouted, shocked by the revelation.

"I refuse to put Luna back into the same situation that caused this mess in the first place. I've been princess for almost seven hundred years, I think it's about time for me to retire."

The room was silent. “Does this mean I won’t be your student anymore?” Twilight asked, sniffing.

“Of course not.” Celestia replied, moving to Twilight’s side to comfort the lavender unicorn. “You will always be my most faithful student, I just won’t be your princess anymore. If you ever need me, spike can send a letter.”

“But who will be the Princess?” Rarity asked, “We can’t just leave the throne empty, someone is going to have to take your place.”

“I’m glad you asked” Celestia smiled, “I knew this day would come so I have prepared a successor. Princess Mi Amore Cadenza will be taking the throne once I officially abdicate.”

“Princess Mi Amore Cadenza? Who the hay is that?” Rainbow dash asked.

“Twilight here knows her better by Cadence. If I remember correctly she was Twilight’s foalsitter when she was little.”

“Cadence is going to be in charge?! That’s amazing! Don't worry guys, Cadence is going to be the best princess ever!” Twilight exclaimed, then turned sheepish. "Present company excluded of course."

“Yes, Twilight," Celestia said, chuckling at the display "Cadence is going to be in charge, and I'm sure she’ll be great. She has your brother for a captain of the guard after all.” She said, smiling. And we’ll have a prince too soon enough. If Shining hasn’t proposed to Cadence by the end of the year, I’ll eat my crown. Celestia thought privately.

Epilogue

When Celestia had announced she was abdicating the throne, there had nearly been panic in the streets. Careful planning and preparation on the parts of the princess and Royal guard were the only things that prevented a total catastrophe. The newspapers were flying off the shelves with the Princesses, Celestia and Cadenza, on all of the front pages. Rumors flew thick and fast about what had happened on what was now being called ‘The Longest Night’, but no one could find any reliable information about what had actually occurred. As it became clear that Celestia’s absence would not change the day-to-day operations of the equestrian government though, the air of nervousness began to die down and life returned to normal.

The Elements went back to their homes, families, and businesses. Twilight moved into the Ponyville library to be closer to her new friends, and the events of the Longest Night became a topic only actively discussed by conspiracy theorists.

Two days after Celestia had officially retired she had announced that she was going to settle down somewhere unspecified for a quiet retirement. She promised that trusted individuals would know how to contact her in the case of an emergency and that she would continue to manage the solar cycle, but would not be making any public appearances. When she had finished speaking, she charged up a teleport spell and vanished.

No one had seen her since.

Cheerilee looked out the window at the construction that was going on at the Ponyville Schoolhouse and smiled happily. The town had finally grown enough that the Crown had decided it needed more than a single-room schoolhouse to teach in. Plans had been drawn up for a school that could adequately teach the fillies and colts of Ponyville, and the work was well underway. Cheerilee had been put in charge of hiring more staff, and she was currently interviewing applicants for teaching positions that would be required for the expanded school.

She looked up as a white unicorn with a bright pink mane and a smiling sun cutie mark entered her office. “Hello, my name is Sunny Skies.” The unicorn said.

“Hello, Ms. Skies,” Cheerilee said brightly. “Please sit down and tell me about yourself.”

Sunny Skies sat down and began talking. “I’ve been a professor at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns for several years, but my true passion has always been teaching children. My sister wanted to move out of the city and we decided that Ponyville was a good place to live. She heard you were looking for new teachers when she came in to register her daughter for classes and told me, so I decided to apply. –”

When the interview had concluded Cheerilee smiled. “You certainly seem very qualified. I’d be very surprised if you didn’t get the job.” she said as Sunny stood up.

Sunny Skies thanked her and walked out of her office with a spring in her step.

It’s nice to see a pony with a real passion for teaching, working with her will be a pleasure. Cheerilee thought as she began working on her lesson plans for the next semester.

In the Ponyville Library, Twilight Sparkle was dictating a letter.

“– hoping to hear from you soon, Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle” She finished. The princess had been gone for over a month now and Twilight missed her terribly. Worse, she hadn’t gotten any replies to her letters, and she was getting worried.

“Alright Spike, send it off. Pinkie is throwing a party for some new ponies moving into Ponyville, and she wants us to be there to welcome them.” She said.

Spike blew out a puff of green fire and they watched as it burned the letter and flew out the window. “I certainly wouldn’t want to be late to one of Pinkie’s parties!” he replied, heading toward the library's entrance.

Twilight laughed, putting the issue of the letters out of her mind as they opened the door and trotted out into the streets of Ponyville. “So, who are these new Ponies anyway?” Spike asked.

“Pinkie said that they were two unicorns and a pegasus, but she didn't mention their names.”

As Twilight and Spike turned the corner and the party came into sight, they saw the guests of honor were being introduced enthusiastically by Pinkie. “This is Sunny Skies and Luna! They just moved here from Canterlot.” Pinkie announced. The pure white unicorn was tall, with a bright pink mane and tail, and smiling sun cutie mark. She looked happy and relaxed, smiling at the ponies that were looking toward her and her family. Luna was shorter than her sister. The azure pegasus looked somewhat nervous and had a darker blue mane and tail and a crescent moon cutie mark.

Twilight stopped walking as Pinkie said. “And this is Moonbeam!” pointing to the little black filly that sat between them, looking excited about the party. The filly’s coat was pitch black, with a midnight blue mane and tail, and lacked a cutie mark.

“What’s wrong? Why did you stop?” Spike asked, breaking Twilight out of her surprised stillness.

“Nothing’s wrong Spike.” She said, beaming as her worries melted away. “I just got distracted by a thought I had.”

“Let’s get going then!” Spike said. “We don’t want to be late to the party after all.”

The smile didn't leave Twilight's face as she resumed walking. As she entered the field the party was being held in, she looked towards where Sunny Skies sat, and Twilight saw her teacher wink cheekily at her.

Now I know why Celestia didn’t reply to my letters. She wanted to surprise me! Twilight laughed to herself, joining in the fun.

Twilight was as happy as she could be. Everything was going to be just perfect.

Author's Note

So, everyone has a happy ending. Celestia has her sister back, Luna is surrounded by ponies who love her, Moonbeam has her mother, and Pinkie gets to throw a party, which makes everypony happy.

We also now know why, after 1000 years of peace, monsters, demons, and ancient evils all decide that now is a good time to wake up. Twilight should have known better than to taunt Murphy like that.

Ch.3 - Birth of a Nightmare

Celestia awoke in her opulent chambers in the Dragon Lord’s palace. The dragons were well known for their greed and took every opportunity to flaunt their wealth, often to excess. Her chambers consisted of a large room, extravagantly decorated and lavishly furnished with (in her opinion) far too many gems to be tasteful. A balcony on one side of the room, its railing covered in emeralds and revealed a stunning view of the mountain range the palace was built on. The bathroom connected to her chambers had a bathtub that glittered with thousands of sapphires, and that wasn’t even the half of it.

Seriously, who has a diamond-encrusted toilet?’ Celestia thought wryly.

She yawned as she lit her horn in her to raise the sun and was annoyed when it resisted her call to rise. She frowned, it never failed to ruin her morning when the sun had to be forced up like a petulant child. It was a reminder of the damage Discord had done to this world during his reign, before she and Luna had used the elements to turn him to stone. Irritated, she put more force behind her magic, but the sun continued to ignore her efforts. Now she was worried, the sun had never resisted her this strongly before.

Has Discord broken free? She thought as she pushed more and more magic into her spell. As she poured more and more effort into bringing the dawn she could feel something resisting her efforts. Something or someone was fighting her magic. Now she was scared, this magic didn't feel like Discord's, it was too ordered, too structured to be anything created by the lord of chaos, but she couldn’t think of anything else that could do this.

She threw the full might of her magic, honed over thousands of years and hundreds of battles at the chains holding down the sun, and fell to the floor as the bindings sealing the sun casually ignored her power. The negotiations with the dragons could wait. She needed to find Luna. Together they would find whoever is doing this and put a stop to it.

Leaping off her balcony she flew as fast as she could in the direction of the Everfree Castle.

Celestia’s wings ached from her barely subsonic flight as she approached Everfree Gliding over the city she immediately noticed something wasn’t right, the city was quiet and still. Shadows occasionally moved in the corners of her eyes, but when she looked nopony was there. The sun’s absence should have had ponies panicking in the streets, but everywhere she looked there was nothing but shadows and deathly silence.

At least Celestia knew Discord wasn't behind the unnatural night. He would have been positively offended by the lack of panic at his return and done something about it by now. But that only raised more questions. Who else had the power to do stop her from raising the sun, and why would they?

When she reached the castle, she saw the main gates empty, the mangled doors laying on the ground before them. The gatehouse had been shredded. Torn apart as if it had been caught in a whirlwind made of razor blades and broken glass. Bloodstains covered splintered wood and stone, and several golden slivers of armor, now stained red, were all that remained of the guards that had been at the gate.

The gates themselves had been torn off their hinges, the heavy oaken doors laying in pieces, the solid iron hinges bent and twisted from the forces that had been applied to them. Compounding the mystery of what had done this was that the gates had clearly been assaulted from inside. Scratches and dents littered the inward-facing portions of the door, but the outside was almost untouched. Whatever had done this had already been within the castle when they had torn down the gates, which confused Celestia. If somepony had already gotten in why would they bother taking the time to tear the gate apart? It would be faster and easier to simply push it open.

Entering the castle, she nearly missed a step as she felt the overwhelming distinct miasma of dark magic pulsing from within. This dark magic radiated of hate in a way that was sharp. It was a feeling that would remain fresh in her memory for centuries to come. The taint emanated from the castle with a power she had never felt before. Even Sombra in his prime never had power like this.

She lit her horn, shadows retreating from the golden light. Continuing through the castle, Celestia had the distinct feeling of being watched, but, despite her scanning spells, she could detect nothing living. She readied shields, wishing she had her armor with her, but it was currently locked away in the castle vaults. She hadn’t worn it in decades, and it likely wouldn't fit her, even if it weren't buried deep within the vaults. She didn't have the time to search through piles of treasure and refit the armor, her ponies needed her now.

Celestia desperately hoped that Luna hadn’t been at the castle when it was attacked. Luna had been spending a lot of time on hunts recently. After this is over, she really needed to convince Luna to take a vacation, she had been working far too hard.

Reasoning that any survivors would have barricaded themselves in the throne room, she cautiously began head in that direction. When she came to the first checkpoint between the gates and the throne room, she was relieved to note the absence of guards and the lack of signs of combat. At least some of the guards seemed to have escaped. Celestia checked each room she passed for survivors or enemies. Whatever attacked may seem to be gone, but that is no reason to abandon caution.

Coming into view of the throne room doors Celestia gasped. Dozens of guards, or what was left of them at least, were spread around the corridor. Celestia had seen many battlefields in her time, but the sight before her still made her sick to her stomach. Some of the guards looked like they had been attacked by whatever had destroyed the gatehouse, their armor had been rent and scratched, and any exposed flesh had flayed into bloody chunks. Others had nothing but scraps of skin hanging from their charred frames, just enough flesh clinging to their skulls to make it clear that they had died screaming in agony, burning from within. Their armor had melted, mixing with the blood on the floor in red and gold swirls.

The huge throne room doors were warped and seemed to have melted slightly. Luna's silver moons that were intermixed with Celestia's golden suns had been tarnished to black by the corrosive magic in the air. The defensive enchantments, meant to withstand the might of an invading army, had been shattered completely by the titanic forces that had been applied to them. It seemed that the attackers managed to make it into the throne room after all. Celesta was afraid to find out what is in that room. But she needed to know what happened here.

Moonbeam wept among the burnt-out remains of the throne room.

When Luna’s shield had shattered she had been able to feel Luna’s pain. Her agony as the dark magic of the Amulet, no longer bound to its physical anchor, tore through her. As a spiritual being bound to Luna’s mind, she had been able to see Luna’s soul crumbling in a way no other pony could. She had tried to shield Luna, intercepting as much of the deadly magic as she could, but it hadn’t helped. The maelstrom devastated Luna’s mind and tore apart her soul, scattering the broken shards around Luna's dreamscape, but the dark magic filling the room wasn’t finished.

With Luna no longer resisting it, the magic eagerly took the outlet the alicorn’s body provided, funneling into her corpse, twisting Luna’s body into a parody of its former appearance. Luna’s form grew taller, larger even than Celestia’s massive frame. Her teeth sharpened into terrifying fangs, built for tearing flesh. Her eyes became slitted and reptilian, changing from emerald green to something more toxic. Finally, her fur darkened from a sky blue to a light-eating black and her star-filled mane turned darkened and became indefinably deeper, a hole to the cold void of space than the tapestry of the night sky it had been.

An eternity later, when Luna’s pain had stopped, Moonbeam looked to find that Luna was gone, leaving nothing but the torn fragments of her soul, scattered across the dream realm. She was without the one she had been with for all her life, her friend, her mother.

She was utterly, crushingly alone.

Within the dreamscape, Moonbeam gathered the tiny fragments of Luna’s broken soul, trying to patch them together. Luna wasn’t gone entirely, maybe Moonbeam could put her back together. The thought wormed into her mind. It wasn’t rational, she knew that, but even the slightest glimmer of hope was like water in a desert to her. She just needed the power to do it, the power that was all around her.

Without a body, she had no magic of her own, but she could manipulate the unbound magic that was already present. She grabbed ahold of the dark magic of the amulet like a lifeline, taking ahold of it and guiding it as best she could. She ignored its taint seeping into her, ignored the sharp fragments of Luna’s soul tearing into her own, desperate to fit them back together. As she failed to make any real progress, her thoughts turned darker, her grief morphing into rage. Looking at what her efforts had wrought, she was disappointed to find that they had been useless. Trying to repair Luna’s soul was like trying to reassemble a broken vase with half the pieces missing.

As she screamed and cried out her frustration she was startled to feel her hoof move, her physical hoof. Gingerly, she pushed at the connection she had found, slowly working on raising herself. When she had finally made it to her hooves, she looked into the cracked tiles of the floor to see a parody of Luna's face looking back at her, a nightmare's face. Moonbeam bore her fangs savagely as she flexed Luna's magic. Now her magic. She had been unable to restore Luna, but between Luna's magic and the power of the amulet that she had absorbed she could make the ones that had done this pay.

She was distracted from her new body and magic as felt the sun rising. “Oh no Celestia, this isn’t a Nightmare that will be chased away by the sun.” she growled to herself, forcing the sun back down and surprising herself with how easy it was. The magic of the amulet had made her far stronger than Luna had been.

She pushed more magic into her horn, forming chains of magic on the sun and binding it under the horizon. Equestria had treated Luna like a bad dream, a monster that would haunt their dreams, a Nightmare, and it was time they got one. This Little Moon would become a Nightmare they would never forget.

Nightmare Moon. It has a nice ring to it. she thought.

Over the centuries Luna had been the guardian of dreams she had encountered and imprisoned countless terrors of the Dream Realm. These monsters were those that preyed on ponies’ fears, that hunted them in the darkness of their minds, and consumed their hope. They had been bound in a prison of Luna’s own making, the Vault of Dreams, a Tartarus for those who could not be bound by physical chains.

Nightmare Moon released them all. These shadows of ponies’ minds normally couldn’t touch them while they were awake and separate and unconnected to the Plane of Dreams. However, Nightmare Moon’s connection to the plane and raw magical might was enough that she could bridge the walls between the planes and allow the shadows into the physical world.

“I want them to suffer.” She commanded harshly as a tide of darkness poured from the black rifts in the air that formed around her. "Hurt them like they hurt Luna, let them know that their guardian is dead by their hooves and that the Queen of Nightmares Has been born in her place!” She roared.

Stalwart Shield, an earth pony of the solar guard for thirteen years, looked at the throne room doors, startled out of his thoughts by a muted thump coming from within, which was odd as the doors were spelled against sound.

“Looks like the wards need some maintenance.” He said to his watch partner, a pegasus named Swift Wings “Remind me to let the captain know when he gets out of his meeting that–” His speech was cut off as the wards on the throne room door blazed to life.

The wards were fighting against whatever was within, shining like the sun. He turned and lowered his spear as Swift Wings, readied his blades.

“Swift Wings.” He commanded abruptly. “Get reinforcements. Now!”

Swift nodded sharply and took to the air, flying down the hallway towards the barracks.

The other ponies in the hallway looked on nervously. That wouldn't do, he need the noncombatants out of the area before somepony got hurt. Knowing that panicking ponies would just slow down the evacuation he began shouting commandingly.

“Everypony may I have your attention! There has been a minor accident with one of the artifacts in the royal vault! You are in no danger, but the castle is being evacuated in case the situation escalates! I repeat! You are in no immediate danger, but as we don’t know what is wrong yet, we are evacuating the area until the situation is dealt with! Thank you for your cooperation.” That should get rid of the civilians. It was a good thing this happened at night. With the castle almost empty the evacuation should go quickly.

Grumbling, the few ponies in the corridor began filing out. The orderly evacuation rapidly turned to panic, however, when the throne room doors began shaking in their frames, thundering from innumerable impacts within. The ponies began screaming and running out as fast as their hooves could carry them. So much for an orderly evacuation.

Stalwart turned back to the doors, which were now so bright he could barely see them as the magical reinforcements fought whatever was trying to break them down. An aura was starting to leak through the heavily warded doors, feeling unlike any magic he had experienced before. Most powerful magic had a presence to it, being near the wards on the Royal Vault, for example, was similar to diving deep underwater, the magic pressing down on everything around it. This magic on the other hoof, felt sharp and toxic, like diving in a sea of acid that was filled with shards of broken glass. It burned and tore at the minds of those who felt it and made Stalwart’s coat itch.

The throne room doors had begun leaking a caustic-looking black mist when reinforcements arrived. The guard ponies seemed apprehensive of the almost painful aura of dark magic coming from behind the doors. “Form up!” The officer commanded. Lieutenant Fireball was a tall unicorn with, fittingly, a fireball for a cutie mark, and was well known for his magical skill.

“Stalwart! What’s going on here?” The officer demanded as around fifty guards, including a dozen unicorns, quickly surrounded the door. “Sir!” Stalwart saluted. “At 0400 hours Captain Bright Sword entered the throne room with several guards. At 0530 Princess Luna entered the throne room escorted by private Quick Hooves and the doors were sealed. A few minutes later a noise was heard coming from within and wards lit up like a Hearth’s-warming tree. I sent Swift Wings for reinforcements evacuated the civilians. Just seconds ago I felt a massive aura of dark magic and a black mist began seeping through the doors.”

“Thank you for the report Stalwart.” Fireball said as the mages starting to set up magical defenses in front of the doors. The mages had only begun setting up their shields, however, when the wards on the throne room fizzled out. That was very bad as the frightened expressions of the unicorns declared. Stalwart had heard the battlemages brag about the wards on those doors. The mages had said the wards could hold up against an artillery barrage a week, but it had barely been ten minutes and they’d collapsed.

For a few seconds, there was only silence.

Then the doors burst open and the torches and mage lights of the guards were extinguished as a wave of inky darkness poured from within. Stalwart felt claws tearing at him from every angle, ripping into any skin uncovered by his armor. He heard the other guards screaming as they were torn apart, flares coming from within as unicorns attempted to cast spells and instead caught fire and burned in seconds. Stalwart attempted to push through the pain, feeling the life leaving him as he began bleeding out from his many wounds. He attempted to swing his sword at the force that was attacking him but it had no effect, the shadows simply parted before his attacks are reformed immediately.

Then his pain stopped as a blade of pure darkness tore through his eye, snuffing out his life.

Author's Note

And so the Nightmare begins.

This is the extent of the gore in the book. I'm not sure if this is enough to deserve a gore tag but I'd rather be on the safe side.