The thunderclouds swirled overhead, like it was suddenly becoming a hurricane. Lightning cracked and boomed, before the heavens slid apart to reveal a being slowly descending from on high. The being was winged, and seemed to merely float down as though it were a god. Twilight Sparkle stared with her jaw unhinged, wondering just what she had summoned to Equestria.

Once the being was close enough, Twilight realized it was a pony. A massively sized mare, bearing both horn and wing which made her an alicorn. When the pony was more or less level with Twilight in the sky, she flapped her wings slowly to remain aloft. From the looks of it, Celestia's head would reach just barely above her chest, maybe the bottom of her neck. Her coloring was dark gray, like the clouds above them.

The feathers of her wings seemed to be a dark charcoal mixed with orange, and her massive horn was ringed in reddish gold. Her mane and tail were darker, closer to black, ending in bright oranges and yellow and floated like shadowy flames. Her sclera were the same midnight as Daybreaker's, but her irises were a glowing mixture of pumpkin and amber. Most surprisingly, instead of a small tiara like the princesses would wear, surrounding the pony's head was a halo with points on it that almost resembled stars.

Understandably, Twilight Sparkle regarded this ancient one with a mingled fear and awe. Her eyes were huge, ears flattened against her skull as she dropped her rump against the grass immediately. "Who... Who are you?" She asked in a very small voice.

The mare regarded her for a few moments before answering, and Twilight Sparkle noted she had tufted ears like a batpony. "I am Queen Pōwehi," she said, the words spoken evenly. Her tone seemed to resonate with the power not unlike the Royal Canterlot Voice, which made Twilight even more fearful of this nearly divine presence.

Pōwehi then looked closer at the much smaller alicorn. "Why have you summoned me?" She asked, turning slightly as she did so and revealing a cutie mark on her hip. It was a black circle outlined in ambers and golds, almost depicting a spinning rotation to it.

Twilight gulped before answering her. "I... I need help in saving the kingdom of Equestria," she explained. Her words were spoken timidly. "To protect the ponies from the tyrant, Daybreaker, and convince the darker half of our princess to let go and become her normal self again."

"Is that all?" Queen Pōwehi replied, humor touching her words. "Well, since you have called me here from the cosmos, I am bound to fulfill your desire."

"The cosmos?" Twilight repeated, all but squeaking the words.

"Of course, child. Where did you think I came from?" Pōwehi said. "Your princess may rule a kingdom, but I rule entire solar systems, and trillions bow down to me."

As the words all but echoed through the air, Twilight Sparkle found herself unable to comprehend such a large number. Queen Pōwehi had said trillions, as in plural. Such a staggering amount that her mind refused to give her even a ballpark, and she discovered that she had begun to tremble in earnest before this queen of perhaps the universe. What would this creature do, once her wish had been fulfilled? Would she return to the heavens from whence she came, or would she create even more destruction than Daybreaker and Nightmare Moon had? There were no immediate answers to these questions.

Finally, she nodded. "A-alright," she said to Queen Pōwehi. "What will you do once my desire has been fulfilled?"

Pōwehi chuckled then, the sound seemingly sinister coming from a pony who looked like she did. "That, my dear little foal, will depend on you."

The chill that ran down Twilight Sparkle's spine was profound enough that her fur rippled in response. Ears completely flat against her head, she lifted a hoof as the instinct to flee this mare filled her mind. She couldn't budge though, she was completely frozen in place. Queen Pōwehi seemed unaware of this as she turned away, taking in the landscape before her.

After several moments, Queen Pōwehi flapped her massive wings, and began to fly in the direction of Daybreaker. The heavens responded with an array of powerful lightning and deafening thunder, as though the very earth itself was giving the queen an impressive entrance before she joined in on the fight. Floating casually on the air streams, she was not in any hurry to join the alabaster pony who'd stopped laughing in her apparent victory against her dark twin. Daybreaker had noticed this new foe, and she watched carefully to see what was going to happen now.

Sunlight gleamed off of her armor, but the storm seemed to swallow the sky in shadow to rival the smoke from the flames. "Who are you?" Daybreaker challenged, wings flaring wide as her ears went back and her head lowered slightly. A defiant pose, meant to intimidate the other into leaving. Her hooves were splayed apart, ready to gallop her forward to plunge her horn into the completely unprotected body of Queen Pōwehi.

"I am Queen Pōwehi," the dark gray mare replied smoothly.

"What do you want?" Daybreaker asked, her tone puffer-fish friendly. Her eyes flashed with irritation, but the size of her opponent alone gave her pause.

"I have been tasked with defeating you, and helping the other pony become herself again," Pōwehi said. She spoke the words almost cheerfully, but there was an undercurrent of something else. Something Daybreaker couldn't quite put a hoof on. "Unfortunately my little charge forgot to mention whether or not lethal action was on the table, so it seems I am free to use whatever I please in order to bring you down."

Daybreaker flapped her wings a few times since she'd started to sink out of the sky, absorbing the queen's words. This was beyond Nightmare Moon, beyond anything she'd ever thought she'd faced. Whoever this queen was, seemed far deadlier than anything that had ever come to Equestria before her. Daybreaker's desire for a worthy opponent had been answered, and she had won. Now, now it seemed like she was going to have to fight for her very life against an alien who didn't appear to care whether or not she continued existing.

Queen Pōwehi watched the by-play of emotions on the alabaster mare, smiling when she observed the conclusion Daybreaker had come to. "This fight is just beginning, my little pony," she purred. "And I will greatly enjoy getting to spread my wings in battle for the first time in over a thousand years."

Eyes widening, Daybreaker found herself gulping in actual fear as the vibrato of the queen's words resonated in her chest. "I will stop you," she said hoarsely, determined to win and take the kingdom of Equestria for herself. To rule in eternal sunshine on a throne made of blood, stolen from her sister and the truly shining bright capitol. That was her goal.

Pōwehi merely grinned, exposing her own impressive pair of fangs. "You will try," she countered. And then, she blurred forward and rushed at Daybreaker with enough force that the collision sounded like a crack of thunder. The new fight had suddenly begun.

Nightmare Moon groaned when consciousness had finally returned to her in waves. She'd fallen hard when she'd lost to Daybreaker, somehow surviving a fall that had taken out a couple buildings and left a crater in the smoldering street. Lifting her head, she squinted up at the suddenly darkened sky. What had happened while she was out cold?

Slowly getting her hooves underneath her, she managed to get upright again. With a bit of a shake, Nightmare Moon looked about her body as she assessed the damage she'd taken. Nothing seemed broken, but she was definitely sore all over, bearing cuts and bruises. Flaring first one wing then the other, Nightmare Moon determined that she would still be able to fly and to fight. It would not be easy, but she wasn't down for the count quite yet.

The sudden crack of thunder got her attention, and she peered upwards. There, among the clouds, were Daybreaker and somepony she didn't know. Flapping her wings to become airborne again, Nightmare Moon decided she was going to find out who had joined their battle, and fight to her own bitter end. There will be eternal darkness again, victorious over the light. If she could take down this newest enemy first.

Author's Note

interested in what she looks like? check out this deviantart where i got the inspiration for the character.