A Light under Nova's Ashes
Prologue- Eternal Night
“Finally.”
Her voice was laced with venom, tinted with years of betrayal and bitterness.
“Sister…”
“Don’t call me that!”
Princess Celestia was taken back. Even here as she lay, dying, she was still surprised at how much her younger sister really loathed her. It never occurred to her that Luna was capable of such hatred until it was too late.
“Don’t waste your precious breath,” Luna hissed. “Don’t even bother.”
Celestia frowned, shuddering from pain.
“It has taken me a thousand years to reach this point, Celestia. I think I deserve a bit of sympathy,” continued a now irate Luna.
“Luna, please, don’t—“
“Enough!”
A scream ripped through Celestia’s throat as pain seared its way through her already weakened body. The alicorn felt her immortality slowly strip away from her, centuries of living piling on her, one by one. A wisp of magic surrounded her, the essence of her soul slowly making its way to Luna’s glowing horn.
“I would hate to leave you like this,” Luna said, “especially after all you have done for me.” She laughed, the sound echoing through the dark chamber.
The storm outside grew louder, as planned. Thunder rumbled through the sky as Luna slowly made her way towards the window, its wide view illuminating the sisters inside the already darkened room. The wisp of magic followed her stride and behind her, Celestia let out another scream.
“All these years, dear sister, you could have just granted me my wish,” Luna said, tilting her head slightly towards her fallen kin.
Celestia let out a weak cough.
“But no,” continued Luna, her voice strained. “You just had to tease me, didn’t you!?”
A fainter, softer whimper came from the Celestia now, the pain taking its toll on her once strong body. “Luna, I’d never thought—“
“Yes, that’s right! You never thought. You never thought I would get tired of living in the background. Oh Princess Luna,” the dark alicorn mocked, “my shadow…the one who would never give an ounce of pride for herself.”
Luna had turned back around to face Celestia once again, her eyes glowing a brilliant shade of white. “Your time is over. It’s my turn now. Look at me, my dear sister. Don’t you see the light is fading?”
With whatever strength she had left, Celestia looked up at her younger sister. Her once bright eyes were now dull and lifeless.
“The light has already faded, Luna,” she whispered. “A long…time…ago…”
Luna smirked. “In that case, I shall leave you here to die.”
“What will you do with yourself now, sister?” Celestia suddenly asked, her voice a bit stronger than before. “May I ask what will become of my subjects?”
With a sneer, Luna circled the dying alicorn, her tail whipping back and forth angrily. “It seems even in death you are pathetic,” she hissed. “I will give them what they have needed for the longest time. A proper ruler.”
“Do not harm them.”
“Oh no, I won’t.” Luna let out a chuckle, stopping near her sister’s head. She bent her head low near Celestia’s ear as she whispered, “I’ll simply send them to the moon.”
She let out a shrill laugh.
“Now Equestria will be bathed in eternal night for once and all! As it should have always been.”
“You will regret this one day, Luna,” Celestia growled weakly, feeling the last bits of her power being stripped away as Luna cantered towards the large, wooden chamber doors.
“Oh, not as much as I’ll regret not seeing you die,” said Luna. “I fear I must get going. The war outside is nearing its end. The New Lunar Republic is at its dawn, and I must see to it that I am here to lead my loyal subjects towards a brand new Equestria.”
With that, Luna disappeared in a flash of darkness, leaving her sister to die alone.
…
“…Princess…?”
“Twilight Sparkle,” Celestia whispered.
“I’m here, Princess! I’m here!” The purple unicorn couldn’t suppress her sobs as she ran towards her mentor, her once strong and defiant protector. “What has she done to you?”
“Nevermind that,” the dying alicorn said sharply, her tone surprising Twilight.
“B-But, Princess—“
Celestia grunted, interrupting her rambling. “Twilight Sparkle, have I taught you nothing? Listen to me.” Her voice was strained and shaky, but she mustered all her strength to look at her clearly disturbed student.
“I need you to take them out of here.”
Twilight looks confused for a moment, then a sudden wave of realization hit her. “Them? Princess, they can’t…I can’t—“
“You can do it, Twilight,” breathed Celestia. “This is more important than you or I…this is the fate of Equestria…”
“Princess, I can’t possibly—“
“Twilight Sparkle!”
Twilight jumped at the sound of Celestia’s suddenly harsh voice, the echo of her name still bouncing off the spacious chamber walls.
“I need you more than ever now, Twilight,” Celestia said quickly in a softer tone, realizing the purple unicorn wasn’t used to her addressing her like this. “This…this revolution…is too dangerous for them. Take them away someplace safe.”
“Wh-where, Princess?” Twilight sputtered.
“Anywhere but here,” Celestia whispered. “Anywhere other than the hell that will become of my state.”
Twilight’s lips trembled with sudden emotion. “You…aren’t really going to die…right?”
“Look at me, Twilight,” chuckled Celestia in a dark, somber way. “I am already dead.”
“Alicorns can’t die!” cried the purple unicorn desperately. “They can’t!”
“When another alicorn wishes them dead, they are rendered as mortal as any other living being.” Celestia started to drift off, her strength waning.
“N-no, p-please…” Twilight brought her snout close to Celestia’s, her body shaking.
“Remember that lesson I taught you many moons ago…” Celestia whispered to her, suddenly feeling one thousand years older. “Goodbyes are never for…”
“…forever…” finished Twilight, the tears streaming down her face. “When will I see you again?”
“Whenever you need me most, my dear student.”
Twilight bit her lip and pressed her snout against her dying mentor’s. “Don’t leave me...” she whimpered.
Celestia didn’t respond, but just let out a soft groan.
“I will take care of them, I promise,” swore the purple unicorn, realizing that the alicorn is now entering some otherworldly state of being.
“That’s what I like to hear,” Celestia said, her voice now echoing inside of Twilight’s head as her body started to dull in color, the shine from her mane and tail flickering in and out like a dying star.
“I will make you proud.”
“This is your final test, Twilight Sparkle,” whispered Celestia, her voice rapidly fading from Twilight’s consciousness. “Do not fail me.”
“I won’t.”
“And most importantly…they must never be separated!”
…and just like that, she was gone.
“My fellow Equestrians, the tyrant has fallen! Welcome to the New Lunar Republic!”
“Hail, Luna!”
Twilight tuned out Luna’s loud, booming voice and the cheering crowd as she raced out of the castle, her hooves thundering against the cobblestone road. The tears still flowed down her face as she thought back to what had transpired just moments before.
Princess Celestia died.
Not now, Twilight, she thought. Focus.
The night was now rapidly descending as Luna brought out the moon and stars, making it hard for Twilight to see where she was going. With a flash, her horn lit up in a sort of guiding light as she made her way through Canterlot.
She tried to ignore the ponies around her, begging for any news, any sign that their beloved leader is still alive. The New Lunar Revolution had taken a toll on all of them and many ponies had lost loved ones in the massacre.
“Hey, you!”
“Where do you think you’re going?!”
Twilight didn’t turn around to face the soldiers. Instead, she picked up her pace. She was carrying too precious of a cargo to let any time waste. The knapsacks around her flanks were heavier than she thought, but she pressed on, forcing the light from her horn to shine brighter, illuminating the path ahead of her.
“Stop right there!”
“Halt!”
Now she heard hooves thundering after her and she broke out in a desperate flight. She willed her magic to transport her and her cargo to the one place she knew wouldn’t be touched by the ravaging bloodshed. Instantly, she ended up in front of a familiar cottage, the sudden onset of magic making her a bit dizzy.
The teleportation spell was never an easy one, so she had to close her eyes for a moment to regain her strength.
“Well, what do we have here?”
She jumped, her eyes flying wide open at the sound of the stallion’s voice. Her nostrils flared in anger. Great judgment, Sparkle!
“Where are you going to at such a late hour? In a hurry nonetheless?” He was considerably taller than she was. The dark colored armor he wore glinted off the moonlight as he took a step forward towards the purple unicorn.
“It’s none of your concern,” Twilight said between her teeth.
“No one goes through here without explicit orders from Her Excellency,” the pegasus growled, flapping his wings to emphasize his point.
Twilight noticed Luna’s cutie mark moon engraved on the crest of his armor, right above his chest. A Lunar Force rebel. She needed to get out of here. Fast. She made a move to sidestep the impending stallion, but he quickly blocked her with a steady hoof to the chest.
She was thrown back with an ‘oof!’, the bags suddenly slipping from her sides and into the ground next to the rebel.
“Nuh-uh-uh, pretty pony,” the pegasus nickered. “What’ya got in these bags, hmm?”
“I said it was none of your concern!” Twilight hissed vehemently, rapidly throwing herself unto the bags, shielding them from him. “Now let me pass!”
Suddenly the pegasus stallion grabbed the strap from underneath Twilight’s hooves and pulled the knapsack right from underneath her. With a cry, she jumped up and managed to sink her teeth into the other strap of the bag, locking herself into a desperate tug-of-war with the thug.
“What’s so important about this one that you can’t do without the other?” the stallion sneered, his voice muffled from the strap as he pulled back, dragging Twilight forward a few steps.
“No!” Twilight hissed through her teeth, pulling back with all her might.
They must never be separated!
“C’mon, pretty pony,” he taunted, tacking a few steps back , snapping his head backwards, almost sending a much lighter Twilight flying towards him. Surprisingly, she stood her ground as he continued to taunt, “what will a few less books hurt, eh? Everypony’s gotta eat, you know!”
“Let go!” she cried, feeling the strap of the knapsack start to tear between her teeth.
“You first—“
With a loud rip, the bags suddenly tore apart. Twilight flew backwards into the ground, tumbling over herself hoof over hoof. Her head suddenly hit a tree behind her, knocking her senseless for a brief moment.
“Yo, Juggernaut!” A pony called out just as Twilight began to regain her senses. “We won!”
“We did?” the pegasus replied, tossing the other half of the knapsack to the ground next to him. “Awesome!”
“I know, right?! Hey Jugs, is that Twilight Sparkle?!”
Twilight shook her head, trying to clear the ringing her ears suddenly developed out of nowhere. Her teeth were still tightly clamped on the strap of her side of the bag. She looked up to see three other pegasi looking towards her, their faces inscrutable under the darkness of the night.
“She is wanted by Her Excellency for possible preemptive treason,” the second pegasus continued. “What were you waiting for? What are we waiting for?!”
Twilight barely had time to get to her hooves before the rebels started towards her. She took off as fast as she could, the pegasi quickly giving chase, the flapping of their wings getting ever closer with each wingbeat.
She tightened her grip on the torn strap as she looked back over her shoulder. She managed to catch a glimpse of the other half of the knapsack strewn across the ground. The harsh moonlight illuminated a silhouette of a little filly stumbling out of the battered bag, helpless and defenseless.
Twilight bit her lip, tears brimming at the edge of her eyes as she whispered,
“I’m so sorry.”
As soon as she closed her eyes, there was a blinding flash and Twilight Sparkle was gone.
