The Monument to All Your Sins.

Princess Luna was in the throne room late at night, the day, which was supposed to be one full of joy and happiness, had been distorted and turned into a nightmare that the regent of the night had sworn never to witness again, she could not remember the last time she had seen blood flowing from a wound, nor the last time she had felt such a knot in her chest.

The unicorn that had burst into the coronation of the princess of friendship had managed to get out of the boundaries of the castle and although she was pursued by the guards and the elements of harmony, she managed to slip away and lose them in the streets of the city. Her sister had instated a state of emergency, which, for most ponies, was something completely new, never in all of Equestria's recent history had such a mobilization been needed, yes of course there had been attempts at invasion and conquest by powerful enemies in the past, but in the end they were exactly that, desires of ambition and power that drove despicable beings to seek the destruction of Equestria, this was different, this was a direct assassination attempt by a single individual who, in plain sight, lacked his mental faculties, it was, to say the least, alarming, but those were not the reasons that had Luna going round and round the length and breadth of the throne room.

From the moment the mysterious figure was unmasked and the princess of the night recognized his face her thoughts circled over and over again to a single thought.

“How is this possible?” she kept repeating it to herself endlessly as her mind tried to make sense of what she had seen and felt. She had already noticed something strange from the moment Grogar's cowbell had been used on her for the first time, from that moment a sensation that had become foreign to her invaded her, a slight tingling in her horn that every now and then gave her the creeps, at first she attributed it to the emergency they were going through, after all, she had been stripped of her full power, but once the trio of villains was defeated and her magic restored the sensation did not disappear, on the contrary it was accentuated as the days went by. She tried to discuss it with her sister, asking if something similar happened to her but Celestia calmed her down by telling her that it was a very old and powerful artifact, that it was normal to have after-effects, without being very convinced of it Luna simply accepted it and waited for the sensation to fade with time.

But months passed and it only got worse, in the last few days, the princess of the night had seemed distant and distracted, the constant tingling in her horn had become so noticeable that now she could barely fulfill her royal duties, it felt like a half sneeze, like the prelude to something inevitable and strident but that never materialized, and the more time passed Luna found this sensation more familiar. She didn't need to reminisce to know what ancient reflection her horn was trying to replicate, it was something the princess hadn't felt in a long, long time, something she thought she would never feel again, something that just thinking about it made her stomach churn.

She investigated for a while, worried about what it could mean, even fearing that her magic had been permanently damaged by her experience with the cowbell, it wasn't until that very day of the coronation, seeing that emaciated pony, that it finally dawned on her what had been happening to her.

In the throne room, the only sound that could be heard was the princess' footsteps, engrossed in her frantic walk, just a few hours ago her older sister had ordered Twilight Sparkle and her friends to retreat back to Ponyville, telling them to stay away while the situation was under control, During all that time Luna could not help but notice how her sister, despite maintaining a stoic and solemn attitude before everyone, was slowly and subtly starting to lose her temper, and it was not for less, she was sure that her sister, despite not suffering the same discomfort as her, knew exactly what the attack of that unicorn meant and more importantly, her words.

She could hear the patrols in the distance of the city, keeping the worried citizens awake while they conducted inspections trying to locate the attacker, Luna thought that most likely she had left the city long ago, even so, she did not question her sister's caution in this matter. All her thoughts were finally beginning to calm down, maybe it had all been a big coincidence and maybe it was just a crazy pony, but this comfort was suddenly interrupted by the sound of the throne room door opening.

For a moment the princess thought it was her sister, returning after checking the safety of the castle, but the sound of heavy footsteps and the smell of dirt and grime extinguished these hopes all at once, the princess knew what it was before a hoarse, raspy voice came through the room.

“Wow...what bad taste...” the hooded figure said disdainfully as he looked in the direction of what would have been the new throne of the princess of friendship as he walked taking slow steps in Luna's direction.
The princess of the night immediately ceased her march and stood firm and on guard attentive to the intruder's movements without saying a word, she wasn't sure what to do now but she knew she couldn't afford to ramble. The figure walked until she was under the light of the first window in the hallway and then stopped short, after a few seconds of silence the intruder spoke.

“Aren't you going to greet me...?” she asked tilting her head clearly looking in her direction, Luna remained silent, she didn't expect such cordiality from the pony who, just a few hours ago, tried to assassinate her.

“Or did you...” she began to say as she pulled her hood and cloth off her face ‘...are you expecting me to bow to you?’ the princess of the night was shocked to appreciate the haggard face more closely, it was barely recognizable from the one from the last time she saw her and her voice, her voice was a reflection of her exhaustion and ailment, swallowing saliva, Luna finally spoke.

“How is it possible for you to be here?” she asked dryly and with a serious expression on her face.

“Is that what's bothering you...aren't you even glad to see me?” the unicorn began to walk taking very slow steps forward. Luna tensed slightly but didn't move.

“You tried to kill me” she replied sternly.

“I was trying to kill your sister... “she began to say with apparent nonchalance ”I was surprised to see there were more of you now, I thought you couldn't breed with ponies?”

The seemingly random comment shocked the alicorn, it seemed like a casual conversation with any pony, Luna couldn't understand why this approach so lightly.

“No..uh...I...that's not how it works now” she finally said as she followed the pony who was getting closer and closer with her gaze.

“Well, then it looks like they finally got what they wanted...” she said coldly as she began to circle the princess cautiously.

Luna kept her gaze fixed on the unicorn, looking her straight in the eyes until she stopped abruptly at the window in front of the one she was standing in front of.

“You didn't answer my question...” she began to say as she braced herself ”How come you're here?”

The mare watched the princess of the night turn on her horn and then let out a long, tired sigh, lowering her head before rising with a half smile on her face.

“The truth...I don't know...” she said when suddenly a magical blade materialized behind her back ‘But the truth is, I don't care anymore’ and without another word, she lunged at Luna.

The lunge was swift, the princess quickly rose into the air dodging, but she had no time to counterattack when the mare leapt at her swinging her sword. The unicorn attacked relentlessly, barely allowing Luna just enough time to dodge or deflect her blows with magic; she tried to stay in the air but her attempts were impeded by high blows that threatened to cut her down from above.
At one point the ruler of the night saw an opening and counterattacked with a shower of lightning that looked like a rain of stars, these were mostly dodged by the mare who was pirouetting interspersed with dodges, but she was not fast enough and a couple of the stars hit her in the side, destroying her clothes in a burst of blue fire and throwing her to the other side of the room, this allowed Luna to place herself in an advantageous position on top, ready to attack again, but she stopped in her tracks when she saw the state of her opponent.

She lay on the ground, choking a scream of pain while the burn mark was accentuated on her skin, the impact left the burned and lacerated flesh of the mare visible as she tried her best to stand up. A pitiful feeling flooded Luna at that instant, the knot in her chest grew to the point that it became difficult to breathe, she finally turned off her horn and descended cautiously on her attacker who was breathing heavily.

Luna landed and took a couple of steps forward as she seemed to hear moans and sobs coming from the badly wounded mare.

“You don't have to do this... “she finally said in a tone intended to be sympathetic, in response the unicorn let out a hollow laugh that was interrupted by a pained cough.

“..Easy for you to say...” she said while holding her side in pain ‘For you this all ended thousands of years ago...for you, now, this is all just a bad memory...’ you could notice the lump in her throat.

“But not for me...” at that moment the unicorn stood up quickly and swung her sword in Luna's direction who barely reacted in time to move out of the way.

“For me this is still happening!” she exclaimed vehemently ‘For me not a single day has passed!’ she said getting into a guard position and glaring furiously at Luna who felt a heat rushing across her face, denoting how she now had a deep cut on her cheek that was dripping golden blood.

“I won't let them pretend nothing happened, I won't let them go on living after hiding the truth...!”

“Oh really...?” a new voice came into the room, the moment those words were heard both combatants froze, the unicorn's heart began to pound as Luna's began to break out in a cold sweat from her forehead, both turned their heads in unison to catch a glimpse of the large imposing figure now entering through the large door of the hall.

“What exactly are you going to do...soldier girl?" said Celestia who was walking majestically with her wings outstretched, stopping a few meters away from where the conflict was taking place.

The mare looked up and down the sun princess trying to determine if she was carrying any weapons or if she had brought guards, but found nothing, finally she met the gaze of the white alicorn, this one was full of the purest and coldest disdain while for her part, she was equally analyzing the mare, denoting her wounds and exhaustion.

“Well?” insisted Celestia bringing both the unicorn and her sister out of their trance.

“I said I'll kill them...” finally answered the mare as she turned to Celestia, pointing her sword.

“And may I know... “the princess began to say as she took another step in the direction of the unicorn ‘..why haven't you done it yet?’ the question puzzled the mare, who was already starting to lose control of her breathing, on the other hand Luna was in a growing panic, she hoped she could have resolved the altercation before her sister showed up, but now that here she was, she didn't know what might happen.

“I was at it..” replied the attacker with a tone that tried to replicate the nonchalance of a few moments ago, but clearly hid the unicorn's nervousness.

“But you decided to put up a whole theater with your guards and with shields and sparks” said with disdain the mare keeping her tense pose and dedicating a haughty smile ‘Hiding you behind your magic...like a coward’ she finally said.

But the unicorn could not enjoy her silence after her statement as a shrill laughter filled the room, a laughter that froze the blood of both the attacker and Luna herself, it was a laughter that at first glance seemed to be brimming with mirth but if one paid enough attention one could denote the falseness in it, it was almost like a pre-recorded and mechanical laughter, so perfect that it was impossible for it to be real. The moment was long and awkward, when Celestia finally stopped laughing she looked with a strange smiling expression at the mare.

“Oh I'm so sorry dear, I just couldn't remember the last time a pony addressed me in such a challenging tone...” she let out a small chuckle again ‘But you're right, it was very unfair of me to deny you long awaited meeting...’ the regent took a couple more steps forward causing the unicorn to raise her sword even higher in anticipation.

“Please allow me to make it up to you” Celestia flashed her horn and in an instant her large golden necklace fell thunderously to the ground, exposing the princess's chest.

“Go ahead, you wanted me to face you, here I am...” the speech of Celestia was interrupted when the mare charged swiftly in her direction plunging her sword deep into the princess's chest, Luna let out a choked scream while from the huge wound on her sister's chest golden blood began to spurt in heaps, dirtying the floor. The mare let out a bellow as she gave one last thrust of her sword, causing it to come out of Celestia's back, effectively impaling her.

For an instant the overwhelming silence buzzed in Luna's ears as she tried to recover from the Shock, but even more was the shock when Celestia's laughter filled the room again.This one was almost the same as the previous one except for the detail that there seemed to be a certain tone of real satisfaction in this one.

The unicorn suddenly found herself with resistance, she could feel her sword being slowly expelled from Celestia's body, it was as if the alicorn's own muscles and bones were working together to expel the intruder. The mare found herself putting all the weight of her body into trying to keep the sword in place, but it was useless, though slowly, inch by inch the blade began to be expelled from her body, even the unicorn could now feel an intense heat emanating from it, all while the princess' laughter still echoed in her ears.

The mare looked up angrily to see the princess' face and the instant she did, the laughter stopped. The princess's gaze had changed completely, instead of the previous deep disdain what greeted the unicorn was a look, deep and terrifying, full of satisfaction, the sight of it made the attacker's legs begin to tremble slightly, all her courage and anger was beginning to fade away in a tangle of rising panic.

“So what are you waiting for?” the princess asked quietly, almost whispering as a wide smile came across her face, the unicorn reacted and, breaking eye contact, redoubled her efforts trying to grip her sword.

Finally the blade came completely out of Celestia's chest and the wound closed immediately, the blood stopped flowing and even new white fluffy fur materialized, making it impossible to believe it was ever there. The brown mare immediately stepped back, posing just under the imposing throne, only to, upon raising her gaze, meet the sun princess, arranging her new fur with her hoof and levitating her gold necklace again to put it back on, this with a calmness and tranquility that made the unicorn shudder.

“Well...” Celestia finally said ‘That really was a lot of fun, but I'm afraid your whimsical outburst of anger is over’ turning to look at her sister, the purple alicorn waved her helmet at her.

Luna knew exactly what she wanted her to do now, but hesitated to do it, her hesitation did not go unnoticed by the unicorn, who, sensing also what was coming, charged again, but this time against the princess of the night, who in a moment of lucidity simply did as her sister commanded.

Finally the sneeze was released, that tingle in her horn that cried out for release was indulged and in an instant, the attacker collapsed to the ground. The mare had forgotten how she felt, her time traveling in this peaceful world had made her lose track and she had almost resigned herself to never experience it again, but in that instant, she remembered everything, her old memories came back to her fused to fire in her mind by the same common experience.
Pain, pure and agonizing ran through every part of her body, from the tips of her hooves to her horn everything was filled with pain, one so strong that it clouded her vision and made her convulse on the floor, foaming at the mouth and urinating on herself. The familiar sensation emanated from her sides, which seemed to be on fire and, seen from the outside, a slight glow could be seen emanating from beneath her clothes. Try as she might to concentrate it was simply too horrible to think of anything else, she tried to search for her sword but found herself unable to find it, overwhelmed with agony she could only stand there, screaming and screaming.

From there Celestia admired the mare, she could see how she lost control of her sphincters and could almost swear she saw how a couple of her teeth broke as she tried to clench her jaw. Luna on the other hand watched the scene in horror, the effort on her part was minimal, just release the thought and it happened, she didn't remember it being something so involuntary, but her body was vibrating and glowing with a grey spark, she was definitely doing it.

“Sis don't you think we already...?” she started to ask seeking comfort from her sister, but was quickly interrupted.

“Oh no no no dear sis, give it a moment longer, I don't want any more trouble” the last she said with a slight tone of annoyance, not looking away from the unpleasant sight.

Luna held the spell for a few moments longer until she could hear the mare's bones creaking, turning off her horn and feeling that renewed tingle again. The unicorn gasped as she tried to catch her breath, tears streamed from her face in droves and her body was covered in sweat, her gaze was lost and she didn't seem to have the strength to move. It was then that Celestia shone her horn, lifting the pony from her front legs and making her dangle above the ground.

“You have no idea what you put at risk today...” the princess began to say with a tone that threatened to break the solemnity in her voice ‘I have no idea how you are even alive but I don't care, this incident will be quickly forgotten and everything will be back to normal...’ at that moment an unintelligible murmur interrupted Celestia, who looked towards the pony's face, covered by her now tousled hair.

“Sorry what did you say?” she said mockingly as she moved a few inches closer to listen.

“..them....them know....” the mare finally said with much difficulty.

“What do you mean?” asked Celestia amused.

“..they already know you're a...liar...” The comment made the princess let out a haughty laugh.

“Oh tenderness Do you really think your absurd show today did any good? Do you really think you changed anything? No little one, your actions meant nothing, what happened here today tomorrow will be a mere rumor, and in nothing, just a bad memory of a bad day, you came here to die for absolutely...nothing” Celestia said the last with contempt while the unicorn levitated uselessly.

“...then...kill me at once...” said the mare with no apparent strength to continue reproaching.

“Oh no no no no no no honey, I'm not going to kill you to a...” The comment caused the unicorn to look up slightly and Luna to startle.

“Do you have any idea how long it's been since I've been presented with an opportunity like this?” both the mare and the princess of the night looked at Celestia in confusion.

“A strong and resilient pony like you, wow, I would love nothing more than to have time alone with you to...reminisce about old times” Celestia brought her face close to the mare's whispering in her ear.

“I'm going to have so much fun with you before I kill you...” the alicorn licked the cheek of the mare who only turned her face away defeated.

Luna had turned pale, her worst fears manifesting themselves right in front of her, she could see her sister's shameless expression as she reveled in the mare's suffering, completely losing the kind and calm countenance she had grown accustomed to, she had wished with all her might to never see that face of her sister again and yet here they were.

“Sister...” began Luna timidly ”..don't you think it would be better...to get rid of her at once...after all we don't want her to cause us any more trouble...” Celestia interrupted her with a nonchalant snort.

“Oh you mustn't worry about that dear sister, for the rest of the world this will be over here, no one will ever see her again and it will be a simple unfortunate event” said the alicorn without taking her eyes off the mare, now placing one of her front hooves on her chin.

“Uh...but sister...” she started to say but quickly fell silent when Celestia turned to look at her and give her a gesture of annoyance.

“As I said Luna..” she said in a firm tone ‘That's why you don't have to worry anymore, and don't worry, I'll let you spend time with her if that's what you want...’ just at that instant, a great roar startled the princesses.

Suddenly a group of guards burst into the room, shouting and clamoring for their princesses.

“Princesses! Are you all right!” exclaimed the battalion leader, the commotion took by surprise both Luna and Celestia who turned hurriedly in the direction of her guards.

“Oh yes everything is perfect...” at that moment the unicorn flashed her horn, the handle of her sword, lying on the ground was quickly lifted, her magic blade activated and wielded in a quick slash in the direction of Celestia's horn, the latter barely and managed to dodge it, making her lose her concentration, turning off her magic and freeing the mare who fell to the ground.

In a quick movement the unicorn threw herself against one of the large windows, in the moments before the impact Celestia shouted.

“Luna!!!” in an attempt to get her to use her magic again, but the princess of the night could only watch dumbfounded as the wounded mare threw herself out of the window, through the glass and fell straight into the lush gardens of the palace.

“Go get her!!! get her!!!” ordered Celestia to her guards who quickly ran out, sounding the alarm.

As soon as the room was empty Celestia turned to her sister and reprimanded her with palpable annoyance.

“Luna what the hell were you thinking...!” he started to say but stopped short when he saw the shocked expression on his sister's face, who was staring blankly and in the direction of the shattered window.

“Luna...?” he asked again, this time with a calm tone, approaching his sister and placing a helmet on her shoulder. Luna reacted to feeling her sister's gentle touch, turning her head to look at her.

“Luna...” began Celestia ‘I know what this means to you, but you must understand that we can't afford to let her go...’ she took a pause ”...she puts at risk everything you and I took so long to build.”

“I know...” said Luna as she lowered her gaze ”But in that case shouldn't we go after her right now...you know as well as I do that the guards won't be able to catch her...”

“Oh no dear it's not necessary...” he said making Luna look at her with confusion ”... she will come back to us.”

“How are you so sure?” asked Luna confused.

“Simple sister, she seeks revenge, those who seek revenge do not rest until they consummate the” she said as she walked towards the shattered window and admired the night landscape, Luna followed her placing herself next to her.
“But...aren't you worried that I'll go get help, that I'll tell more ponies?....” Luna looked worriedly at her sister.

“Not at all dear...” the answer left Luna even more confused ”...In fact I hope she does, if she makes another fuss like today it will be easier to find her and capture her and as for telling I'm not worried, after all who in all of Equestria would believe her?”

Celestia began to leave the room at a slow pace, while Luna kept admiring the gardens while in the distance she heard the guards shouting orders and running through the corridors, she knew that the mare would escape without problems and, deep inside, she hoped it would be forever, that she would run away and never come back, but there was also what her sister had told her, she knew it was true and that, very soon, they would inevitably meet again.

Just before following her sister out of the throne room, Luna looked up to appreciate what was left of the stained glass window, she was surprised to notice that the unfortunate victim of the altercation was none other than that of her and her sister, the day they founded Equestria.