“Princess listen to me!” Hooves clattered through the partially destroyed halls of Canterlot Castle. The tarnished tiles weakly reflected a smallish purple pony following a much larger white pony. “Now is not the time for rash decisions!” The smallish purple pony raced after the towering monarch.
The royal white of her majesty’s coat was starkly contrasted by lingering shadow magic and burnt rubble. Although her appearance was just as regal as normal, her stance was anything but that of royalty. Her head was held low, her multi-hued pastel tail and mane hung unusually close to the ground.
“Violet, you’re my most trusted advisor…” Even the Princess’ voice wasn’t the booming authoritative tone the subjects were used to. It was weak, weary, and out of character. “But right now, I don’t need you to advise me…” She strode forward, leaving her long time advisor stunned in the ruined palace halls. Before she turned the corner, she looked back to her stunned compatriot, a sad, but sure look in her eye. “I need you to trust me.”
Celestia did not like the task at hoof, who would? It was her job to inform an entire nation, over six-hundred thousand ponies, about the events that just transpired, a nation in turmoil, ponies in peril. A nation that was half against her…It was not a task anypony would want.
The monarch gave a long sigh as she came to the balcony doors. Outside, far below were the citizens of Canterlot. There in the courtyard stood the public; The dissenters, The loyalists, The schemers, The fighters, The revolutionaries and the patriots. It was one of the few things in her long life that Celestia feared, facing an angry audience with a vendetta.
Before she could swallow her fear, the two guards that flanked the door pushed it open and gave a small bow. Why did her guards have to be so polite and well oiled? Even though the snow white soldiers were tattered, black streaks scarred their armor and their coats, they still did their jobs. It was dangerous times like these that made her both love and loathe her guards. They had gotten the injuries while protecting the Princess, and yet they still did their jobs. Just like good soldiers.
As the doors opened, a chorus of cheers and screams nearly pushed the melancholic monarch backwards. It was exactly what she was expecting: dissent and approval all at once. She pushed through the offending sound wave and to the edge of the balcony. At that point, looking over the despondent crowd, Celestia had to swallow her fear and clear her throat.
“Subjects!” Her usual vigor and stance returned in that one word. Thousands of years of ruling had ensured that it was hard-wired into her very being. “Today, years of suffering…years of death…years of hardship has come to an end.” Murmuring echoed through the rabble. Celestia strengthened her resolve and continued. “Today, the great Equestrian Civil War comes to an end!” A raucous roar swept through the crowd, one could almost see the wave of euphoria spread. That alone bolstered the monarch’s spirits and gave her a smile. However, the question that came from the crowd quickly wiped it away.
“Where’s Luna?!”
That was one of the things she sincerely didn’t want to talk about or answer, but as a ruler she knew sometimes transparency was the best policy. “My sister, leader of the rebellion, has been imprisoned due to her treachery…she will be released and she will be rehabilitated..”
“Tyrant!”
“Despicable!”
“We trusted you!”
All of the insults coming from the crowed pelted Celestia and hurt her worse than any battle ever could. The Princess had felt those same insults bombard her throughout this whole idea. The more rhetoric her little sister spewed forth unto the public’s ears, the worse Celestia looked in their eyes.
“Princess Luna has committed a crime, treachery. It is the worst crime I can imagine for a ruler to commit…so, like all criminals, she must be punished and rehabilitated so this does not happen again.” If there was one thing Equestrians knew better than anyone else, it was harmony. That was largely due to the fact of Equestria’s stellar rehabilitation system for its criminals, so hopefully that statement would calm the crowd down.
It didn’t. They were expecting a compromise, a treaty, the creation of new nation. Something, but not this.
Bolts of magic and rocks flew towards the balcony, in a flash two guards stood in front of Celestia and deflected the projectiles while pushing her back into the castle. She landed, unceremoniously, right on her rump. Very unbecoming of a monarch.
“Princess, I told you that was a bad idea. But I trusted you…” Her advisor, Violet Hue, spoke with a very cocky voice. Celestia was expecting that much, so she simply nodded.
“Yes Violet…I should have listened to you. But thank you for trusting in me.” The lavender hoof found its way to her shoulder. The monarch looked up into her advisor’s smiling purple eyes, those were the eyes she trusted…like all of her advisors before Violet, she trusted the purple unicorn explicitly.
“Now, let’s get you to the safe room, huh?” Deep below Canterlot Castle, a cave lay in the heart of the mountain. It was a relic that Celestia had made into a safe room centuries ago.
“No, I have to go to the castle…” Canterlot castle was the public castle, the public face of the royal pony sisters. But deep within the Everfree Forest where ponies seldom go, another castle, one Eons old stands. It is the castle of the Royal Pony Sisters: Built by their hooves and protected by their magic.
Only certain ponies knew of the castle in the forest, it was the last safe haven for the monarchs where they could let their frustrations go and let their worries fly away if only for a little while.
“Very well Princess, as you wish…” The purple hued mare bowed away, clearly disgruntled.
Left alone and in silence, Celestia stood slowly and sent a little magic to the spear-like appendage sprouting from her forehead. In a brilliant flash of golden sunlight, the monarch disappeared.
--
The shining white Princess appeared in the glorious sunlight of the Everfree Forest. Its happy fluffy creatures did not bat an eyelash at the towering figure, instead they simply carried on with their business.
The forest itself was one of the shining jewels of Equestrian landscape. It was the first National Park created by her sister in order to save what little forest still remained in the great diverse land. The sun shone through the canopy of giant trees, birds sang and bees buzzed. It was a normal day in the forest.
Celestia trotted slowly down an old worn path. It was one she walked down since she was just a little filly. Each step was filled with so much history and nostalgia, it usually calmed the regal alicorn down, but the task ahead simply filled her with dread.
She crossed the ancient rope bridge, now only held together by magic and luck. She recalled all of those centuries ago when Luna first appeared: the little allicorn couldn’t make her way over the chasm due to her inability to fly. So, being the good big sister she was, Celestia fashioned a simple rope bridge and tied it across the gap. Ever since then, the bridge had served its purpose extremely well.
She crossed it without issue, soon the castle came into view. It wasn’t as beautiful as Canterlot castle, but it was a labor of love. The main building had been the original castle, one long room used as a bedroom and throne room by the royalty in their youth. Then they added a tower to use as a bedroom and an observatory of sorts. The last of the rooms was smaller, but very important, it held the elements of harmony within them. Six gems, each held on its own pedestal and each very important.
She entered through the cracked and splintered wooden door, as soon as she did a powerful wind hit her and a scream assaulted her ears. This was the reason Celestia was here: there in the middle of the old throne room was the twisted and warped version of her little sister.
The monster thrashed, it was bound by magic chains that barred the imprisoned beast from using magic of even her caliber. The burning blue eyes zeroed in on the pure princess, it growled and snarled, showing its fangs to the Princess.
“FREE ME TYRANT!” The scream nearly knocked Celestia onto her flank. This…thing was truly terrifying, it was a chaotic disruption of her little Luna. A pit formed in her stomach as she studied the murderous glare she was receiving from the monster.
“Luna, listen to me..”
“THAT IS NOT MY NAME!” The creature snarled. “I AM NIGHTMARE MOON, TRUE RULER OF EQUESTRIA AND THE HEAVENS!” Celestia opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by the nocturnal abomination. “FREE ME TYRANT AND BE SHOWN THE TRUE POWER OF THE NIGHT!”
“Nightmare Moon…please..” She decided to appease the monster, hopefully that would coerce it into peaceful talks. “Just…calm down. This little revolt of yours, this…war. It’s over.” Celestia struggled to keep her magenta eyes dry, it was a terrible burden to see your own flesh and blood driven to madness by means of jealousy. But she hardened her resolve and her stare. “Your little crusade is through.”
“NO! NO! no…no….” The thrashing stopped, the fiery glare burnt itself out. “No….” The monster fell to its knees. “My glory…my triumph…my night…”
“It’s over, Nightmare Moon. All of it.” Celestia stepped closer to her nightmarish counterpart. “Please…give the ponies back their princess of the night…give me back my Luna..” Her voice, eternal and true, echoed around the empty throne room with untold volumes of sadness and betrayal.
“All I ever wanted was to be loved…” Nightmare Moon’s harsh voice faded and Luna’s young tone shone through the shadowy veil.
“You are loved Lulu…by me, and our subjects…” The pearl white princess nuzzled the metal helmet that adorned her sister’s head. “Their love for you is just different than their love for me…” Nightmare Moon’s icy blue eyes faded as they were replaced by the sparkling sapphires of Luna’s.
“You…you..” For just a split second, a new hope swelled in Celestia’s chest. Her little Lulu was coming back to her, pure and free of this delusion. But, much like the torches nearby, that hope was snuffed in the blink of an eye. “LIAR!”
Shadows swept through the old castle, turning the bright day to pitch black night. Bricks fell to the ground and shattered, the old glass mosaics shattered and portions of the ceiling crumbled in heaps. This magic, it was pure, powerful, unrelenting. The chains wouldn’t hold for long.
“YOU HATE US, YOU DESPISE US! THE PONIES DESPISE US!” The monster’s eyes glowed bright white, the chains binding her snapped and a magical wind swirled around the room. “YOU LEFT US IN THE DARK! ALONE AND AFRAID” The booming voice bounced off of the remaining walls. “NOW EVERYTIME YOU WISH TO COME HEAR, YOU WILL FEEL THE SAME!” The final word was punctuated with a blast of magical energy that shattered the chains that bound the monster and sent the pure monarch tumbling backwards into a wall.
The wave of darkness shot out of the castle and covered the forest in a perpetual blanket of darkness, the fluffy animals were warped into sick monstrous creations, the once beautiful trees turned into terrifying monstrosities. This was the work of dark magic at its most powerful.
Celestia got up slowly, every ancient bone in her body ached from the impact with the wall. An equally drained Nightmare Moon lay in the middle of the floor. Celestia slowly walked over to the fallen revolutionary, her horn aglow.
“I’m sorry Luna….you leave me no choice…”
A bright flash erupted from the castle, illuminating the dark forest for the last time in the next coming thousand years.