The Lunar Empire

Canterlot Castle

December 15, 1129

General Dark Thunder of the Lunar Guard

12:50 a.m.

Nightmare Moon stood there a moment longer, then shot a glance to me. I heard her voice in my head. You will help us, won't you? It would be a shame if you didn't and we had to kill you. I thought for a moment. If I helped her, Celestia might win and throw me in a dungeon for the rest of my life. Or, if I went against Nightmare Moon, I would be violating my oath to never go against the Lunar Guard or its leader, despite Luna currently being corrupted, and I would be branded a traitor and exiled.

It was then that I made my decision. Yes. I will help you. Good, good, came the reply. We will make the first move. We will drive the Sun Princess into a corner, and you can take on that weak guard of hers. I nodded and lowered my spear at Rune. He quickly looked between me and the spear, and lowered his as well.

I nodded to Nightmare Moon, and she immediately used her magic to turn the ground around Celestia black in an effort to distract her. Celestia looked down and took off into the air. She then fired a yellow beam at her attacker. I let out a battle cry, and charged at Rune. He used his spear to deflect mine, but I managed to kick him as I ran by, unbalancing him. I spun around with my spear, missing his head my mere inches. He jumped up, shoving me to one side, then jabbed his spear at me. I dodged, and tried to headbutt him.

My face hit his helmet, stunning both of us. I glanced over to see how Nightmare Moon's fight was going. Both the Alicorns were in the air, sometimes charging at each other, but mostly using magic. Suddenly, Celestia fired off dozens of fiery bolts, and a couple hit Nightmare's side, scorching her. She screamed in pain, then teleported around the room, confusing Celestia. I looked down at Rune. He had been knocked to the ground by my counterattack. I raised my spear to finish him off. However, something hit me in my side, sending me crashing into a wall and making me fall over. I looked up from my spot. Celestia had kicked me away from the guardspony.

To my surprise, Nightmare Moon was nowhere to be found. I slowly felt myself drift into unconsciousness as Celestia began walking over to me. I looked up at her, my vision growing dark. She muttered something, and I passed out.

When I came to, I was in a small cell, with my front legs shackled and my armor missing. I looked around. There were three Celestial Guards staring at me, all of them Pegasi. "Hey, look. The mighty 'General Thunder' is awake." said one of them, sneering at me. "I wouldn't taunt him like that," another replied. "They say he took on an entire Changling Hive on his own, and emerged a week later without a scratch. Three Celestial Guards would be nothing to him."

"Oh, shut up. He is harmless as an ant without his magic." said the third. At this, I tried to use my magic to unlock my shackles, only to have my horn emit a few sparks before I felt too tired to carry on with the spell. At this, the guards laughed. "See? Told you he can't do anything without magic." said the third again.

Right as he said that, another guard ran into the dungeon. He pulled the other guards by the door. They began whispering, but I could make out some of what they said. "Celestia... Elements of Harmony... Immediately... Nightmare Moon... Western Watchtower. Now, go!" And with that, the courier ran off. One of the guards spoke with a somber tone. "Why did it have to come to this, Celestia using the Elements on her sister..." He pointed to another guard, and said, "You! Stay here and watch our prisoner. And you, follow me!" he said, pointing to the other guard. The duo ran out of the dungeon, leaving me alone with the remaining guard.

I looked down at my bonds, trying to find a way to break free. They were rather rusty, and a few of the links looked like they would break under a simple tug. I looked up at the guard. he would mainly stare at me, but every now and then he would glance at his weapon or the door to the outside. If I can pull the chains while he isn't looking, then I just may be able to conceal my actions until I break free. I turned from him to the door. It was also very rusted, and might be weaker than the shackles.

The guard saw me looking around, and tightened his grip on his spear. "Don't you try anything stupid now. My orders are to refrain from killing you, but I will not hesitate to do just that if you get out." he said. As he looked away, I set my plan into action. I began spreading apart my front legs, little by little, until the metal began to warp. I looked up at the guard. He was still staring intently at the door. After a few more seconds of strain, the chains snapped.

The Celestial Guard turned around to see what had caused the noise, but by then, I had ran to the cell door and was preparing to kick it down. "What in the hell-" he said, cut off when I turned around and kicked the cell door right off its hinges, hitting him in the side. He staggered into a wall, obviously dazed from the impact. As I ran past, I kicked him in the head for good measure.

I ran over to the heavy oak doors that led to the outside. I kicked one of them several times, causing the wood to splinter. I let out one last kick, causing the door to fly open. The midnight sky greeted me. How long was I out for? I thought, confused. I began galloping to the Western Watchtower as fast as I could. Two Celestial Guards saw me and began following me, shouting to get other guards. They tried to block me at the castle doors. I prepared to cast a spell to attack them, and to my relief, a bolt of lightning shot from my horn and hit the guards. They both screamed in agony, and fell to the ground.

As I ran past the guards bodies, I cast another spell that opened the doors. I saw the fight between Celestia and Nightmare Moon raging on in the distance. I looked away when I saw an Earth Pony guard going towards them with a satchel on his back. The Elements! I thought. I need to stop him from delivering them! I yelled at the guard, catching his attention. He turned around, and upon realizing who I was, and my intent, he turned away and began galloping even faster.

I let loose a fireball, but halfway to him it veered off course and hit the ground. I began chasing him. We neared a small gate. As I ran through after him, something slammed into my side, throwing me off balance. As soon as I hit the ground, two guards were upon me, pinning me to the ground with their hooves. I saw the guard carrying the Elements entered the tower. No less than a moment later, he reappeared at the top and gave his satchel to Celestia. "No!" I shouted, trying to throw off the two guards.

I heard Celestia's voice as she drew the Elements from the bag. "I am sorry, sister, but you have not only betrayed me, but you have made the night last for longer than it should ever be. And now, You must face the consequences." The Elements began to glow and float around her. I finally shook off the guards, and began running up to the tower. Just as I reached the top, a massive, multi-colored beam flew from Celestia's horn. Nightmare Moon tried to dodge it, but was too slow.

The beam hit her straight on. "No! We will not be defeated by thine puny Elements!" She screamed. She tried to block the spell. but failed. Suddenly, there was a massive explosion that threw up pieces of stone and knocked me sideways, and nearly caused Celestia to fall over. I looked up to see where Nightmare Moon was, only to find that she had disappeared. I pulled myself up, and turned to face Celestia. She looked extremely depressed about what she had done. I turned and looked at the moon. To my surprise, there was now an outline of Nightmare Moon's head and part of her neck on it.

"You...banished Luna..." I whispered. Flew into a rage. "You tyrant! You banished her!"

"I am sorry... I had no other choice..." she replied. I used my magic to pick up a piece of a broken brick, hurtling it at Celestia. She stopped it in midair, the scowled at me. "What about you, hmm? You helped her, broke out of your prison, and now you openly attack me. If anything, you should be exiled, if not executed."

I saw her horn flash yellow, and I collapsed onto the ground, completely paralyzed. One of her guards ran up to the tower. "Take him away. And this time, make sure he doesn't escape." she said to the guard. Her horn flashed again, and my vision went dark as I passed out a second time.