The Last Battle
By: Connor the Brony
“Stand, you foal!” commanded the cruel black mare.
Celestia rose but quickly collapsed again; she had exhausted all her strength trying, but failing, to defend her castle. Nightmare Moon had now all but won.
Nightmare laughed wickedly. “Don’t you absolutely envy my new powers, sister?”
The Princess responded with as little emotion as possible, “Why would I envy the ability to kill?”
The living nightmare grinned as she taunted Celestia. “Oh sister, you are still so blind. You can only get what you want done through force. Just look around. In little over a day I’ve usurped you from your throne and conquered your pitiful kingdom. Is that not evidence enough?”
“You do not know the first thing about ruling a country in harmony!” Celestia shouted back at her.
“Oh, but of course I do. I’ve watched you do it for centuries. You keep your population blind to the horrors of the world. Now it’s my time to rule, little sister. I’ll show them all the things you’ve kept from them.” Each word she said dripped with malice.
Celestia looked up at her former sister from her position on the floor. “So that is what this is all about? You’re doing this just to show the innocents the world as you want it to be?”
“Not just that, but also to punish them. They’ve ignored me and my night for far too long. Now I will show them the error of their ways. I will show you the error of your ways.”
“What did they ever do to deserve your hate? What did I do?”
“I just told you, they ignored me! They always worshipped you; they prayed for your forgiveness when they did something wrong; they asked for your strength in hard times!” Nightmare Moon paused for a moment to collect herself, ”There will be none of that now; there will be no Princess Celestia to love now. As for you, what did you do? You always kept me down. You kept me locked away, you kept me away from public view so that you could have all the attention!”
“I’m sorry that you felt that way, Nightmare.” Celestia stared at the black mare and began to stand. She had to keep talking; perhaps this was her only chance to turn the tables.
“What do you mean by ‘I felt that way?’ Do you doubt my resolution or motives? I can assure you, they will not be changed.”.
“I mean, that’s how my sister felt, not you. You are a creature of darkness, you have no motivation except to see death and destruction. I should have treated her better, but I have no intention of treating you with the same love she deserved.”
“It is true, I am not your sister. But, your sister is now me. She gave me all her hatred for the ponies that so despised us. Now, I grow weary of this banter. I will finish this once and for all; now raise your weapon. Oh wait, you don’t have one!” Nightmare Moon laughed maniacally. Her mane swirled as lightning struck all around; she began to close in for the final kill.
“So, we do agree on one thing, Nightmare: you are not my sister. But I do have one weapon left, even if its only use is to comfort me right up to the end. The memories of my sister, Princess Luna, and the knowledge that in a time of darkness she would never choose to hurt the ponies she took an oath to protect!”
“Memories of a nonexistant pony are useless. Now stand still. You won’t want this to be messy.” Nightmare was prepared to finally become the sole ruler of Equestria.
Celestia prepared her final weapon; perhaps she could win this last battle.
“I can remember all the way back, Luna. I remember when we first wandered out of the Everfree together into a world ruled by Discord. We were honest with each other when we said we would never leave each other’s side, and that we could get through this together. When we found the first ruined town and we befriended the residents together, we were kind and generous when offered our help to them. We laughed together when we met Discord and found out that no matter what he did, we would stay loyal to one another. When we were prepared to confront Discord we learned that the magic of friendship could overcome any evil. Do you remember that day when we defeated Discord and discovered the Elements of Harmony, dear Luna?”
Nightmare Moon began to yell as she felt the magic of the Elements begin to flow, “Those are but illusions of a past long gone! There are no Elements of Harmony without Luna; Luna is no more!”
“You are wrong, Nightmare. Luna’s love for me and all ponykind still lives within the bond that we share. Goodnight cruel Nightmare...” Celestia began to float upwards.
Nightmare Moon stood frozen in terror and began to shout, “No, NOOOO!”
Celestia’s mane flowed with the magic she was now wielding; she opened her eyes and the purest light filled the room.
When Celestia regained her senses, the black mare was gone. All traces of her evil were forever wiped from Equestria. However, one piece remained. Celestia stood transfixed as she looked at the shadow. It was the shadow of Princess Luna, yet it had no owner. The shadow walked over to the lone Princess and spoke two words, “Remember me.”
Celestia responded with two more, “I will.”
Epilogue
Princess Celestia walked through the abandoned streets of Equestria's once great capital, Everfree City. She could not bring herself to look at the bodies of the ponies she had failed to protect. At last she reached the edge of the city. She knew that she would never return to this place, yet she decided to leave a mark that would forever remind her of all the events that had transpired on this day. Using her magic, she willed the the then small Everfree Forest to grow over the remains of the city. A tree would grow for each life so cruelly taken by Nightmare Moon. By the light of the rising sun Celestia saw the last rememinants of the heart of her kingdom swallowed by a forest a ten thousand trees strong.
