All My Tears

Nova looked over to see Celestia rise into the air. Magic filled every breath she took. Everypony seemed to stop, frozen. Celestia rose higher still.

“Something’s not right here.”

Pinkie Pie’s speculations were correct. Something wasn’t right. Something was very VERY wrong. Celestia’s soft colored mane brightened until it burst into flame. It stayed aflame longer than it would take to burn up. Her eyes opened and they were blood red. Even her size had changed. For an adult alicorn, she wasn’t all that tall. She seemed to have grown a few inches. Her magic was gold instead of a light yellow.

Nova stared in horror. She had heard many stories from her mother of how she had turned into Nightmare Moon. This looked all too similar.

“Princess Nova! What’s happening?!”

Only two words could she utter to Twilight.

“Solar Flare.”

The chaos had died down almost without her noticing. She looked round and no one but the Elements of Harmony, Abendigo, Solar Flare, and herself were in the room.

She heard evil laughter and… crackling. She whipped around to face an incoming spell. It hit her in the chest and blew her across the room.

“Ah, a little rusty, are we?”

Nova stood up and prepared her own spell.

“You don’t have to do this. This isn’t who you are! Aunt Celestia-”

“DON’T SAY MY NAME!!! For thousands of years I’ve ruled Equestria and what thanks do I receive? NOTHING!! I’ve dealt with wars, struggle, and nopony even bothers to tell me thank you! I have made sacrifices and sacrifices for causes that seem pointless. IT WAS ALL FOR NOTHING!!! I LOST MY SISTER BECAUSE OF THAT HAREBRAINED STALLION WHO MARRIED HER!! NO MORE!”

Nova didn’t know what to think. Her mother told her that she tried to express her feelings in words also, but when that failed, she resorted to violence and trying to bring eternal night. Nova had almost put her guard down when Solar Flare looked her straight in the eye.

“You are right to cower, Princess.”

Two words.

“Now die!”

Both horns lit up. Solar Flare started to fly up in the air but Nova was too quick for her. The spark in her own horn grew until it exploded into a supernova. It spread throughout the room, knocked Solar Flare out of the air and into the throne.

The Elements placed their necklaces on. Nova advanced while she still had the advantage. She had inherited a fierce nature from her mother. She spread her wings and placed her hoof on Solar Flare’s side.

“I never wanted to do this. Either surrender now or be exiled.”

“Foolish child!!”

As soon as she spoke the elements used their power. One after the other shot towards Solar Flare engulfing her in a rainbow of magic.

Power rose.

Tension boosted.

Solar Flare’s eyes took one last glance at Equestria before…

                                            BOOM!!

She was gone.

“P-Princess Nova? How l-long will s-she stay in th-the sun?”

“Not for long, Fluttershy. There is an eclipse coming and I am positive she will use it to escape.”

“Pardon em fer askin’, but when is this here eclipse actually comin’?”

“We have about a year. Mean time, I would like each of you to help spread the word that Celestia has fallen.”

                                                             *

“What happened to our Princess?”

The crowd in front of Canterlot Town Hall yelled questions at Twilight and Apple Jack.

“FOR THE LAST TIME: THE PRINCESS HAS FALLEN INTO THE WILL OF THE MIASMA. THE SAME MIASMA THAT TURNED PRINCESS LUNA INTO NIGHTMARE MOON.”

The conversation wore on like that for a while.

Suddenly, some mare in the crowd screamed.

“AAHH!!!! It’s Nightmare Moon!”

At this outrageous statement all eyes turned to see Nova walking out of the building. She did indeed look fairly like Nightmare Moon. Her coat was it’s natural pitch black but her mane had changed. It seemed to be a mix of her mother’s normal style and the smoke-like style of Nightmare Moon.

She looked out into the crowd sternly and at once the screaming stopped. Everypony was so silent, you could hear a pin drop.

“I’m sorry for all this confusion. I don’t understand all of it either. But this is what I believe happened.”

She started to tell them what she had witnessed and what her mother had told her. The citizens finally seemed satisfied after she had finished.

They filtered out slowly talking quietly as they went. Nova turned to go finish researching the eclipses. Apple Jack and Twilight followed her.

“Princess, aren’t ya worried abou’ them thinkin’ yer Nightmare Moon?”

“If my kingdom chooses to see me as my mother’s mistakes, then let them do so. I am not their supreme ruler. I am not their conscience nor their own will. They shall see me as they please.”

“Nova, this all happened so fast and you’ve explained it so many times but I still don’t understand. Why?”

“Because greed inhabits us all, Twilight. We all want something. Some want it enough that they will do anything to have it. The miasma used to be the soul of the king of a great land. When that land was destroyed, it was left to wander through space. It found Equestria and saw how happy the country was. It wanted to have happiness also and believed it could attain that by conquering. The miasma has been the enemy of many alicorns and great leaders of Equestria. As my aunt has told me, it has been weakened over so much time that it knows it will die.”

“Bu’ why Celestia?”

“Why not? Think about it. She’s the most powerful alicorn in Equestria. What better way to conquer a land than by corrupting it’s leader?”

“I see. Good afternoon, Nova.”

“Good afternoon, Apple Jack.”