“I am going to kill that bastard!”

Cadance was running behind Shining, trying everything in her power to stop him as they got closer to the sounds of battle resonating from the castle grounds. “Shining stop, it’s too dangerous, you’ll be killed.”

“I DON’T CARE!” he roared, stopping as he rounded on his mare. “I TRUSTED HIM WITH EVERYTHING, I CONSIDERED HIM A BROTHER, AND THIS IS HOW HE REPAYS ME!”

Cadance wrapped up Shining in a hug, holding him close as he broke down in tears. “Shh, its ok, he is being dealt with.”

Shining slowly nodded, turning his head so that he was facing the explosions in the distance, and a familiar looking ray of light. “You get him Princess.”

* * *

Celestia picked herself up from the crater she had recently been forced to make, her eyes staring in horror at what she was witnessing. Blueblood was being fully consumed by a rage shift, his writhing form slowly turning black as his rage fueled magic consumed his body. His mane and tail burst into golden flames, and his blue eyes turned crimson as he finally rose, screaming in rage as he unleashed a torrent of fiery magic.

Celestia blocked the blast, sending a ray of ice cold magic at him to try and calm him, but it didn’t even reach due to the heat exuding from his body. He then roared again, unleashing a blinding beam from her horn into the sky and then slamming it back down onto her, shattering her shield and sending her into a wall.

It was then she realized this was no simple rage shift; something was aiding him, providing him power that he should not possess. The worst part was the magic he was calling upon was frighteningly familiar, for it was the same magic that she had felt when she had lost her sister to the nightmare.

“No…not again…not again!”

* * *

On a solitary mountain on the surface of the moon, Luna watch in dismay as the scene unfolded before her, watching her sister as she struggled to subdue the stallion. She looked over to the sleeping form of the Nightmare which shared her solitary prison, the creature she had once loved, and the creature that had cost her everything. She knew the Nightmare was helping the stallion below, and even though the Nightmare no longer had her power, she knew with how Celestia was behaving she would not last.

She closed her eyes, letting her mind fall into itself as she went into her greatest refuge, for she needed to speak with the source of her power, landing atop the great lake that represented her beasts favored place. “Diana,” she called, looking around till she spotted a black star covered alicorn rise up from the lake, gazing at her with her pure white eyes.

“Luna, what are you doing here?”

“Diana I need your help, I need a way to get down to the planet below so that I can help my sister, she is under attack.”

“What of Nyx?” asked Diana, “surely she will try and stop you?”

“She sleeps, she has somehow managed to send her beast into the one who threatens Celestia, so please will you aid me?”

Diana hesitated a moment, choosing her words carefully before she spoke. “Luna, you know as your servant I cannot refuse a request from you, but the cost of what you ask could prove dangerous latter down the line.”

“Whatever it is I…?”

“Stop,” said Diana, placing a starry hoof over Luna’s lips to silence her. “Luna you know as well as I that the prison surrounding the moon is close to breaking. If we do this you will be weakened greatly, enough so that Nyx will be able to possess you again, do you really want this?”

Luna gazed at her a moment, then nodded her head. “I don’t care what this will cost me, I know my sister will be ready by the time our prison breaks, but I need to help her now!”

Diana sighed, having known even when she was speaking that Luna would do this anyway, and then she opened up her forelegs. “Then embrace me sister, and I shall give thee the power to aid her.”

Luna didn’t hesitate, embracing her beast and closing her eyes as they were enveloped in a bright light. She returned to her body then, her eyes snapping open as she rose to her hooves, leaping into the empty sky above and breaking past the barrier, rocketing toward the planet below.

* * *

Celestia stared at the stallion before her, blood dripping from her mouth and various other wounds as she stood on shaky legs. She was convinced now that Blueblood had been possessed by the same thing that had corrupted Luna, though only a part of it if she was sensing correctly, for she could still feel the creatures presence on the moon along with her sisters. But that was not what concerned her, what concerned her was the clawing sensation that she was feeling inside her mind, for her beast Solaris was trying to take control.

As much as Celestia knew she needed her beast power, she knew she could not release her, for she would not stop at subduing her step son, she would kill him for attempting to steal her mate and thus challenging her power. She couldn’t let that happen, for despite what he had done she still loved him, and didn’t want to see him come to harm.

She saw the stallion glare down at her, his horn beginning to bubble with dark magic as he readied another spell, intent on finishing her off. But then he was blasted by a large lightning bolt, becoming enveloped in a blinding white light as the creature possessing him was expelled. Celestia watched as the stallion collapsed, and then gasped when she saw the pony behind him, for it was her sister Luna.

“Lu…Luna?”

She ran over, griping her sister in a big hug, but was soon pushed away. “Sister, I do not have much time, it has…has taken a lot of my power for me to get here, and I am afraid I will soon return to the moon.”

“What, NO! No I can’t lose you again; I can fix this, I…”

“Sister please, we do not have time, now listen. The cage surrounding me and Nyx is…”

“Nyx, you know that creature’s name, how…”

“I do not have time to explain; now please you must listen. The prison is becoming weaker by the day, and in a few years’ time Nyx will break free. You need to take that time to find new wielders for the elements, I don’t know who they are, but I know they are here, I have sensed them. Please Tia you must promise me to find them, they are my last hope.”

“I will Luna, I promise I will.”

They embraced one last time, and then Luna vanished in a blinding burst of light, leaving Celestia behind with nothing but her tears.

* * *

Twilight shook as she kept herself wrapped up in Celestia’s bed, crying softly as she was comforted by one of Celestia’s servants. She jumped when the doors opened, but then got up when she saw it was her parents, meeting them in the middle of the room and hugging them booth.

“We came as soon as we heard, I can’t believe he would do such a thing to you,” said Velvet, holding her daughter close as Nightlight ran a hoof through her mane.

“I…I tried to defend myself…but…but I…”

“It’s ok sweat heart,” said Nightlight, doing his best to contain his anger for the sake of his daughter. “He won’t hurt you ever again, I promise.”

They then turned as the doors opened yet again, and Twilight couldn’t help but wail in despair as her parents gazed in horror, for standing in the doorway was the injured princess. Twilight got up, running an embracing her as her parents walked up, their looks not changing. “Princess, wha…what happened; did Blueblood do this.”

“With a little help yes,” said Celestia, drawing confused looks from everypony. “It seems that something decided to latch onto him in his enraged state and caused him to lose control. But you need not worry, he has been subdued, and is now locked away in the dungeons awaiting his senten…”

“WHAT!”

Celestia and the others turned to see Velvet glaring at Celestia, “that monster is still alive, after what he tried to do to my baby!”

“Please Velvet let me explain.”

“No, he tried to rape Twilight, he tried to kill you! By everything I know about Equestrian law he deserves to be executed for his crimes!”

“And if I were to do that we would lose all support from the nobles, you both know how much influence he holds with them.” She held up a hoof to stop Velvet from arguing, knowing she needed to get this out before they did anything rash. “Look I know it is not ideal, but even when he was serving in the guard he would take his off time to meet with the nobles and talk with them, making connections and friendships, as I instructed him. If I were to kill him, the nobles would rise up arms despite what he had done, and that would mean civil unrest the likes of which we have not seen since the time of the three tribes. But rest assured for what he has done he will not escape punishment, he will be disciplined tomorrow at sunrise, and then returned to his jail cell to live out his sentence with his wounds.”

“Anything other than the mark of betrayal will be too much of a mercy for him.”

“…that is exactly what I plan to do to him.”

Velvet went from angry to horrified in a matter of seconds, looking at the princess as though she had just pronounced the sun would never again set below the horizon. “Princess, I…I wasn’t being serious…”

“But I was, and I am afraid it is not up for discussion. Now I must ask you to leave, I need your daughters help with something and I am afraid it is not for your eyes to see.”

“What, our daughter was just attacked and now you want us to leave her!”

“Dad please,” said Twilight, looking earnestly at her parents, “if Celestia says you need to go then go, I’ll be fine here I promise.”

Her parents looked at her questioningly for a moment, but then nodded, leaving the room along with Celestia’s attendants who closed the door behind them.

After the door closed Twilight turned back to Celestia, “what is it you need me to do?”

“Do you remember that chest I told you never to open, the one I keep under my bed?” Twilight nodded, “bring it to me, for you will need what’s inside.”

Twilight didn’t question her, grabbing the chest out from under the bed as Celestia collapsed upon it, moving onto the bed and opening it. She reached inside, pulling out a thick night blue tome and studying it, noticing the black field and moon cutie mark depicted on the cover. “Princess, what is this.”

“This is my sister’s tome of night magic, which contains many spells connected to the night and its celestial body, the moon. On page twenty you will find a healing spells, it is the only one that will work on wounds like this.”

Twilight looked at her curiously, then opened the book and flipped to the desired page. But when she tried to read the text, she saw that it was in a language she could not understand. “Tia I…I can’t read this.”

“Just…just open yourself to your magic Twilight…this kind of spell requires powerful magic to read.”

“But Tia you said that I wasn’t supposed to do that anymore, you said…”

“I know what I said, but that is the only way you will be able to cast this spell. Besides, you’re ready now, I know you can do it my love.”

Twilight looked at her with concern, but then nodded, closing her eyes and opening herself up to her magic. She hadn’t done this in years, not since she had accidently opened herself on the day of the entrance exam, and she was frightened of what it might do. But Celestia had told her it was needed, so she would do it for her, and nopony else.

Celestia watched as runes began to slowly creep along Twilights body, slowly creeping their way and intertwining as they covered every part of her, till the last reached her eyelids, and then she opened her eyes.

Twilight gazed at Celestia’s wounds with opaque eyes, seeing the magic deep within them and realizing then that simple unicorn healing spells would have not worked. She then glanced at the spell, memorizing it with one look before starting to pick it apart, her magic telling her how the spell should be cast as each word was dissected and re-read.

“You…you can read it now right?”

“Yes, but this spell cannot simply be cast, for these words…it must be sung.” Twilight then closed her eyes, taking a deep long breath, and then she began to sing.

Her horn lit up as she sung, Celestia’s wounds slowly beginning to stitch themselves up as each word left Twilights lips. But when she reached the first chorus Celestia gasped, an ethereal alicorn appeared behind Twilight, adding her voice to Twilights as she stood behind her. Celestia couldn’t believe her eyes, for she knew who this alicorn was, she was the Alicorn of Magic. But the biggest thing that shocked her was now she knew why she had thought Twilight had looked familiar all those years ago, because Twilight and the Alicorn of Magic looked exactly the same.

They finally finished the song, magic winking at Celestia and mouthing her thanks before vanishing, Twilight opening her eyes as the runes left her body. She wobbled a bit, and then collapsed on the bed, having passed out. Celestia then pulled her close and laid herself down next to her, letting her dreams take her as she tried to forget about what the morrow would bring.

Author's Note

Man a lot went down this chapter, Blueblood got possessed by the beast of Nyx (Nightmare Moon), Luna used her beast to break free of her prison temporarily, Magic showed up to help Twilight with her spell, god a lot went down. Blueblood's sentence will be held in the next chapter as well as Twilight beginning to delve further into the Book of The Night. As always guys I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and if you guys have any questions or comments please drop them on by, I love hearing from you guys.