Unbroken

TO ALL THINGS, AN END

The doors to the throne room burst open. Ponies scattered as a cloud of darkness filled the room, billowing forth from the door.  The court fled in terror, but the guards at least stood firm. These were no weak-willed conscripts, no, these were Celestia's elite guard - not that she needed them. Celestia stood tall, proud and defiant in the face of this threat.

"Celestia! Your time had come, and you shall die this day!" The cry rang out through the silence. The guards started. The voice was somehow familiar…

The princess herself looked first puzzled, then angry. Light flooded the room, warring with the darkness. "What fool challenges Celestia, bringer of light to this land?" Her voice was filled with steel, and those ponies not already against a wall backed up a step as the princess stood forward.

A condescending response issued from the darkness. "The bringer of darkness, that's who." Celestia's light disappeared, and the room was filled with pitch darkness. "I have a power you cannot hope to defeat, pony princess. You will die this day, and darkness shall rule!"

☾

Sickle Moon was one of the greatest students of the darkness, able to defeat several ponies at a time, even of his own kind. He could flit from shadow to shadow, unseen by even the most watchful eye. He was the greatest spy, assassin, warrior that Luna had ever trained. And his dedication to her was absolute.

It was for these reasons that she chose him for what turned out to be the most difficult mission she had ever assigned. When Blueblood had first entered the caves beneath Canterlot, the shadow ponies had paid him little mind as he blundered about in the darkness. However, he managed to (narrowly) avoid falling to his death in one of the deep crevasses, and he made it to the Font of Shadows. By the time the shadow ponies reached him, it was too late. He had drunk of the Font, and its powers had corrupted his soul.

Among the ponies near the surface, who the corrupt Blackblood hadn't sealed in the caves with his barrier, the quickest and most reliable was Sickle Moon. And so Luna told him, follow the corrupt pony, and see what he intends.

Sickle Moon blended with the shadows as he trailed Blackblood's progress through Canterlot. He leapt from shadow to shadow, nigh invisible to the untrained eye, even hiding behind Blackblood's own cloud of darkness when necessary. Realizing the mad pony's destination, by the time Blackblood broke down the doors to the throne room Sickle Moon was already concealed in the rafters behind a pillar, cloaked in shadows even in the presence of Celestia herself.

And so Sickle Moon saw everything. He knew that Blackblood's claim was no boast. He knew that Celestia could die from the dark power that had consumed the pony. Blackblood was beyond redemption now.

There was only one thing that could be done, and only two ponies in the room not blinded by Blackblood's magical darkness. One of them was Blackblood. The other leapt from his perch high above, death itself flying from above, silent, for the least sound would alert Blackblood and all would be lost.

Blackblood never saw, never expected Sickle Moon's crippling strike. He cried out in pain as the steel cut through his flank, then again as it cut a second time. Blackblood staggered, and the steel slit his throat.

Without Blackblood's ill-gotten power sustaining it, the spell of darkness crumbled before Celestia's light.

☾

A scream cut out from the darkness before her as Celestia saw a faint trace of a shadow within the darkness. Another cry of pain, then a wet thump as something hit the floor. She burned away the darkness before her, and it put up little fight. As the air cleared, she saw a body before her. A pony, or rather, a pony's body. Corrupted by some dark power, it was, and also making quite a mess on her pristine floor.

"Blueblood? How? Why? I… I trusted you…"

With a flash of light, her sister appeared. "Celestia! You're okay! I was so worried! I heard somepony tried to kill you, and I came as quickly as I could…" Luna's face seemed genuinely concerned, but who could know? Blueblood had betrayed her… a trusted advisor had turned on her, so who knew who could be trusted?

Luna turned to look at her sister. "Are you okay, Celestia? You seem to be, but…" Her voice trailed off uncertainly.

Celestia looked at her sister. "I trusted him, Luna! I trusted him, and he was going to kill me! I'm okay, but who know who else might betray me now…"

☾

Celestia followed her sister, invisible to the eye and masked to magic, undetectable. As long as nopony touched her and she stayed in the sun, the spell would hold. Luna passed through the castle gates, and Celestia followed close overhead. She wandered here and the, always headed in the same direction, and eventually left Canterlot altogether. Luna walked onward, quickly, as though in a hurry, now. Now that she was sure she had thrown off anypony following her, Celestia thought.

The princess of the night walked down the mountainside, on a little-used path. Celestia followed, down to the entrance to a cave. For a second, she recognized the place, from some memory long forgotten, but then it was gone again. It had been so long ago.

Luna entered the cave and disappeared into its depths. Celestia stopped, waited, thought for a little while. Then she followed, keeping to the shadows now as her spell collapsed.

☾

There were eyes watching her, in the dark. Eyes with intelligence behind them. Celestia sensed its presence, but it would not reveal itself. Angrily, she whirled, her horn lit, and the cavern was bathed in light. A voice cried out, and a body hit the floor, whimpering. A creature of darkness and corruption, with the body and mind of a pony, but the wings and the fangs of a bat added on. It was an abomination, living in the darkness far below Canterlot.

Celestia paused for a moment. This was her sister's realm. For the first time in many long years, Celestia felt unwelcome. The creatures of this world lived in fear of the light that burned their eyes, her glorious sun. They sought out these deep places, these dark places.

There are places a goddess of the sun cannot go. There are places deep, dark, and forbidding, and that darkness was sacred to her sister. Celestia's form shimmered, and it shrank down. Her sister was a master of illusions, but Celestia was no slouch either. Within moments, the sun goddess was gone, and in her place stood a denizen of the deeps. With four legs, bat wings, and a dark grey coat, she looked identical to the creatures she had caught peering from the darkness.

With a little magic, she put the thing to sleep. It would not wake for many hours, and would probably just think it was a bad dream or something. Celestia wasted little thought on the matter. She would send guards down here and clean away the infestation later. Perhaps that was what Luna had been up to down here, but why wouldn't she have told Celestia? The suspicion in her mind that her sister was up to something grew. For now, the sun goddess had the creature's form, and could proceed.

She passed many creatures in her descent ever downward, many creatures like this new form. She could see in the dark now, and they suspected nothing, so they did not hide from her gaze. She easily followed the trail of the magic Luna had practically radiated down here. Many others did the same. It seemed that all these things were going somewhere, summoned, perhaps, by the magic she followed.

Celestia found herself in what amounted to a small city carved into the rock, in the darkness. Windows and doorways were set into the stone at the sides of the great cavern through which she travelled. Celestia slowed, wondering, now, just what these creatures were.

A voice interrupted her. A young voice, hardly more than a foal. "Come on! You don't want to miss Luna, do you? Something important must have happened for her to call us all together like this."

Celestia blinked. The little foal was friendly, almost like one of her own little ponies. She had to play along, or risk exposure. "Oh, of course I wouldn't want to miss seeing my- Luna."

The substitution was almost too late, and the foal noticed it. "It's okay, many of us recognize her divinity. You can call her your goddess if you want to." The little foal smiled, and Celestia blinked again, but didn't bother to correct him. It. It was a thing, not a pony, she told herself.

Picking up her pace, she moved on, leaving the thing behind her.

☾

Celestia arrived at a great open area, what must be the center of the town. Many ponies- no, creatures, she told herself, uncertainly- had congregated here. At least fifty, maybe more. Their ages varied, mostly young ponies, but a few adults. None of them, she noticed, were old.

However, the most eye-catching thing she saw was Luna herself, standing before the crowd, on a stage. What was this?

The princess of night spoke, and all fell silent. "Greeting, my little ponies." Celestia shivered at the phrase, both at its use to describe these abominations and at its use to describe a group including herself. "I'm sure you're wondering why I have called you here, to speak before you. A short time ago, a pony of the daylit world ventured into these depths, and desecrated the shadows." Celestia panicked. Had she been found out? Had her attack been discovered?

Whispering began among the creatures around the disguised princess, but fell silent again at her sister's next words. "A terrible thing, I know, but the shadows have been restored and no true harm was done by the pony. His name was Blueblood, a noble of my sister's court, who I have suspected for some time. It is to my shame that I did not act sooner."

Blueblood! Was this where he had gotten his power? With the kind of power that could create creatures like these, he hadn't been bluffing, Celestia realized. He could have hurt her, perhaps removed her from the picture altogether, and she hadn't even realized. He'd been all talk for so long that she hadn't realized when he'd gotten real power. Celestia realized she'd become distracted, and snapped back to her sister's speech.

"…Sickle Moon nonetheless acted without orders and killed a pony in view of Princess Celestia herself, risking exposing yourself to her. Stand before me, Sickle Moon, and receive the consequences of your actions."

Murmuring spread throughout the crowd. An opening appeared in the crowd, and a single pony stepped forward. Celestia was sure now, a pony, for no true abomination would save her, knowing where it would lead. And this pony clearly knew exactly where his actions would take him. One step at a time, he climbed the stairs, head lowered in shame. Celestia frowned. This was wrong.

The pony who had saved her stood before her sister, ready to receive his punishment. Luna looked out to the crowd. "Do any deny the crimes this pony has committed? He has slain a pony, before Princess Celestia herself. He has risked us all by revealing himself in the daylight hours. Will any among you speak for him?"

Celestia felt like Luna looked right at her, though she could never have known. The disguise was perfect.

"The shadows are within him, as they are in all of you. Except for one. One pony among you is not what you seem. What do you think I should do, pony who is not what you seem?"

Celestia winced. The disguise wasn't perfect. She bore no taint of darkness on her soul, as these ponies did. And Luna could see that, it seemed. How long had she known? It mattered not. She stepped forward. Instantly, the ponies around her melted back, leaving a straight path between her and the stage. As she walked, she let her disguise fade away, as it was of little use now. She stood before her sister, her identity revealed.

"Celestia, sister, what fate should befall this pony? He has broken our secrecy, and slain another pony. You saw it yourself, I suspect."

Celestia was sure now. "He saved my life and my throne, this Sickle Moon. He has earned his life, and I owe him a debt."

Luna responded quickly, "You forgive him for killing a pony in court. Very well. But what of his other crime? He has broken the secrecy that his people need in order to survive, for you saw him. Your presence here is evidence of that."

Celestia had to think quickly. She'd had a lot of practice, and it didn't take her long to realize the only way to save this pony. "I will make his crime meaningless, then. He is welcome in the daylit world, and all his kind, the same. For my life, it is the least I can do."

Her sister smiled, and Celestia knew she had done exactly what her sister had wanted, but at the same time, she knew it was the right thing to have done. These ponies shouldn't have to live in fear, after all.

Luna spoke again, to the crowd. "You all heard my sister's words. Hail Celestia, and hail the hero, Sickle Moon!"

The crowd roared.

☾

EPILOGUE

Shining Armor was in his office. Finally, order had been restored after the failed assassination of Princess Celestia. He heard a knock on the door. Sighing, he stood up and opened it, only to find himself facing some sort of monstrous creature, the likes of which he'd never seen before.

"Message for you, captain," it said, producing a scroll.

This was going to be a very long day.