Away from the music and laughter of celebration, a lone pony walked with head hung low to a spot quiet enough that memories may even sleep for but a moment. It was miles from civilization, where a pristine lake shone, shattering the rays of the moon across the surface, that this pony found peace. In the distance the lights shined bright, for the parties would not end soon, for the evil was banished and the sun would shine in hours. But this one pony had the ability to douse the sun with her thousand falling tears, one for everything she should have said, should have done.
'That's a lie' she thought to herself. 'I could have done so much more.'
'I could have held her, could have told her she was loved. I should have told her she was beautiful, because she really was. I should have told her that her laugh was what made the world go round, that her eyes shined brighter than any star she could have imagined. If I had told her how much she meant to me, maybe this wouldn't have happened.'
The lone pony stared up at the chandelier of the nighttime sky, forever scarred with the scowl of a broken mare, driven by hatred and pain. But she looked around the unriddling lake, and she feels the darkness. Darkness, darkness, everywhere. She must have felt so alone. No birds to guide her step, no light to guide her soul, but instead she unfolds from night's arms, taking with her the fear and uncertainty that the dark may bring. She brought light to something so dark, how could she not see?
'Because she was never told,' thought the pony, pawing her hoof at the glass surface of the water, shattering the concentration it held towards the sky. The imprisoned mare rippled, her gaze unchanging, the stone holding her still; the lone pony wept into the lake, adding the tears that so frequently filled it, for some hoof prints were old under her fresh ones.
For what she only believed was that her darkness was imperfect, she saw not the beauty she possessed, so calm, so clear. She only saw the turned backs of who she thought loved her, and she only saw the power of a dragon's fire.
The pristine pony, alone on the bank, stood on her hooves with heavy shoes, as golden crown weighed down her head. She stared into the rippling reflection of the wear, bouncing the moon up and down on the waves.
And without warning, a deep, pent up anger burned inside the elder's chest; an anger forged by the mistakes she had made, the ponies she had let down, the things she wished she could take back. Her horn lit up with the black aura of the darkest magic, one she swore to never use, and shot its beam into the center of the lake.
A deepening whirlpool erupted, sucking the air, grass, and foliage into itts everlasting abyss. The pony stood her ground, hooves planted firmly on the crippling ground as the world around her was ripped to shreds, tugged into the watery grave by the magic of her deepest fears and angers coming to light.
She chocked on her tears, gasping for breath as the wind was pulled out of her lungs, but she was strong, withstanding the collapse of her sanctuary, while the purple haze flooding her eyes and took over her pupils with green. And for a second, a fleeting second, she swore she saw a blue pony standing atop the water, glaring a her with a stare colder than a windigo's winter.
The water rushed in front of her as the blue pony stood on the water's surface, slowly walking across the top towards the pearl mare. Without breaking gaze, her hoof fell in front of her, her entire body plummeting into the abyss that the white pony had created. She did not shriek, did not show fear, but simply fell as if she knew it was her end, staying ever calm as always.
"L-Luna!" shouted the pony, halting the spell. With the purple haze gone and the black magic evaporated, the whirlpool halted, gurgling away into oblivion. The lone pony wasted no time in spreading her swan like wings and launching her self into the water's center; holding her breath tight, she swung her head back and forth, desperately searching for her lost one.
At the lake's deep bottom laid the remains of her destructive rant: trees, grass, gravel and anything in proximity had been scooped up and laid to rest in the water's bottom. Slowly floating down to join the debris was a dark blue pony, bearing both wings and a horn, and a black patch upon her flank with an unmistakable crescent moon adorning it.
The white pony thrashed about, unaccustomed to swimming, but flapped her soaked feathers for propulsion as she raced towards her drowning sister. Trying to teleport, her magic fizzled under the weight of the water, so she thrashed her long, graceful legs until she reached the falling figure. Snatching her around the neck with one hoof, she dove upward to the surface, desperate for breath. Everything under the lake became dark, the bottom disappearing as the moon dulled under a cloud, and for a moment she was blind. With a final burst of strength, and caution to not further harm her sister, the white pony erupted from underneath the lake, treading the water as she huffed for the still night air. She looked to her sister's limp body, trying to feel her breathing, but no breaths could be felt.
"No, no Luna, please no," she sobbed, burying her face into the pony's soaking fur, legs burning with pain as she struggled to keep both of them afloat. A large gasp shocked her back as her sister inhaled deeply; the moon moved from behind the cloud, rays shining onto the still pond, small ripples forming from where the white pony treaded.
"Luna, Luna! Are you ok?!" said the other alicorn, smiling and crying at the same time. The blue alicorn's expression did not change, her gaze as crude as it was before she fell beneath the icy water.
"Why?" she said coldly, before her body slowly lightened, floating upward on the ray of moonlight basking down on them. She held her gaze as she drifted upward and slowly disappeared back into the moon.
The once again lone pony's jaw was left agape, tears flowing freely as she stared back up at the moon. She did not acknowledge the destroyed area around her, the way her feathers were clumped, or the way her fur stuck to her skin in the ice cold water. She stared up at the ghost of her sister, and for what she thought she had for what was only a few seconds.
Author's Note
This is what happens when you listen to 'You Are the Moon' instead of getting ready for school or doing homework. Quick oneshot for procrastination! Also, about the ending, it is up to interpretation! Was it Luna's ghost, actually a bit of her essence trapped on Earth, or Celestia's imagination? Up to you!
To Face the Blackened Sky
The lone pony was friendless no more, for she had continued her life from that fateful day by the lake that now lay deep within the Everfree Forest. She had found friends throughout the decades, comrades to keep her laughing and smiling, momentarily distracted from her greatest sin.
She stood behind a thick purple curtain, mane flowing with power, the chants of her adorning subjects wafting through the thick wool shield. Through the thick barrier, she could faintly make out the sound of the town's mayor introducing the festival. Loud chants and stamping hooves filled the air with cheery sound.
"And now, it is my great honor to introduce to you the ruler of our land, the very pony who gives us the sun and the moon each and every day, the good, the wise, the bringer of harmony to all of Equestria..."
Stifling a yawn from the early morning, Celestia prepared her winning smile, adjusted her crown, and sauntered through the curtain and onto the stage.
She was met with silence. No ponies cheered for her, and the mayor didn't even bother to move from her path on the stage. "Hello?" she asked out into the crowd, but no pony blinked, stirred, or snorted. The regal pony's eyes shut lightly, and she exhaled for a long moment.
With eyes closed softly, she turned slowly to face the open curtain. She did not peek, but simply opened her eyes facing the floor. "I didn't expect you to come."
"Why would I miss this?"
"You want to cause chaos."
"I want to cause pain."
"To whom?"
"To you."
"Why harm these ponies? They know not of you."
"I'll have to change that then, shouldn't I?"
"They are not the ones who harmed you."
"I know, but sometimes life isn't fair."
"I missed you Luna."
"Don't continue your foalish illusions, Celestia," said the dark mare, circling Celestia slowly, her starry mane licking at the white mare's face, snapping her chin upwards. "You know what you have caused. You know Luna is no longer here."
"She may not be here," said Celestia, refusing to make eye contact, "but she is somewhere, and she will be here soon."
"I doubt that," said Nightmare Moon.
"What do you plan to do, sister?" Celestia asked. Upon hearing 'sister', Nightmare quickly spun around with a sneer on her face, pushing her horn up into Celestia's neck.
"Do with what?" she growled.
Celestia gulped, but stood her ground. "With this moment in time. Surely you could have killed me in a matter of seconds. Heck, you could have stopped me in time and slaughtered me on the spot."
"Your point?" sneered Nightmare, applying more pressure onto Celestia's throat.
"Why didn't you?"
Nightmare took a step back, looking across the crowd of frozen, smiling faces. "You deserve to suffer as I did! You deserve to rot in the sun as I did in the moon! But I won't make the mistake of a weak spell. No, you will be trapped forever! Muahahahaha!" she cackled, lightning spewing from her flaring mane and tail.
Celestia hunched back from the sparks, but maintained her composure on the outside.
"Too scared to fight, dear?" teased Nightmare.
"Too disappointed."
"Psh!" scoffed Nightmare. "Of course you're still as pathetic as always. Prepare yourself, ruler of Equestria, for this day shall be your last," cackled Nightmare Moon as she fired up her horn at Celestia.
"Wait," said Celestia quietly.
"What!?" spat Nightmare.
"I want to be sealed in your heart."
"Excuse me?" scoffed Nightmare, taken back by the unusual request.
"If i am to be banished for as long as you reign, I want to be in your heart. So if one day you see the error of your ways, my Luna will be set free, and I along with her."
"An adorable notion," cooed the nightmare, "but a foolish one at that. You knew the day you banished me that Luna no longer existed."
"I will never give up."
"Oh shut up with your stoic words and fight me coward!" said Nightmare rearing up, horn flaring with dark magic. "And say to me what you plan to do!"
"To face the blackened sky," said Celestia, head hanging low. She could hear Nightmare's galloping hooves rushing towards her, and she knew without the Element's power by her side, death would be the only escape from this terror.
Eyes burning bright with the power she possessed, Celestia transformed her body into nothing but a wisp, evaporating the moment before she would be struck. The black foe spun around, whipping her head from side to side, sending her armored helmet clattering against her horn.
"Come out and fight!" she screamed.
But only silence. time stood still around her so that not even the wind could distract her. She looked at her chest, though could find no evidence of Celestia.
"Celestia!" she screamed loudly into the darkness, hitting at her chest with armored hooves, striking the breastplate with loud clinks of metal on metal.
"No, she is a coward, she has hidden. Her actions shall not stop mine!" She cast her spell, and was immediately greeted by a chilling breeze.
"...Princess Celestia!" sang out the Mayor's voice in introduction. Nightmare Moon plunged her body into her starry form, and rushed out onto the platform, revealing her true self with a flap of her black wings.
And in the sea of fear and confusion, one understood.
