Rise of the Night

Legends are passed down to every new generation in some way or form. They can be told around a roaring camp fire or learnt by reading a book. The world is full of these legends, some are simply epic while others are content with their small deeds. There is one thing both grand and minor legends share in common though...change. With each new generation the stories change to suite the needs of those they are told to until finally the original tale is lost to history itself. They say as soon as the last survivor to witness an event dies then said event becomes history. With this being the case then almost all legends fade into obscure history eventually. There are a few tales however that perhaps will never be lost to history, such as the tale of how the light from the moon faded for a thousand years.

Finally it was over. All the pain, suffering, and languish that had been felt by pony kind for as long as many of them could remember was finally at an end. Thanks to the acts of two sisters who had risked everything to return harmony to a land that had been consumed in the chaos of it's former master. Harmony would once again bloom with happiness and love flooding the land for all to enjoy.

"Its over Discord, you no longer have reign over this land." Said the eldest sister as she looked at the draconequus who lay on the ground. To her side was the younger sister who similarly looked at their fallen foe. The only noise heard by the three was that of the wind blowing over the field of grass were their battle had taken place. The sisters waited for a response from their foe. None was heard.

The younger sister grew impatient and annoyed at the silence. "Well!? What do you have to say for yourself monster!? After all you've put our people through surely you must have something to say!" Again no answer came from Discord, just more silence. "If you will not talk then I will make you speak!" The young sister quickly moved to stand over the object of her hate and raised her hoof.

"No Luna, there is no more need for violence. He has already been defeated, to do anything more would only ruin the achievement that we gained this day." The eldest sister held up her own hoof to stop her sisters. "He knows he's been defeated, let him wallow in what ever pity he has for himself."

Luna broke her hoof free from that of her sisters and brought it back towards the ground with enough force that made the earth shake and crack around them. "Celestia, are you showing mercy to this monster!? How can you feel anything but hate towards him after all he has done to Earth Ponies, Unicorns, and Pegasi. Have you forgotten his rule over them and what he did to us? Ha-have yu-you forgotten what he did...to mo-mother?" Tears began to fall from Luna towards the ground as she sobbed recalling memories of their now gone mother. Celestia spread one of her wings over Luna in an attempt to comfort her.

A tear rolled down Celestia's face but she quickly wiped it away. "I  have not forgotten my dear sister, rest assured that he will pay for the crimes that he has committed. Justice will be served, you'll see." With her lip still quivering Luna began to regain her composure. She took a deep breath and exhaled letting out as much as the sorrow that she could that was bottled up inside of her. "You are right.", Luna said softly. "Just as you always are and always will-"

"I find it cute how you two think you've save the world, when in reality you have changed nothing."

The voice startled the two sisters and they turned their gaze towards the source of the outburst. To their surprise they say that Discord was laughing. "You fools honestly think that just because you've defeated me that the world will be perfect? You expect that justice will be served by putting me on trial for any crimes that I supposedly committed while I ruled over this land?" Discord began to laugh louder in a way that began to unnerve the two sisters. Tired at his laughing Luna raised her voice. "Silence monster! You will not speak unless spo-"

Discord raised his index claw silencing Luna. "Wait wait, I haven't even gotten to the best part yet. The part where you two plan to rule as namby pamby pony princess." Discord made a mocking gagging noise with a twisted face. "Honestly, and here I thought I was the one who was funny." He continued to laugh for another minute before finally going silent again.

The anger in Luna began to boil. She wanted nothing more than to bash the impudent creatures head in with her own hooves and paint the grass red with his blood but she knew that Celestia would stop her as she always did. Before Luna had the chance to speak Celestia addressed the smug looking draconequus. "With you defeated and harmony in control again the world will heal. You will stand trial for what you did and will be punished."

The smug look on Discord's face disappeared. "Still as foolish as the day we met Celestia, believing that good will always win. Nothing but nonsense. Even if i'm gone do you really believe that the world will be in perfect harmony? Tell me, do you even know what the definition of harmony is? As long as there is harmony there will always be disharmony. They are two sides of the same coin, yin and yang as those in the east would call it. Evil will never truly be gone. In order for the world to survive there must be those with malicious intent to maintain the balance." Again Discord went silent letting his lecture sink in with the sisters.

What Celestia said next shocked both Luna and Discord. "You're right."

Both her sister and foe were taken back by this. A look of confusion washed over Discords face, he pondered for a few moments for what to say because for the first time in what seemed like an eternity he was left speechless. "Have I finally gotten through to you then Celestia? After all the time we've known each other this is the first instance where you have have agreed with me."

"Sister have you gone mad!? How can you agree with anything that comes out of this monster's mouth? How can you-" Celestia quickly flared her wings and her horn began to shine with a magnificent golden aura. "No Luna, he is right. The world needs both good and evil, there must be balance. Come, let us unite our magic again and use the Elements of Harmony to ensure that the balance will not be broken...by turning him to stone." A smile appeared on Luna's face, she nodded her head as her horn too began to glow in a blue aura.

Around them six objects began to levitate off the ground into the air above the grassy field forming a circle. Each of the object was differently colored. There was lavender, white, blue, yellow, pink, and orange each giving off a magnificent ray of light as they shone brightly.

A grin appeared on Discords face that threw the sisters off guard. "Well if I'm going to be turned into stone then at least let me leave you with a parting gift since I don't believe I'll be doing much talking while imprisoned."

As fast as lighting Discord jumped off the ground and threw himself at Celestia and Luna who were not fast enough to evade his attack. With his griffon claw he clenched Celestia's face tight while his lion's paw did the same with Luna. Both sisters uttered objections that were muffled by Discord's grasp on their faces. "Shhhhh shhhh shhh. Now now, don't speak. I've only got enough strength in me to try this once and I would be greatly appreciative if you two didn't mess this up." The last thing the sisters heard were the laughs of a maniac before they were blinded by a white flash.

"Celestia!" Luna shouted as soon as she felt the paw from her face disappear. "Celestia what-" Luna stopped herself realizing that she was no longer in the middle of a grassy field, in fact it was no longer the day time. Night found Luna as she stood in front of what appeared to be a pitch black forest. Looking down at her body she saw that she was now a ghostly grey. She examined herself more until something searing landed on her wing. She quickly opened her wing and saw an ember glowing red hot in between her feathers. "An ember? But what is this doing here? There's no-", and then Luna felt it. She felt an intense heat coming from behind her. As she turned around she realized that she was not in a forest but on the outskirts of a flaming village. Shock and confusion took hold as she struggled to comprehend where she was. "Discord! What sorcery is this!? Where have you sent me?"

"Oh poor Luna, its not where I have sent you but when I have sent you." A ghostly voice said. Luna looked around and saw no sign of Discord. She was alone standing in front of an unknown burning village, she hated being alone.

"To find the answers you seek go into the village, there everything will make sense. Of that I can assure you sweet mare."

"No Discord! I will not play your games any longer, tell me what you have done with my sister! Answer me!" She tried her best to hid the worried tone in voice. All she heard was the roaring blaze of the flames. Slowly she began to panic and lose her composure. "Please! Just tell me what you have done with Celestia! Please just answer me...I can't stand to be alone." Desperation took over as she began to plea for some pony, anything for that matter, to answer her.

Finally an answer came. "Oh now don'y cry my little pony. You're going to break my heart." Sickening laughter filled the night around Luna. "If you really want to find your sister then I'll tell you where she is. She's in the town hall of this village waiting for you." Luna did not hesitate to ponder if she was running into a trap, she galloped at full speed into the burning village

The flames and buildings became a blur as she galloped faster then she had ever before. Reason was gone from her mind, instead being replaced by concern and fear. It did not cross her mind to fly, she just followed her instincts and ran to find her sister. Along the way she passed what seemed to be a library, a train station, and a bakery. All with flames dancing upon them as well. In the distance she thought that she saw what appeared to be a farm that was ablaze as well. She did not care for the inhabitants of this village or for the lose of their homes. All she cared about was finding her sister.

Hope entered her heart as she approached what appeared to be town hall. A large building in the center of the village that peculiarly seemed to be the only building not covered in flames. She thought it strange but did not deter from her goal. She leapt up the small steps and burst through the front doors with enough force that cause them to shatter. "Celestia? Where are you?" She said as she looked around the large room eagerly for her sister. A quick glance at the floor in front of her and any hope that she had of being reunited with her sister was immediately extinguished.

Her heart skipped a beat and she fell to the floor as soon as she set eyes on her sister. "No, no, please, not you too..."

Her eyes began to tear up, on the floor in the middle of the large room lay Celestia surrounded by a pool of blood.  "NO! NO! NO!", Luna shouted as she ran to her sisters side. She quickly dropped to the floor into the pool of blood to be at her sisters side. She took a bloody hoof into her own and felt for a pulse, there was none. She lowered her head to to her sisters side and carefully listened for a heart beat, again there was none. Luna rolled her sister onto her back and placed her hooves onto her chest and began to press in rhythm and then placed her mouth to her bloody sister's in an effort to breath life back into her.

Nothing, all her efforts at saving her sister were futile. Tears flowed down Luna's faced she held her sisters head in her hooves. Luna let out a howl  that shook the entire building, she wailed loudly as grief overtook her.

"Discord..."She muttered under her breath. "You did this didn't you! Taking my mother wasn't enough was it!? No you had to also take my sister as well!" Luna's voice began to shake with anger as hatred and rage built up inside of her. "I'll kill you...YOU HEAR ME I'LL KILL YOU!" Luna wailed looking around the room for any sign of Discord. The fact that she could not she him only enraged her more. " I"LL KILL YOU!"

Laughter began to fill the room and Luna went silent. She gently lowered her sisters head onto the ground before standing up. She stood covered from head to hoof in the blood of her sister eager to locate the one that had done this. "Monster show your self you damn coward! Face me! FACE ME!", she yelled.

"Why should I face you when I'm not the one responsible for her death? Sweet mare, why would I kill one of my favorite ponies? If you want to know the identity of the one who murdered your beloved sister in cold blood then look no further than in a mirror."

Look no further than in a mirror?

Luna stood there trying to put the pieces together. Suddenly the silhouette of a figure crashed from the roof and landed in front of Luna. Dust and debris kept Luna from getting a good look at the figure that was now standing only a few feet away from her.  Finally when the dust settled Luna gazed upon a dark figure in bluish armor. It's coat was pure black, its eyes white as the moon, and it's dark blue mane flowed endlessly. It possessed both wings and a horn just like Luna and Celestia did.

Luna spoke cautiously to the figure in front of her. "Are you the one, the one that killed Celestia!?" No reply from the figure. "ANSWER ME! Are you the one that killed my sister!?" Still no reply.

The dark figure suddenly began to move towards Luna, it's gaze locked on her. It walked into the pool of blood causing Luna to back up in fear. Luna continued to back up until she felt her back touch the wall behind her, she was cornered.

"What the hell are you?", Luna said in a shaky voice.

The figure gave no response but raised one of its hooves, Luna saw that it was covered in dried blood. A terrifying thought suddenly entered Luna's mind. She looked down at her own hooves and saw that they too were covered in blood.

"No, no, no it can't be..." Luna said to herself.

Finally the figure in front of her spoke a single sentence. "I'm the Princess of the Night."

Luna fell down back into the pool of blood. The realization hitting her harder than that of a hundred dragons. Her mind went blank as she realized who had murder her sister.

"You're me..."

A sudden golden flash enveloped the entire room and the world outside, in the next instant Luna found herself back in the grassy field. She felt a hoof placed on her shoulder, she slowly turned around and stared into her sisters face.

Celestia shook Luna violently in an attempt to snap her young sister out of what ever trance Discord had put her in. "Luna!", she shouted practically into the mare's ear. Nothing worked as Luna continued to stare at her as if she was a ghost. Celestia turned her gaze towards Discord, her eyes piercing as if they were spears. "Discord, what have you done to her!? What did you do to me and Luna?"

Discord had been standing just a few feet in front of the sisters watching with a sadistic grin on his face at Celestia's attempts to awaken her sister. "Oh Celestia, all this time I thought you were such a smart cookie. Yet you fail to realize such simple things even when they are shown to you." Discord snapped his talons together and in a bright flash a bag of popcorn appeared in his claws. "Seeing you two struggle in life has always made for great entertainment, sad how I won't be around to see the main event."

"NO!", Celestia shouted. "You won't be around to ruin anymore lives." Once again six differently colored lights rised up into the sky forming a circle around only Discord this time. Celestia took one last good look at her foe before casting the spell. "Begone with you."

A sigh escaped Discord's mouth as he threw away the bag of treats and struck a triumphant pose. In the next instant he was covered in a prismatic aura with his body slowly turning into stone from the bottom up. Before his head was petrified he spoke one last sentence, "Good bye old friend, at least until we meet again..." With that being said he let out one last laugh before being cut off by the stone overtaking his body completely. The aura around the stone flashed brightly and then disappeared, the six lights blinked once before falling back towards the ground. Silence overtook Celestia as she stared into the petrified form of what once had been her greatest foe.

Suddenly remembering that she was not alone she turned back to face Luna who was on the ground quietly sobbing. "Luna...". Celestia said in a warm loving voice. "Its finally over , we've finally defeated him." Luna continued to sob, Celestia moved up to her sister to try and embrace her, "Luna, whats-"

"GET AWAY FROM ME!", Luna yelled at the top of her voice pushing Celestia away from her. "Please...just please stay away from me...please." Luna's voice was shaky and her body was trembling as if from fear. Celestia was stunned, it was as if her sister was afraid of her. "Luna...its me...Tia", Celestia said in a reassuring voice. "There's no reason to be scared of me."

Luna shook her head once making sure her gaze did not meet her sister's. "Its not you I'm afraid of dear sister...its me."

"You?", Celestia asked curiously. "Why are you scared of yourself?" Luna gave no answer, still averting her gaze from Celestia's.  "Luna there's no reason to be afraid any more, Discords gone and now you and I will rule over this land in peace and harmony. The dark times are behind us with a bright future for all pony kind, everything will be alight...you'll see."

Luna finally brought her gaze to meet Celestia's, "No dear sister, they won't be." Celestia again tried to reason with her sister. "They will be Luna, just wait and see! I'll be the Princess of the sun and you'll be the Princess of the Night-"

"-What did you call me?'", Luna asked in a shaky voice. Celestia stepped closer to her sister, "I called you the Princess of the Night, that is what you will be-"

The moments that followed were filled with chaos. Luna simply exploded in emotion as she began to rant in a way that made it impossible to understand her. Tears flew from her eyes and landed around her as she collapsed on the ground howling as if she had taken a sword to the rib cage. Celestia watched frightened and helpless at her sisters actions. Unsure of what to do she simply watched as her sister tore her self apart before her very eyes.

Celestia's mind raced searching for a way to comfort her sister. Finally it dawned on her what Discord had done to her sister. "Luna, what did Discord show you?"

"He, he showed me a reality where you were dead by my hooves and the monster that was the Princes of the night." A tear fell from the older sister upon hearing this. "I see...", Celestia said. She walked carefully around and positioned herself directly behind her sister.

"I was not fast enough to free you from the vision he injected into your mind and for that I am truly sorry Luna. Perhaps If I was quicker in freeing myself then maybe I could of broken his spell on you." Luna's head shot up into the air as she realized what her sister was saying. "Yu-you saw it too then sister?", Luna asked.

Luna felt a hoof again placed on her shoulder. "Yes Luna, I saw the vision of the future as well...", Celestia stated. "Forgive me for what I must do now dear sister, for there is no reason for both of us to live with this burden."

"Wait! What do mean...", Luna's sentence was cut off as she felt something strike her hard against the back of the head. Time seemed to slow down as she fell towards the ground. Her head hit hard against the dirt and her eyes began to slowly close. "But...why...dear sist-", she fell into a deep sleep.

Celestia stood above Luna's unconscious body, "Because I love you dear sister, now sleep as I purge the pain from your mind. You'll thank me someday...I promise." Celestia's horn glowed brightly as she cast the spell that would erase her sisters memory.

Wind blew over the grassy field as tears fell onto Luna's body. It was eerily quiet, no witnesses to what had just transpired. From the moment that Luna awoke she would believe that she had been knocked out during the fight with Discord. The statue of the the draconequus watching silently as Celestia worked.