Rise of the Night

Centuries passed since the defeat of Discord. Time healed the land as Earth Ponies, Unicorns, and Pegasus lived in harmony with one another. The two regal immortal sisters Celestia and Luna ruled over the land bringing with them prosperity and happiness. For a time all was good and peace was known by countless generations. Peace however could not last forever and soon a new threat arose in the Equestrian Arctic. In the Crystal Empire a Unicorn known as King Sombra used his dark powers to bring fear into the hearts of his slave subjects. The sisters went North to battle the King and put an end to his reign of terror.

"Quickly child, run to me! Hurry!", Luna yelled in an exhausted voice to the crystal pony infant that was backed in the corner of the room. "Please little one, the building will not stay up for much longer! You have to run to me!" The crystal pony said nothing but just stared back at Luna with fear in it's eyes.

Luna was in the door way of a collapsing building, her magic the only thing keeping the building from crumbling apart over both her and the child but even an Alicorn's magic had it limits. The Princess of the Night could feel her strength leave her body more and more for every second that she continued her spell. Finally at her breaking point she held out her hoof signaling for the child to grab hold of it. The crystal pony did not budge and stayed in it's corner.

There was no option left for Luna. She closed her eyes and jumped out of the door way into the street, the building collapsing in front of her as soon as the spell had worn off. Crystal dust was sent up and down the street blocking Luna's view and causing her to cough violently as dust particles full of crystal shards entered her lungs. She shielded her eyes with her hoof as the wave of dust hit her. Finally when the dust had settled Luna saw the building that she had been in only moments ago reduced to nothing but rubble, the crystal pony child buried somewhere in the mess.

Bringing her hoof down to the ground forcefully Luna yelled out in anger, "Damn it all!" There was no time for grieving as her sister landed between her and the building's rubble. "Luna what happened?" Celestia looked over her sisters body and saw she was covered in dust and little cuts, her concern grew, "Are you injured-"

"-I couldn't save the child that was trapped in there...I wasn't strong or fast enough sister." Luna's voice was full of sorrow. Celestia took a look a the rubble for a brief moment an then turned back to her sister. "The child will not have died for nothing Luna, we will find Sombra and he will pay for what he has done to the Crystal Empire. Now come on, we won't let him get the jump on us again, we'll be ready for whatever he throws at us." Celestia opened her wings and took to the air again, Luna took one last look at the rubble before doing the same.

The sisters flew towards Sombra's castle in the center of the empire as fast as possible. Before arriving in the North just a few hours before they had been informed by one of their guards that Sombra was preparing a powerful curse to cast over the empire. Celestia and Luna had both agreed that they needed to stop the Unicorn King before he could finish preparing the curse. At full speed they flew to the castle but once again Sombra had anticipated they're next move. Dark crystals began to grow on the castles exterior and then shot into the air at Celestia and Luna.

"Brace yourself sister!", Luna shouted at Celestia who had been flying in front. Celestia flapped her wings hard and brought her horn to face the oncoming barrage. In the next instant she erected a large glowing yellow shield. The crystal projectiles crashed hard against the shield shattering the second they made contact with it. The shield held strong but the volley didn't seem to end. More and more crystals grew on the outside of the castle and launched themselves at the shield.

Celestia shouted at Luna to fly next to her since she could not turn her head around. Luna obediently listened and flew to a hover next to her sister, "Sister we have to keep going! We can't stay here all day, we must stop Sombra!" Luna motioned for her sister to lower the shield but Celestia simply shook her head. "No Luna, if I lower the shield then the crystals will smash against the empire below killing hundreds. I have to keep the shield up for the safety of the crystal ponies."

"Then what are we to do sister? Sombra's curse must almost be ready by now!", Luna looked around and saw that there really was no way to protect those below if the shield fell. Celestia thought for a moment before coming up with the only possible answer, "It must be you Luna, you have to enter his castle and stop him from casting the curse. I shall remain here and keep the shield going until the attack stops."

Luna looked at Celestia with disbelief. Surely her sister was not serious, sending her alone to face King Sombra. "Sister there has to be another way! I can't defeat him on my own, he'll escape!" Time was running out and Celestia could feel her magic grow weaker, "You have to Luna and quickly, my magic will not hold forever."

The crystals continued to smash against Celestia's shield, Luna knew that her sister would not ask this of her if there was no other option. "Very well sister, I will stop him. I promise."

A quick nod from Celestia and Luna was off again towards the castle creating a smaller blue shield around herself. Her body rocked violently as the projectiles smashed against her. Finally  when she came to with in range of the castle, her shield burst into blue flames and she shot across the sky the remaining distance to the walls. She did a few quick calculations in her head and aimed at where she believed the throne room was. She smashed against the outside of the castle sending vibrations throughout the whole complex and landed in a pitch black room. The only light filtered through the hole that Luna had made as she burst in. The light quickly began to fade however as the the hole repaired itself. Soon Luna found herself in the darkness that was King Sombra's throne room.

Seconds passed as Luna just stood in the darkness unable to see even a few feet in front of her face. She squinted her eyes in an attempt to increase her ability to see in the dark, it was to no avail. She concentrated a little before a dim light from her horn casted the room in a dark-ish blue tint. A voice resonated from the walls around Luna, "What's the matter Princess, scared of the dark?"

Luna simply smirked at the arrogant remark, "Ha! Foolish Sombra, do you forget who you address!? I am the Princes of the Night, I embrace the darkness that is around me!"

"Well then, I guess that makes two of us then Princess Luna." Now Luna was beginning to get upset, she would not be compared to monsters, "Silence! You dare compare yourself to me Sombra-"

"-King Sombra."

"You were always an arrogant one Sombra, you have no right to that title and don't you even think about comparing yourself to me! We are nothing alike!" For a moment all was quiet but then out of the corner of her eye Luna could see that black fog was seeping out of the walls. The fog flowed around the Princess and converged on top of the throne, the fog engulfed the seat of power and then quickly dispersed leaving King Sombra seated. "Me? Arrogant? Well I did have two great teachers when it comes to that and since you are in my empire you will address me by my rightful title. It's only fair since I still refer to you and your sister as if you both still had command over me."

Luna and Celestia arrogant?

It was one thing for Sombra to compare himself to Luna but comparing himself to both Luna and Celestia crossed the threshold of Luna's patience. "Enough Sombra! Why have you done this to the Crystal Empire!? We entrusted you to look after it and you brought nothing but misery to those under your command, turning the empire into a ruinous city-state!" Sombra smirked, a green aura glowing around his horn. His horned flashed brightly causing Luna to shield her eyes. When she re-opened them she saw that a beautiful yellow crystal was now being grasped in between Sombra's two hooves. "Why did I , as you would say, ruin the glorious Empire? The answer is here in between my hooves." Sombra emphasized the point further by twirling the crystal.

Now Luna was beginning to realize the Unicorns motivations. "I see, you let greed overtake your heart Sombra. You developed a lust of some sorts for crystals and you enslaved the residents of the Empire to gather them for you, how pathetic."

"Are you upset then Princess Luna, or I suppose a better question would be, are you upset with how I turned out? It must be hard knowing that one who was once you and your sister's most prized student betrayed you in such a way." Luna had heard enough, her horn glowed brighter and shot out a blast of blue magic. Shadows engulfed Sombra as his form quickly became black fog again. The magic blast pierced through the black mass leaving a hole, the fog simply repaired itself before seeping back into the wall. Luna shot twice more at the wall leaving scorch marks, "Coward! You will be punished for betraying the trust of your former teachers and for what you have done to the Crystal Empire."

Laughter erupted from all around Luna, "Punish me? Dear Princess don't tell me you honestly thought that you two would end my reign without a struggle. That you would simply stride in here on your high horse and make things right again, think again. Besides, with your sister occupied with protecting the Empire how are you going to stop me when you can't even save the life of a single infant?"

Surprise rippled through Luna's face, "Ho-how do you know about that? You weren't there!" More laughter came from the walls, "You vastly underestimate my power Princess, I can see everything that happens with in the borders of my empire. I can see hundreds of crystal ponies fleeing for their lives, I can see those who are grieving over the dead, and I can even see your sister's shield weaken as her strength fades. So yes dear Princess, I saw that crystal pony you tried to save die in fear."

"Be quiet you monster, I did everything that I could to save that crystal pony...she was just too...too...just too terrified to move."  The room was silent leaving Luna to wonder if Sombra had escaped, that idea quickly became invalid as the dark Unicorn spoke again. "True, that pony was terrified to move but it wasn't scared of the building collapsing, no if that was the case it would of just ran outside. That pony was terrified of you Princess Luna."

Terrified of Luna?

"Lies! That pony did not fear me, why would it fear me when I was trying to help?", Luna shouted at the walls and her echo was heard for a brief second. "The only ponies that fear me are those who are cruel and wicked like you!"

"Ha ha, stop kidding yourself Princess Luna. You know it to be true, even I saw it while I was studying under you and your sister! I doubt you have not noticed how ponies around you treat you and your sister differently from one another. How your servants and guards are always more willing to follow Celestia's choices but when when it comes to your choices..."

Luna ran to the nearest wall and smashed one of her hooves against it leaving a large crack, "Stop it! You are telling nothing but lies! Why would they fear me, what have I done to make them afraid?"

"That's the saddest part dear Princess, they fear you because of not what you do to them but what you do for them. It's only natural for weak creatures such as them to fear the darkness and tell me, who causes the moon to rise and brings darkness to their lives? The Princess of the Night that's who."

Her heart began to beat faster and faster as Luna took in what Sombra was saying, mostly because it was true. Luna had notice on several occasions that her subjects did act rather strange around her. "No, it can't be true. A misunderstanding, nothing more."

Sombra's laugh resonated through the room again, "A misunderstanding? Now that I find hard to believe. Tell me Princess Luna, how come your sister is the one that raises the sun and brings the day while you raise the moon and bring the night?"

Luna didn't know what to say anymore, so she said the first thing that came to her mind, "Because Celestia said so..."

"Because Celestia said so? When both you and your sister both have the ability to raise the sun and the moon she chooses to bring the day and makes you bring the night! She knew that ponies fear the darkness that comes with the night, she knew that she wouldn't get any love for doing it, and she knew that she would be hated for what she does. Not wishing to be hated herself she makes you do it instead, in the end she wins."

It couldn't be true, could Celestia really have known this and still made Luna the Princess of the Night? "Lies! My sister would never...she would never...she wouldn't."  Luna fell to the ground, her mind trying to comprehend what she had just heard.

The black fog seeped out from the walls and surrounded Luna, Sombra emerged from the black mass and stood in front of the Princess. "But she already has dear Princess Luna, all this time your sister has been lying to you." Luna held back her tears not wanting to seem weak in front of her foe. She looked up and her gaze met Sombra's, "But then how do you control the crystal ponies if they fear you as well? How is it that you became their King?"

"You just answered your own question Princess, I control them by using their fear of me. My subjects both fear and respect me. I've come to realize that kindness can only get you so far, if you want to completely control them then fear must be used."

Luna shook her head, "No, that is not right. Rulers must show their subjects kindness and love, it is the right way to rule. It is the way that me and Celestia have ruled for so long."

Sombra let out a short laugh, "Look where that has gotten you. Love and kindness is for the weak and stupid, the only thing they will ever understand is fear. I am fear itself and I am also the most powerful ruler that the Crystal Empire has ever seen. Thanks to this new curse I've finished I'll forever be part of Crystal Empire and it along with all of its inhabitants will always be part of me."

New Curse

The curse! How could Luna of forgotten about the curse that she was tasked to stop, "You'll never get the chance to use that curse Sombra...I'll stop you."

"Once again we are back on the subject of you stopping me, and here I thought we were making progress." Luna quickly stood up and her horn began to glow brightly, she gaze fixed firmly on Sombra, "I will stop you, I promised my sister that I would!"

Sombra sighed, "Again with your devotion to Celestia. Why do you care about her when she obviously doesn't care about you?"

That was the final straw, Luna's anger erupted and it was shown through her magic. Her eyes went completely white and the aura around her horn grew larger.

"ENOUGH WITH YOUR LIES SOMBRA!"

The room was completely engulfed as a blue magic exploded from Luna's horn as both she and Sombra felt the effects of her magic. A few moments later the room literally exploded in a way that shook the entire castle. Blue magical shock waves went up and down the the castle causing the crystals on the outside to shatter and break before they could form. With the barrage of crystals coming to an end Celestia ceased her shield and flew as fast as she could to the castle, her mind filled with concern, worry, and fear.

Dust and the occasional magical blue spark completely engulfed what had once been the Castle's throne room. The smoke billowed out the gaping hole that was now present on the side of the castle except this time the hole did not repair itself. Celestia flew up to the base of the billowing smoke, she squinted her eyes trying to see into the room. Not being able to see she flew into the hole landing blindly into the room, "Luna!? Luna? Where are you?"

Celestia heard coughing coming from behind her followed by the sound of Luna's voice, " I'm am here sister and I am mostly well. " Luna let out  violent fit of coughing.

Using her magic Celestia caused the smoke to rise and filter into the sky outside. With the room clear she could finally see her sister, it was not a pleasant sight. Luna was pinned under multiple large pieces of debris, blood was pouring out from one of her hind legs, and her wings were crushed. Wasting no time Celestia rushed over to Luna and kneeled next to her, "No Luna, you are not well." Luna tried to get up but Celestia forced to keep still. "Sister, I failed...I failed to stop...stop him."

A golden aura appeared around Celestia's horn that soon also took to the debris that was on top of Luna. She lifted the heavy burden off of her sister's body before placing her horn onto Luna. "Please lay still Luna, I am going to attempt to mend you with my magic. Please be strong...this will be painful." Luna nodded her head and braced herself.

Celestia's horn glowed bright as her magic surged from the tip of her horn through Luna's body. Luna's body twitched violently as the magic entered her body. Yelps of pain escaped her as she could feel every wound close itself, every bone mend, and every organ repair itself. Luna's heart was beating at a horrifying rate, she feared that it would just give out. Celestia was aware of the pain that she was causing to her sister but she continued knowing that if she were to end the spell before it was finished Luna would die from the trauma.

"Please Luna...hold on just a little bit longer. I promise that the spell is almost complete." Luna closed her eyes, believing that the pain was too much to handle she prepared herself for the next world. Before she let go she heard her sister speak one last line as tears fell on her body.

"Please Luna...I can't rule without you...I just can't. I need you to live!"

Luna did not know what to think about what her sister had just said. What did she mean that she needed her? Either way she put it in her mind that she would not fall that day. She opened her eyes and held on for the remainder of the spell. Finally the aura lifted from her body and Luna could feel her strength return to her. She stood up and stretched the various parts of her body making sure that everything was completely healed. Luna did not get the chance to speak to her sister, loud laughing came from where the throne had once been.

"She can't rule without you Luna. Do you need any further proof that what I said was true?" Sombra had reappeared on the broken shattered throne and had been listening and watching for some time. Confusion washed over both Celestia and Luna's faces. It was Celestia who spoke next, " Sombra what have you done to the Empire? How could you betray the trust that we put in you? You were a Unicorn prodigy and you threw it all away for what, to satisfy your greed?"

Sombra simply laughed in Celestia's face, "I would not expect one who spends all her time in the light to understand my motives. Your sister on the other hand can completely understand...isn't that right Princess Luna?" Celestia quickly her head around to look at her sister, Luna simply averted her gaze.

"Her silence proves my point Celestia, you know it to be-"

"-Enough Sombra, now you will be punished for your crimes against the Crown and against the Crystal Empire. Come Luna, let us begin the banishment." With that being said Celestia opened her wings and her horn began to shine brightly, she turned to her sister and motioned for her to do the same. Sombra smirked as he saw Luna do the same as her sister, "Poor pathetic Princess Luna. Here I thought what I was saying was actually getting through to you. Very well then...banish me along with the entire Crystal Empire. Enjoy your life in the shadow Princess Luna."

Celestia unleashed a golden ray of light from her horn as Luna shot a blue blast from her's. The two beams intertwined and shot towards Sombra hitting the Unicorn in the middle of his chest. Slowly his body began to turn to shadow but something was noticeably wrong, the Castle itself began to fade before the sister's very eyes.

Thanks to this new curse I've finished I'll forever be part of Crystal Empire and it along with all of its inhabitants will always be part of me.

Now Luna understood what Sombra had meant but it was too late to undue the banishment. Sombra's body had now turned completely into shadow and the castle had completely faded out of existence. All that remained was a wisp of black smoke carried away by a cold breeze. Celestia and Luna had opened flapped their wings and hovered in the air as soon as they felt the floor beneath them disappear. They looked around them and saw that all that was left of the Crystal Empire was an Arctic wasteland. They flew around for some time looking for any inhabitants that remained, there weren't any.

Celestia and Luna regrouped at what was once the base of the castle. Neither of them spoke and for some time they stood there as cold wind blew through their manes. Finally it was Luna who broke the silence.

"Sister...we failed."