Obscured in Shadow

Chapters

(01) A Hatred of Life -Edit-
(02) The Bloodlines and the Monument
(03) Signs of Life In A Land Far From Home
(04) Those of Dark Ascent
(05) Plans Set Into Motion

(01) A Hatred of Life -Edit-

To exist as an Ascended Alicorn, is to exist without a natural end to one's life. It is simply a never ending awareness that is emulated by the body. Luna was a bitter and dark hearted Alicorn, not so different from her sister. Celestia, who's heart had grown dark from her long life, grew tired of seeing pony after pony live and die before her. Every pony she had ever known other than Luna, was either dead or would die in her lifetime. Her unnaturally long life was a curse. She did not want to take her own life though, as she wanted to raise the sun and bring happiness to her subjects.

Luna was filled with hatred for her sister, this hatred existing for thousands of years beforehand. Celestia would soak up the praise, soak up the obedience, soak up everything around her to keep her heart from clouding her ability to control her visible emotions through her sinister ability to manipulate how others perceive her, to a much greater extent than anypony else. Luna hated her for this, Luna wished not to control others, but Celestia did. She would soak up the love of her subjects as she made appearances across Equestria, and for what reason were these visits? Rarely would she visit areas of her land for any 'important' reason. It was only to soak up the praise and the reverence given to her, reverence fit for a god.

Luna was, by nature, a loving and calm spirit, contrary to her sister. She wanted all ponies to be on equal ground, and she detested all social inequality. Luna would always attempt to treat her subjects as friends, instead of treating them as lower beings under her control. These were her deep feelings, but not her deepest. Deeper still, was a bottomless pit of darkness. If one were to paint a representative picture of Luna's inner personality, it would simply be a black canvas.

Darkness, in it's raw form, exists as a vacuum, sucking all that consists of non- dark energy and compressing it into more dark energy. Luna's personality is portrayed as a black canvas, as her inner personality is constantly developing, yet cannot complete the process of development as it is simply 'sucked away' by the darkness that which is her soul.

Her feeling of compassion and love comes from a deep layer of her personality, close to the center. These feeling have been pushed from the core of her heart and up to a thicker layer of her being, as the darkness would simply suck it away. But, mixed together with these feelings of love and happiness, are also dark feelings. Dark and unhappy feelings.

These feelings were created from her years acting as the Moon's spirit guide, as she did now. But this was long before now. The reasoning behind Luna betraying her sister Celestia was never explained in great detail, as Celestia was providing the information. These times were never recorded as they happened, as nopony ever felt the need to write things down regarding significant events such as this. But Luna's memories of it were vivid:

Long before the days were recorded, Luna would look on as her sister Celestia raised the sun, and ponies cheered, embracing it's brilliance. Luna began to form a deep- seated hatred within her, as no one cheered for her moon. All ponies simply treated it as a dark omen, for the light of the sun had disappeared, and had been replaced with a ghostly white glow. The ponies of Equestria treated the moon's glow with fear, and hid within their homes.

As time passed, the ponies of Equestria learned that the moon was not an evil thing, as it never brought them harm. But nonetheless, they took the opportunity to sleep as the moon rose, so that they could awake with the sun and experience it's brilliance in what became to be referred to as 'Forenoon'. This period of time was the period between 'The Morning' (the act of the sun rising) and the 'Noon' (the sun reaching a vertical position in the sky). Afternoon was named for the period of time between the end of 'Noon' and 'The Evening' (the act of the sun setting).

These terms were new to the ponies, as the Sun had never changed position in the sky. It had always stayed at a 10:00 am position. The moon was new to them too, it existed beneath them, in a world far away. There were legends of it, but the legends all spoke of the moon in a negative light. The previous overlord of Equestria, Discord the Draconiquus, never saw a need for the moon. He decided that it best be left alone, why move it? He much preferred the light of the sun after all.

At one point in time, approximately 400 years after she was burdened with the task of raising the moon, Luna came to realize something. Her realization, was that the sole purpose of the moon being raised was to give a small amount of light to those who did not wish to sleep. The moon was simply a less- useful version of the sun. After she had begun to mull this over in her mind, the sight of even her sister Celestia began to make Luna feel sick to the stomach with anger. Luna's negative feelings towards her sister were only amplified by the fact that Celestia not once sympathized with Luna. Her older sister would simply reply:

"'It is why we are here, sister. I have no say on how the world works. You were chosen to raise the moon, and I was chosen to raise the sun. There is nothing more to be said." Luna lived for thousands of years with her sister, seeing things that made her heart grow colder and colder. She began to learn what it meant to be an Ascended Alicorn. To see ponies alive and well one minute, and gone the next.

The hardest impact of a death she had experienced was that of Snowdrop, a Pegasus pony with a pure heart who transformed how all ponies perceived the winter. Winter was originally thought of as a dark and sad time, not unlike how the ponies of Equestria first viewed the moon. But through Snowdrops' kind heart, she saw that winter was not something to shun, but something to embrace.

Luna was touched by Snowdrop, and they both became great friends. Luna made friends with as many of her subjects as she could, but she took an exceptional liking to Snowdrop as they understood each other. Even though Snowdrop originally brightened up winter for all, she would always talk to Luna about the night.

"Princess Luna?"

"Yes, Snowdrop?" Luna looked at the small pony next to her as they sat atop a cloud overlooking the castle of Canterlot.

"I was wondering, if there was a spell which would keep a pony awake forever. The spell would make sure that the pony would never feel tired and always have enough energy so that they would never need to sleep. Luna, is there a spell like that?" Luna looked at the small Pegasus with a puzzled expression.

"I do not know of any spell like that." Snowdrop lowered her head in disappointment. "Why?"

"I want all ponies to be awake during the night. There is nothing wrong with the darkness, but the moon shines, so there is nothing wrong, right? I just wish that ponies didn't sleep through the night, because I always thought that it would make you sad, Luna." Luna was shaking. "Does it make you sad, Luna?" Snowdrop finished, apparently unaware of Luna's shaking. She calmed herself, and replied:

"Yes, sometimes it does, Snowdrop. But I think that it is meant to be. Sometimes the world is cruel, and we have to try to live with the cruelties of life." Luna smiled down at Snowdrop. "But you have done an amazing thing, Snowdrop. You cheated the cruelty of life and gave winter happiness. I'm sure winter would be thankful for that."

Luna did not know of the spirit of the winter season. She did not even know if one existed at all. But she envied winter all the same. Snowdrop's kind words increased the bond she had with her friend, and made her feel happiness. But time passes, and Snowdrop grew older, and older, and one day, passed away.

Luna knew that it was to come, but she tried to fool herself into thinking that by some miracle, it wouldn't happen. 84 years it was since the day that she had met the small Pegasus, but it had gone faster than she had ever imagined. The death of her friend awakened a darkness within her, the only one to understand her feelings, was gone forever. Luna was sad and lonely for a long time, and rarely left the castle. Celestia was concerned, but at the same time, she understood why Snowdrop's death hit her sister so much harder than herself.

Luna, through her livid rage of her own accursed life, decided that by the heavens, Snowdrop's second wish would come to pass. Not only for the sake of her memory, but for the sake of herself as well. Luna constantly experimented with spells. She studied the books of Starswirl, yet another old friend that which she lost to time. Not one incantation or spell inside the book granted this power Snowdrop spoke of. Luna would continue to experiment on herself with the spells that were not documented. She feared not of side effects.

Eventually, Luna found something. A path of energy manipulation that when combined with a small portion of one's soul power, could give unfathomable energy to one individual, which in turn never required the individual to sleep for a lifetime, and even could extend a life. But this amount of energy was unsafe. Luna had to come up with some form of weaker version of the spell, or even find an alternative. But she figured that it might not be necessary. Perhaps by sending the energy into a secondary source inside the body, instead of the primary, it could weaken the spell.

It had been almost 250 years, and Luna still had not managed to figure out the spell completely, but she had come close many times to figuring it out. Every day, she would work less and less on the spell, and began to carelessly leave notes scattered around her room regarding different calculations and descriptions. In fact, Celestia found a note one day. It was bound to happen, but once again, Luna had switched off to the wonders of time, and forgot just how long she had been careless enough to not put away her notes. Celestia, of course, read the note.

The information written on in was enough for Celestia to realize what it was Luna was spending so much time in her room with. Celestia then confronted her sister, disgruntled.

"Luna." Celestia approached the Alicorn. "I know of what it is you are trying to do." Luna was confused.

"What is your meaning, sister?"

"Do not pretend to not understand," Celestia raised her voice. "I know that you have been attempting to create a spell which prevents the need for sleep."

"What is the problem, Celestia? Surely you would understand my feelin-"

"I will not be dragged into the corner again by your words. You will disrupt the balance of everything on the earth if you cast this spell on everypony." Celestia's wings were spread outwards as she used the royal voice.

"How?" Luna was standing tall against her sister. "This balance you speak of is non- existent! If there was balance, then I would not have to watch as ponies slept through my night! If that is the meaning of balance, then what obligation do I have as anypony to choose to do things or not to do things based upon it? I loathe this world, and I loathe it's people, who so insensitively disrespect my existence every day of their lives." Luna spat with rage, shaking uncontrollably.

"It is easy for you to speak of balance, when all balance does is work in your favor! It is always: 'Hail Celestia, praise Celestia' for you isn't it? You treat your people as tools for your own sick necessity for attention, your sick hunger for affection. Nopony in this world is perfect, and nor are you, regardless of what you may believe.

"It would affect no one negatively if I were to eliminate the need for sleep among the masses using a well perfected spell. You will NOT deny me my wish, and you will NOT deny Snowdrop's wish! It has been planned out for several hundred years, do NOT render my work useless with your selfishness."

Celestia simply stood there, aghast. This was the first time Luna had retaliated against Celestia's royal voice. But Celestia quickly pulled herself together.

"You... will not use a spell like this. The way things are as they are now are how they SHOULD be. You cannot change the world, Luna. It is my duty to maintain the balance, as I am the most powerful being in this world as of now." Celestia correct about this. Luna wanted to attack her, to hurt her, to make her feel pain, but she couldn't.

Celestia had been alive for ten thousand years now, and once an Ascended Alicorn reaches this age, their powers increase indefinitely. Celestia's pink mane had split into several other colors, reflecting the power coursing within her. Her mane flowed freely, ignorant of gravity as it was surrounded in energy. Luna could not win against her sister in open battle. She knew that it would be futile to even attempt it.

Luna had to make other plans, it was that simple. But she refused to give up the spell she was working to create. But, the spell was not the priority anymore. The priority, was to destroy Celestia, and give free passage to the use of her spell.

(02) The Bloodlines and the Monument

Luna had to bide her time, there was no use whatsoever in taking unnecessary risks with her sister. She must wait for her powers to increase, or she would surely face defeat in battle. Celestia is watching me. It seems that she is suspicious, and is expecting something. Luna sat at her desk in her room, thinking. Does she expect my attack? Perhaps it is unwise to strike immediately after my matured powers come. She shall surely begin to cease suspecting me after time. I will also have to make sure I do nothing particularly suspicious...

After this pondering, Luna simply existed by her sister's side, cloaking her visible emotions in an attempt to deceive Celestia further. Eventually, Luna's powers had reached their peak upon her 1,000- year maturity, but as planned, she did not relent her deception. But even several years after Luna's power increase, Celestia remained watchful, to the point where it became a concern to Luna.

It irritated her considerably, and she was confused as to what to do. Should she simply continue to wait, and allow time to dull Celestia's senses? This seemed to be the best option to Luna, but what if it did not work? Then all of this time spent waiting would have been wasted time.

Luna was still hesitant about the concept of killing her sister, not because of the act in itself, but because of the probability of success. Celestia was still slightly more powerful, in Luna's mind. She wasn't so sure why she thought this, but she did not ignore the thoughts. She was a cautious mare, caution being quite a helpful thing in situations such as this.

Luna must think of something else to assist her in destroying her sister. The more she thought of her original plan, the less it made sense. There was no way to tell if Celestia would give in to time. Luna decided that it would be a wise idea to find somepony to assist her in her plight, somepony who loathed Celestia as much as she did, somepony that would also benefit considerably upon the death of her sister.

----------♣LunaoftheCrescent♣----------

Luna spoke to Celestia one night on the balcony on the highest turret of the Canterlot royal castle.

"Sister, it is of the utmost importance that I leave for a short time." Luna looked up at the Alicorn who stood beside her, who's head was raised as she looked at the moon before her.

"Tell me what it is you are doing, Luna." Celestia released her gaze on the moon. "I am interested, as this is the first time you have ever left the castle without me." She added, in an attempt to show Luna that she was not suspicious, but 'interested'. This did not fool Luna.

"I wanted to search for new land to conquer in our name, land that has not yet been conquered by another." Luna was doubtful that this would convince her sister, but to her surprise, it seemed to be effective.

"Very well, although I am surprised that you are interested in such things, Luna." Celestia kept her voice as genuine as possible.

"Equestria is a great land, but expanding it would increase it's greatness, would it not?"

----------♣LunaoftheCrescent♣----------

On the next day, as Celestia raised the sun, Luna set out on a journey. At first, she did not know of a way to defeat her sister, and she assumed that her search may miraculously give her the power to do so, which was humorous to Luna at the point of her departure of Canterlot. In truth, she had been studying one of the oldest books in her possession known as 'The Legends of the Worlds Unknown'.

This book compiled several legends from around the known world, and published them. Luna assumed that there may be something that could assist her in the book, so she had begun reading it. But it was only the night before, the same night on which she asked her sister if she were able to depart the castle, did she finally find something useful.

Towards the end of the book, there was a legend known as: "The 6th Bloodline of Tartarus" which caught Luna's attention. Luna had read the legend thoroughly:

'It is said that the first of the bloodline was struck with raw power, that which came from an unknown element. It cursed him, and as he bred, his children received the curse as he did. The curse originally stung the heart, creating energy which could only be described as darkness as it came into contact with this world. It did not exist as normal things in this world existed, therefor when it came into contact with this world, it did not have a physical form. The only form it could take was that of darkness. This linked into the first harnessing of dark powers, and it became an element of our world, which is still an uncommon element, and it can rarely be harnessed.

The members of this bloodline reside primarily within a temple west of Equestria, which cannot be seen by the naked eye. It is unknown as to how the temple can be seen, but it most definitely exists, as many have seen it before. With this taken into account, it is clear that at certain intervals, the temple appears. These times are unclear, however. It is said to have been sighted near the Great Stone Monument, (see page 361) which has been rarely touched by the ponies of Equestria, as it contains a dark and frightening energy, and is one of the few remnants of the spirit of Discord's rule on the land.'

Luna remembered this monument from long ago. It was there that her and Celestia united using the Elements of Harmony to seal away Discord. Both of them were interested in the monument, but upon further investigation of it, Celestia decreed that it never be touched, as it contained a dark power. Luna could still remember the feeling. It was a bone- chilling feeling. She would shiver in it's presence, and tears would well up in her eyes as she looked at it. She could not understand why she reacted to it as she did, but it was an experience that she never wanted to have again. No description would do the experience it's justice. It was truly a horrific thing. Not just the energy, but what it portrayed as well.

Luna realized that what she was delving into was real, so real that it frightened her. But her desperation to kill her sister drove her to accept it as an ally. Luna had experimented with dark magic before. It leaves a cold, dead feeling in the pit of the stomach when she is reminded of it. But she knew a spell which may indeed reveal the temple that she sought. It was a revealing spell, which could only work in the presence of dark energy, dark energy that was separated from the caster.

Luna realized how perfect the circumstances were. The Stone Monument was a dark energy indeed, and the book stated that the temple was sighted near it. It was all set up for the convenience of one smart enough to see it, and curious enough to delve into the darkness.

Luna felt that she was prepared, and ready to face this new power. But she could not help but worry, as the powers of the darkness were very frightening indeed. She vowed long ago to never experiment with such forces again, but here she was. It is for a reason this time, Luna. Not your foolish curiosity. She would tell herself. But she could not shake away her memories of the Stone Monument. She would shiver uncontrollably and cried lightly every time she thought about it. Her fur would stand on end and the lump in her throat would feel as if it was about to tear itself out of her.

The Stone Monument was that of a two serpents intertwined. The right serpent had it's teeth bared into the throat of the other, while the other's mouth gaped open eerily. Luna did not know what it meant, but she knew that the image was definitely a contribution to her feelings fear. There was no way to describe the image effectively. The positioning, the expression of the wounded serpent, it was all so powerful.

Luna simply shook away the image in her head as she soared through the sky towards the now setting sun, as she was almost ready to complete her flight for the day. She did have a plan, but her plan did not distract her from a fear that lingered within her. As the sun disappeared, Luna cast her spell as she raised the moon behind her. She was only an hour away from her destination, based on her current speed. But she needed to rest her wings, as she had been flying all day.

Luna found a small collection of rock slabs that jutted out from the ground bellow, and decided to rest in between them. She considered the need to be concealed as she slept, as she did not know of what lurked in these areas, for she was quite far to the west, and Equestria was far behind her. She landed lightly on her hooves, and cast a spell allowing her to inspect all movement within a two mile radius. What puzzled her was that there was no movement whatsoever, not even that of the tiniest insect.

Luna shrugged and lay down, allowing sleep to engulf her, but not before she battled with herself mentally as she tried to keep dark thoughts at bay.

(03) Signs of Life In A Land Far From Home

Luna awoke to a bright sun looming above her. She yawned and scrutinized her surroundings, but nothing could be seen. She arched her back and stretched her wings out before she began her journey. She had had a peaceful sleep. She couldn't recall any particular dreams, all she could remember was nothingness. That's a good way to describe this entire landscape. Luna thought to herself. There isn't a living thing in sight.

Luna leaped into the air gracefully, and allowed her wings to take over and pull her body higher into the air. When she had reached an optimal altitude, she let her wings grow still, and glided quietly through the air currents. The wind was blowing in the same direction that she wished to go, as if the wind was pulling her towards her destination.

She continued to glide through the sky for several hours. Not much effort was spared in the process, but she was bored, to say the least. She decided to flap her wings, and speed up. She wanted to get to The Stone Monument as quickly as possible. The more she dreaded the experience she had had long ago involving the monument, the more she began to grow tired of her own susceptibility to the thing itself. She thought it best to simply confront it, and get it over with. It would likely not be as bad as she was expecting. Experience only told her too well that when one dwells on something such as this, it often seems worse in theory than in practice. She continued to convince herself that this second experience would not be as bad as the first. But her sixth sense would constantly kick in, in an attempt to smack the brain into consciousness.

Her brain was telling her now, (through her self brain- washing), that The Stone Monument was not dangerous, while her gut was telling her that she shouldn't even go near it. But Luna's thoughts were interrupted by an abrupt change of scenery. The yellowed grassy plains had transformed into a dark and rocky surface. It was clearly a volcanic area, as she noticed veins of lava crisscrossing bellow her. She looked further along the landscape, and noticed several fiery mountains. But, the land was still bereft of life. She continued to assume this, until her peripheral vision spotted something in the distance, interrupting her thoughts.

As far as Luna could see, it was significantly larger than she was, if not three- times her size. It was obvious to her now why it was so easy to spot using her peripheral vision, as it flew parallel to her in the sky at 2 o'clock. She was not concerned with what it was doing, her mind was occupied with different thoughts. She was indeed concerned, but not because of what it was doing, but because of what 'It' was; a black- feathered Amphithere.

Luna had read legends about them, and had read many books that contained eye witness accounts from those who had sighted them on the boarders of Equestria. All eye- witness accounts were documented for one out of two reasons: the first being that it was simply a rare sight, or two, that it had done something to somepony. That something, most commonly, was a barbecue by way of fiery breath.

She was as cautious as she was because it was rumored to be a rare species of magical dragon, but did not know how well the Amphithere could manipulate magical energy. Any magical ability the dragon may possess would be increased two- fold at the very least, due to it's size. As Luna began to glide closer, it was clear that she was wrong about it's size. It was at least four- times her size, no, perhaps even five- times. The Amphithere's beating wings were loud and powerful as Luna pulled back again, fearing that her presence may be realized if she were to glide too close.

Yet another reason for Luna to be cautious, was that out of the fourteen eye- witness accounts that have ever been documented in history, none had described the Amphithere as black. All of the sighted Amphitheres sported green, blue or red- feathers, some even having mixtures of all three. But this one, was black.

Perhaps It's black feathers are a sign that it possesses dark magic. Luna thought to herself, but quickly dispelled the thoughts with a short (and quiet) laugh. Yes, Luna. You see a dragon with black feathers and immediately come to the conclusion that it is capable of performing dark magic. Although, Luna was merely a few hours away from The Stone Monument. Luna shivered and began to calculate a plan in her head.

I should get away from this thing, but I must do so carefully to avoid being noticed. Luna looked down towards the dark rocky surface of the earth below her, deep in thought; not a wise move when facing an unknown foe. But, the dragon is flying in the direction that I wish to fly. Luna contemplated the possibility of landing on the ground, and waiting for the Amphithere to fly out of sight, but she did not feel comfortable landing on the ground. She expected if a potentially magical dragon was in the air, then perhaps something worse still resided on the ground.

Luna had to make a decision. Her mind was quite tired of the battles it had to face on a regular basis, whether it be determining the best cause of action in a situation, or something emotion- related. At that moment, Luna had made up her mind. She would continue to fly the way she intended. If the dragon were to see her, and if attempts to greet the creature were met with hostility, then Luna would simply have to fight it.

Luna did, come to think of it, feel safer now that her matured powers had come to her. She felt that if a battle were imminent and ultimately unavoidable, then she would most definitely be able to, at the very least, hold her own. With different situations of battle with the dragon playing out in her head like a movie, Luna, the princess of the night, flew into the dusk that began to fall across the sky.

As Luna began to raise the moon, she grinned to herself. Soon, I will reach my goal. Soon, I shall destroy the one true enemy of my peaceful existence. Scorn and malice filled Luna, and cloaked her comfortingly as she completed her spell, and continued to fly, the oblivious Amphithere in front. Luna laughed quietly. She did not know why she laughed. In her experience, it seemed that laughter was a visible effect of focusing upon deep- seated hatred in the mind. When focusing on the hatred, laughter is expelled. Or at least, a need for laughter.

Emotions are interesting, are they not? The Alicorn mused to herself, unable to wipe the grin off her face.

----------♣LunaoftheCrescent♣----------

The moon was directly above Luna as she touched down on the rough and rocky ground. She looked up, to see just what she had feared, just as she remembered. She had feared it for endless nights and days; The Stone Monument of the intertwined cannibalistic serpents. Their eyes bulging and mouths gaping, as they ate each other. Eating... eating... eating...

Luna's eyes flew open. Falling... falling... falling...

Luna regained consciousness, to find that she had ceased moving her wings, and was now plummeting head first towards the earth. She immediately cast a spell, freezing her in mid air, her horn glowing a dark purple. She manipulated the air around her as she turned her body. She heaved as she released the spell and allowed herself to fall once again, but this time, she unfurled her wings and glided upwards.

Luna blinked slowly, cold sweat dripping down her face. She was in shock. Her actions immediately after regaining consciousness were practically involuntary, she simply acted upon her instincts. Luna shivered. She felt so utterly pathetic. Embracing her hate one minute, and in next, she had fallen victim to hate beyond that her own.

She was close to the monument. That short dream was so incredibly real to Luna, down to the very last nerve. It must be the power of the monument. I've never had a dream that vivid. Luna decided to continue without hesitation. The Amphithere from an hour or two ago, was gone. And the night was still young. She was not prepared, but she did not cease lying to herself, commanding her mind to believe that she was indeed prepared. Subconsciously she knew she was weak in spirit, she was not prepared for the dark power of the monument. But she no longer cared for her inner feelings. They were dead to her now. All that mattered, was the future that she sought after. To hell with everything else. I will have none of it.

(04) Those of Dark Ascent

Luna breathed in the fresh cool air, liberating her from the uncomfortable feeling of the rocky surface of the earth where she had slept the night. She looked to the sky, calm filling her and soothing her nerves. The grey sky was littered with clouds, foreshadowing rain. Luna drew her gaze from the sky and looked around. This act was inherently necessary when awaking from sleep in strange areas, especially areas that contain large magical dragons. Luna saw nothing, and exhaled, with a small hint of a sigh.

Luna had not seen any living thing since the Amphithere, which she was more than glad of. Luna realized that she was not in need of a stretch of any kind after sleep, which was probably due to the fact that she had not been comfortable at any point during the night. After all, rocky ground is not a comfortable matress. She looked down at the ground. It was very frustrating for her trying to fall asleep the last night, but sleep eventually took her as she listened to the flowing lava in the distance. Lava. Yes, sleeping with flowing lava and unstable volcanoes close by. A safe practice? No, but she needed sleep, and where she was now was one of the most viable options available to her. She wasn't prepared to risk a second incident similar to last night. For some reason unknown even to her, she much preferred the concept of being burned alive in lava than falling to her death.

Come to think of it, she had not had any 'bad' dreams during her sleep. And if she did, they were certainly not ones like what her incident in the sky was caused by either. Luna's mind, knowing her wonderfully inconvenient susceptibility to dark thoughts, began to wander to The Stone Monument. She was very close to it now, not even an hour away, surely. Luna vaguely remembered this landscape from long ago, when she and her sister founded Equestria. Her memories were clouded though, as she was deep in conversation with Celestia during the flight, and was not concerned with the land bellow her.

Luna was still worried, but her need to destroy her repulsive sister was a more powerful emotion than fear or worry at that moment.

----------♣LunaoftheCrescent♣----------

This was no dream, Luna was sure of it. The once grey sky was now a much darker grey, approaching black. Luna landed on the soft grass and looked at the ground. She knew what it was that was in front of her. Luna began to shiver. She knew what it was that made her grow cold inside, what caused goose- bumps to ripple across her. She swallowed, and looked up slowly. The intertwined serpents seemed to watch her, as she looked deep into the statue. The world around her was moving, but the Monument stayed in place. Everything seemed to revolve around it now, literally.

Luna's eyes rested on the inscription: Von Ominnum Dura. Those three words, were words that as a younger Alicorn, were confusing. But now, as Luna stared at these words, the only salvageable emotion she could feel, was fear. What does this... mean? Luna continued to stare. Perhaps it was best that she didn't know. Simply looking at the Monument was enough to chill her to the bone, the last thing she wished was to know what it portrayed symbolically.

Luna shook her head, and forced herself on task. Alright, Luna. Let's get this done. She would cast the revealing spell that she had been planning to use from the beginning. It was dark magic, but she didn't care. She wanted this to be done, finished. She never wanted to be in the presence of this statue again.

Luna's horn glowed a dark purple as she focused on creating dark energy. She immediately felt a temperature drop, so dramatic that it nearly made her cancel the spell. Her blood went icy cold, and her heart felt like it had frozen in place, unable to move. Luna's eyes began to spark and glow green, darkness enveloping them. Luna grunted as a tear fell. Sadness and anger. Every moment in her life that created these emotional reactions began to flash before her eyes. Snowdrop, Star Swirl, her mother; every single pony she had loved, cared for and bonded with flashed before her eyes. Anguish consumed Luna until her sadness became hate. The spell began to strengthen and kick into action, but Luna did not notice. Her deepest rage began to surface. It flew towards the outer layer, as fast as it would go, until it finally penetrated.

Celestia.

Every fiber of Luna's being was on fire. That repulsive creature that Luna would have to refer to as her 'sister', began to fill her up. Celestia, receiving praise for her sun, while the rest looked upon Luna with disdain. Celestia, being treated like a god as she entered the villages and cities and even kingdoms, while Luna was some kind of secondary soul. Celestia, as she sat there bathing in her narcissism and praise, pretending as if everything was all in Luna's head, as if Luna's judgement was clouded. The older sister, was not caring and loving, but merely a self- indulgent sow of a pony.

With that, Luna's spell exploded outwards, excreting a black mass, The Stone Monument linking to her horn as the spell shot outwards. Luna looked on in wonder, as objects that had been touched by the cloud of darkness showed themselves. The cloud revealed more and more, so much that it took Luna aback. Luna fell to the ground, panting and sweating as the cloud faded away into invisibility. Tears streamed from her eyes, and she sobbed. It was a pitiful sight indeed. Luna hated herself, she wanted to hurt herself. She hated the fact that she even HATED. She wanted to crawl into a hole and pass away. She wanted nothing to do with the world.

"Why do you cry?" Luna opened her eyes. She looked up, a figure standing before her. Behind it, was a huge temple, fit for the gods. Luna gasped as she took everything in finally. It was truly a spectacle. Black marble walls, great never ending stairs... But Luna's attention was once again drawn to the figure before her. "Why?" The figure repeated. As Luna's eyes focused, she let out yet another gasp. A...human? That is what it appeared to be. After all, what other creature stood on two legs and looked...well, like that.

But I thought they were mythical creatures. Luna thought wildly. "Who...who are you?" Luna raised her voice, looking at the human.

"My name is Djorn. I am of Tartarus." He bowed, at least that is what the gesture appeared to be from Luna's stand point. "You are the spirit of the Moon, are you not? And in the form on an Alicorn, no less." The human tilted it's head to the side. "Intriguing." Luna did not respond, she was petrified. The human waved a hand.

"Oh come now, I mean you no harm." The human chuckled at Luna. The man's countenance was dark. He was rather slim, with gaunt eyes and long dark brown hair. He was draped in black robes. Black is the theme in Tartarus, I suppose. Luna joked to herself. She needed to keep her spirits up after casting that spell, she was still emotionally shaken.

"And you are a Human, are you not?" Luna gazed at the man, but he shook his head.

"No, but that is a fair guess." The man walked towards Luna. "Our species has no name, we are merely referred to as 'Man' and 'Woman'. We are similar to humans in many ways, but we are far more spiritually connected, and we also have many abilities that humans do not possess, such as-" The man gestured towards Luna's horn. "Magic. Humans are very unaware of magic. They have a very strange view of what it is, and don't necessarily know it when they see it," The man paused and shook his head.

"Either way, let us not bother with such things. You have successfully found this place, so I am interested to know the reason why you have come here. This place is not for you. It is a dark and unholy place." The man leaned forward slightly and surveyed the Alicorn with visible interest. Luna looked to the side, and then back at the man.

"I would hate to be rude, or anything of the sort." Luna was uncomfortable. "But would I be able to speak with somepony who is a little bit more like myself?" Luna looked away. "I think my reasons would make more sense to one who is of my kind." To Luna's relief, the man nodded curtly.

"'Tis understandable. After all, I'd doubt you have ever met an individual such as myself before, I can see why it may be uncomfortable. Do you want to speak to anyone in particular?" Luna thought for a moment.

"Actually, yes. Are there any ponies here who are of the '6th Bloodline'?" Luna looked hopefully at the man, hoping that the use of the word would resonate with him in some way.

"Ah, the 6th. Yes I thought so-" The man closed his eyes. "SOMBRA," His voice was calm, yet incredibly loud. Luna's hooves snapped to her ears as his voice echoed throughout the seemingly (once again) lifeless temple. "THE MOON SPIRIT REQUESTS TO CONVERSE WITH THEE". These words echoed for several seconds until the man smiled at Luna. "My apologies regarding the volume, the one you seek will be here shortly. And also, do watch yourself, will you? He can be a little snappy at times." His eyes darkened. "If you end up dead, then it would mean trouble for myself." His expression softened once again. "Good day, Alicorn."

"Von Ominnum Dura." The man spoke these words with a thick, unidentifiable accent as he raised a hand, parallel to his body. His fingers were forming a clear hand sign. Before Luna could register this though, the man erupted in black flame. She backed away as his body literally melted before her, visible limbs melting into a pool of liquid. Eventually, nothing more of the man was left, as fire slowly began to subside, the pool of liquid evaporating with it. Luna did not know who that human was, but it was clear that this 'Sobra' character was not the type to joke around with.

At the same time as these thoughts passed through her mind, a great whirlwind of black fire wheeled about before her, almost singeing her fur. She closed her eyes with the heat flowing onto her like a wave, until it eventually ceased. She opened her eyes slowly. As expected, a new figure stood before her, but it wasn't human. Luna breathed a mental sigh of relief as she realized that it was indeed something that at least LOOKED like a pony.

He was rather large, possibly even larger than Celestia. He was certainly reminiscent of a horse, which was an extinct species. The only other horse Luna had ever seen was Discord, but he technically wasn't a horse, only partially so. It was one of Discord's little ideas to wipe out every horse in existence as an act of absolute genocide. Discord thought that it would be entertaining to be the ruler of a world that only consisted of miniature horses.

The other feature of Sombra which caught Luna's attention were his looks. He was in fact, rather handsome. But Luna had no time for such things, especially after what the human had said...

"What is it that you want?" Sombra spoke, his voice booming as he looked down at the still disheveled Alicorn. "It has been several eternities since one has come seeking our bloodline." His eyes narrowed. Luna made sure not to be visibly intimidated by the Unicorn.

"I have come to ask something of you."

(05) Plans Set Into Motion

Luna was hesitant to continue. The last thing that she wished was to anger Sombra, therefore she chose her words carefully so as to not come across in a negative way.

"You are aware of my sister, correct?"

"Spirit of the sun, Celestia, yes." Sombra answered shortly, prompting Luna to continue.

"I need her dead, to put it simply." Luna paused again. "But I am unable to do this by myself. She is far too powerful." At this, Sombra raised an eyebrow.

"Indeed? Of all things, this was the least expected." Sombra exhaled slightly and closed his eyes. "But, I would like to address the fact that Celestia, being and Ascended Alicorn like yourself, would not be greater in power." Sombra opened his eyes to observe Luna's mane. "You have also reached the peak of your powers as an Ascended Alicorn, not unlike your sister, correct? Further proof that you are equals." Sombra was more understanding than Luna had expected him to be, but he wasn't wasting any time. He was quick to speak and was clearly uninterested in small talk.

"All due respect given, being of equal power doesn't allow me to do anything. An open battle would result in a stalemate." Luna quickly added: "I'll of course grant something in return if you would require incentive to assist me."

"I could kill Celestia in a second, no questions asked," Sombra looked down at the Alicorn. "Although, would it not disrupt the balance? I'd doubt it would be wise to kill the spirit of the sun." Sombra considered for a moment. "Unless of course you wish to take over as the sun's guide?" Luna nodded.

"That is what I intend." Luna was still admiring this great Unicorn. His features were dark, but attractive at the same time. No, Luna. Get a hold of yourself.

"Well, if it is what you wish, I shall assist you. But as i'm sure you guessed, I will require something in return." Luna nodded. "I wish to ask that you allow me to take control of the Crystal Empire without interference." This came out of nowhere. The Crystal Empire? Why that of all things? The Crystal Empire was south of Equestria, but Celestia and Luna had not had much involvement with it at all. It was apparently the last empire left standing after Discord's reign. It was, at the very least, clear that something powerful resided in that place.

"May I ask, Sombra," Luna hoped that she wasn't about to make the wrong move. "Why the Crystal Empire?" Luna backed away slightly as Sombra's expression began to harden, his eyes narrowing, but his face softened after he noticed Luna's reaction.

"I shall tell you, If you tell me why you must kill your sister. We shall share our reasons with one another, it will not be one- way." Luna agreed with this, and began to explain. It was a long- winded explanation, but Sombra did not mind. Well, as far as Luna could tell anyway. Once she had explained everything that was needed explaining, she waited for Sombra's reaction.

"The Crystal Empire," It was clear that he was not going to comment on Luna's story. "Housed one of the most powerful Unicorns ever to exist on the face of the planet. He was known as the 'Crystal Emperor', fittingly so." Sombra glared at the ground. "His name is a mystery to me, but as far as i'm concerned, he needs no name. I am not interested in such things." Sombra began to pace. Luna found it odd, but didn't dare say a word of it.

"You say: 'Why the Crystal Empire?'. The humorous thing is that I'm not interested in the Empire whatsoever." Sombra looked at Luna. "I'm only interested in it's previous Emperor."

"May I ask why?" Luna asked, quickly adding: "Or is it not for me to know?" Sombra raised an eyebrow. Luna had been acting overly cautious during their conversation, and it was obvious that Sombra noticed.

"You needn't be cautious, Luna. At least not to this extent." Sombra glared behind him. "I do not know what Djorn has told you, but I wouldn't hurt a mare such as yourself." Sombra cleared his throat while Luna blushed slightly. "Well, I wouldn't hurt any mare, or stallion for that matter." He paused. "Well, unless I was prompted to, of course. But I assure you, nothing that you will say here today would result in me hurting you. You can be sure of that." Luna was now developing a case of the butterflies, but ignored them.

"The 'man' said that if I ended up dead, then it would mean trouble for him," Luna smiled. "But I suppose I was just being paranoid, I apologize." Sombra nodded, smiling faintly, and continued.

"The Crystal Emperor sparks my interest for two reasons. The first being the fact that he successfully traversed the gates of Tartarus, which has never been done before. It has been several thousand years since, but no one else has ever been able to do it. The second reason...." Sombra looked into Luna's eyes. "Is the fact that he successfully murdered by brethren." There was a long pause before anyone spoke. It was Luna who broke the silence.

"How...why?" Luna was concerned.

"His magic was something that no one had ever seen before. The way he manipulated what is now known as 'Crystal Magic' was incredible. Not even the greatest of our bloodline could touch him." Sombra bit his lip. "This Emperor has hid all of his knowledge in the Crystal Tower, according to rumor. It is my plan to study the ways of Crystal Magic in order to further my own magical potential. Perhaps, I could even alter it to my liking, and create new magic through that." Sombra looked down at Luna. "The reason WHY he attacked my family is something that I still to this day do not understand completely. It seems that he is one of those 'self proclaimed do- gooders'. I would assume that he was under the impression that he was doing the world a service by getting rid of us.

"But, as a result of his ideology, my bloodline has had to suffer. I am now the last of my Dynasty, and as far as the Tartarus bloodlines are concerned, my bloodline, is a dead one." Sombra hung his head slightly. "I have practically been discredited as a result of this, and I am practically worthless in the eyes of many in Tartarus. But you see, title dictates nothing in Tartarus, it is one's power that which defines who the individual is. However, it seems that I am the exception to this. I am of a dead bloodline, and as a result, I am not illegible to receive respect."

"And if you were to lean Crystal Magic," Luna was now beginning to understand the stallion before her. "you will be able to receive respect." Sombra, to Luna's surprise, smiled.

"It seems that that much doesn't need to be explained. You are quite intelligent, Luna of the moon. But I daresay that your reasons are greater than my own. You have definitely suffered from your immortality in such a way that it is difficult for me to relate. Everyone I have ever known has been immortal, and I have never experienced a death, other than that of my family of course. But such a thing is rare for those of Tartarus."

"Sombra, I have a question to ask you, if you don't mind." Luna was now quite confused. "Why do you exist in Tartarus?"

"I'm afraid I don't understand your meaning." Sombra tilted his head slightly.

"I have heard that only evil and dark individuals end up in Tartarus. But you aren't either of those things. Based on what I've seen so far, you are a kind and friendly Unicorn, and you are definitely not what I would refer to as: "evil". Sombra sighed.

"Luna, i'm afraid things are more complicated than that. But even now I am lost as to why I was sent to Tartarus." Sombra looked up thoughtfully. "I would suppose that my deepest feelings are that of darkness." He shook his head. "Either way, I will assist you with killing Celestia if you so desire it. But, I must ask that I make my way to the Crystal Empire first." Luna, even though she knew that Sombra was practically harmless, still did not want to deny him his wishes at this stage. She nodded in reply. "I wish to use my Crystal Magic on Celestia, once I have acquired it. She would be an excellent test subject." Well that explains it. Luna was for a brief moment considering the possibility that Sombra was attempting to get out of fulfilling his end of the bargain. But it was clear to Luna now that such a thing wasn't the case, which brought her relief.

"Shall we leave, then?" Luna was borderline overjoyed. Her plans had actually worked, and her sister would soon be dead. Just the thought made Luna's blood boil with excitement.