The Darkest Night
Written by: Necroesphere
Only family is more important than the stars and worlds,
yet, who is the world and stars without you?
“Luna?” Celestia, Princess of the Sun, whispered as she entered the tower her sister lived in. The guards out front of the door were asleep, knocked cold by magic. Celestia strode past them, not worried about them for the moments.
The passage was freezing cold, sending shivers through Celestia. The candles that were normally lit at sundown had been blown out, smoke still swirling from them. There was a large magical energy emanating from Luna’s room, the magical winds through the world flowing towards it.
Celestia stood outside the door, her legs shaking in fear of what she would find on the other side. “L-luna?” She called out. The magic energy stopped, though a new sound filled the hall. It was the sound of a scraping noise from the inside of the room, of metal against stone. “Luna, are you alright? Answer me.”
“Oh... Please do come in, sister.” Luna answered. Celestia frowned, ruffling her brow. Luna’s voice wasn’t right. It was too deep and there was a great amount of venom in it. Especially on the sister.
Celestia opened to door slowly, poking her head in. The room had been torn apart by a windstorm. The windows that once looked out at the Everfree City were now broken, smashed to pieces in rage. The bed had been torn apart, the sheets in shreds and down covering the mattress. The many books that had adorned the bookshelves were now spread across the ebony floor, pages torn and some set on fire.
In the middle of the chaos stood Luna, or at least Celestia believed it to be Luna. The Alicorn stood taller than Celestia now but wore the same familiar colors of the Princess of the Night. She looked regal, standing with a sense of purpose and quietly watching the world from her position near the balcony.
“Luna...” Celestia murmered, unsure of entering the room. Luna glanced up, sending a shriek from Celestia. “Your eyes!” Celestia cried, turning away. Luna’s new eyes were scalene and the pupils reminded Celestia of dragons. There were a deep emerald and full of malice.
“What about them, dear Celestia?” Luna chuckled, stepping across the broken glass, crunching them beneath her armored hooves. “Do you not find them better? Am I not the same little sister who was forgotten by Equestria?”
“Forgotten? Luna, what do you mean?” Celestia took a step back. “Equestria loves you. I love you.”
“Enough of the lies, Celestia!” Luna snapped, smashing her hoof down, cracking the floor. Celestia jumped back, bumping into a sealed door. “I have been unappreciated for too long. The ponies do not enjoy my night. They sleep through it. I have walked their dreams and seen only dreams of the day and not my glorious night. Everything I do is nothing. You could do my job and no pony would notice!”
“Luna, that is not true!” Celestia shouted, trying to calm her sister. “I love you. Please, don’t do this Luna. I need you.”
“No you don’t,” Luna sneered. “You have never needed me. That is why I will force my night upon the ponies of Equestria. You cannot stop me now. I am stronger than you now.”
“Luna... What drove you to this?” Celestia cried out, holding against the door.
“My motives are my own. This is your fault Celestia. You never once tried to find out what was wrong. I was unhappy for decades, and only now that I have finally gone too far, you decide it is time to fix things. That’s so you Celestia. Waiting until the last moment to fix situations. Without me, Equestria would have fallen apart long ago, especially to the constellation beasts. Now that they have been returned and Equestria made safer, I was shoved aside as ponies enjoyed more events that occur in the day.
“When will I get an event? When would I ever be acknowledged for my sacrifices to keep Equestria safe. All I ever do is sit in my tower, nopony ever cares to visit the court when I watch over it. The guards fall asleep at their posts, just as you saw. I am worth nothing to them. All I ever hear from them is how boring their job is and how much they’d rather be guarding Celestia. Celestia, the princess everypony looks up to. Who is Luna?!”
“That’s not true at all Luna,” Celestia attempted to reason. She knew it was in vain. Luna had already gone far past the edge of her sanity. She had been driven to this out of loneliness.
Celestia could not blame her though. She herself was constantly courted by many high and mighty stallions, while Luna was forced to watch as a third wheel and be forced to comfort Celestia when the stallion died. Luna, who had cared so much about Celestia and had never asked for anything in return.
“I’m a terrible sister!” Celestia shouted, tears streaming down her cheek. “I see that now, Luna. Please, let me try and make it up to you...”
“No, there is nothing you can do now,” Luna scoffed. “And there is no more Luna. From this point forward, I shall be known as Nightmare Moon. Now, you will either submit to me or I shall banish you from this world.”
“You cannot do this, Luna!” Celestia cried, making a dash for the window. The only hope to help Luna now was to fix her with the Elements of Harmony. Luna tried to blast her with black magic, a lightning bolt flashing through the room.
“Why do you run? Are you scared?!” Nightmare Moon cried out, flying out the window after Celestia. The two soared through the night sky, which persisted to stay at the same point. Celestia attempted to fix it, though she could no longer sense the night sky or even the sun. She glided to the left as another blast tore through the night sky. Below, the Everfree City was asleep, though the occasional pony could be seen at work.
“Don’t you see, ponies work in your night!” Celestia shouted back at her sister, blocking a magical blast that would have torn her from the sky. “They work because they love your night.”
“Tis a lie! Why do you continue to lie Celestia?!” Nightmare Moon shouted, pouring her magic into a beam of moonlight. Celestia ducked, flying back towards the castle. Nightmare Moon turned her head, the beam connecting with Celestia. With a sharp pain, Celestia fell from the sky, landing on the front stairs to the castle.
There was a loud crack, and Celestia looked down to see a wing painfully snapped. The angle wasn’t natural at all. She rose painfully, forcing herself into the castle. Nightmare Moon burst through the door after her. “Why run? You cannot hope to win, especially if you refuse to fight back!”
“I refuse to fight you, Luna,” Celestia gasped, looking over her shoulder. “I refuse to lay a hoof on you. I have already hurt you so much. I refuse to harm you anymore.”
“Fight me!” Nightmare Moon raged, tears falling from her eye. She was slowly losing her conviction to her fight. “Fight me now!”
“No, I won’t hurt you!”
“Then you leave me little choice!” Nightmare Moon roared, unleashing a shockwave. Celestia flew back, slamming against the wall and crumpling onto the floor. “Prepared to be banished, sister.”
Nightmare Moon slammed a hoof into the ground, anchoring herself to the floor. “Please Luna, don’t!” Celestia screamed, trying to rise from the ground. Nightmare Moon chuckled, glaring at her older sister.
“You brought this upon yourself,” Nightmare Moon growled. Celestia managed to get herself up onto her hooves, though she was wobbling and in pain. “Any final stands or last words, dearest sister?”
Celestia leapt forward, jumping behind a nearby pillar. “I don’t know how that will help you!” Nightmare Moon screamed after her sister. “Hiding is not going to save you from me. Especially in your state.”
Celestia pushed open the door to the throne room, hoping Nightmare Moon hadn’t seen her slip away. Thought knowing Luna, who was a stickler to details, it hadn’t escaped her notice. Celestia had only gotten about a quarter of the way into the room before Nightmare Moon burst through the door, dust and dirt billowing forth.
“Stop running and fight me, Celestia!” Nightmare Moon shouted. She then spotted Celestia’s goal. “How dare you!? You dare use the Elements of Harmony. You cannot even do so without me.”
Celestia reached the pedestal where the Elements had been carefully placed for all ponies to see. All the ponies who would enter would see it and know that they would be in a terrible position should they do anything wrong.
“Luna, dear sister, I only do this to help you,” Celestia cried, placing the tiara upon her head. The magic flowed through her, fixing her broken limbs and cuts. “Please, let us talk about this.”
“The time for words is over!” Nightmare Moon shouted, conjuring up two short swords. “Now is the time to fight. On guarde!” Nightmare Moon leapt forward, blades swinging around at Celestia. She responded with conjuring up her own longsword and blocking Nightmare Moon’s initial attack. She leapt back, smashing her hilt into Nightmare Moon’s face, sending her reeling back, hissing.
“You really think you can defeat me!?” Nightmare Moon leapt into the air, flying around the chamber. A black bolt of lightning flashed through the room, the resulting thunder ringing throughout the city.
“Why, Luna? Why?” Celestia gasped as the blades met again. “I love you, can you not see that!”
“I can only see your lies!” Nightmare Moon hissed into Celestia’s face, her fanged teeth snapping at Celestia’s muzzle. “This only ends in one way sister! Even you must see that!”
Celestia spun around, landing on the throne, crouching. “I can see no other way, sister. I just wish it did not have to end like this.” She galloped forward, bringing her sword down on her sister. Nightmare Moon rolled to the side, avoiding the great sword, attempting to cut into Celestia’s side.
Celestia had seen this coming as she sidestepped, narrowly avoiding the edge of the blade. She tripped over a piece of rubble and Nightmare Moon took advantage of the stumble. Celestia felt pain rip through her hind legs as the blades cut her hamstrings, rendering her unable to move.
Celestia gasped in pain as she was forced to the ground. Nightmare Moon’s blade hovered a few inches away from Celestia’s throat. “Dear sister, you seem to have lost your skill in combat.” Nightmare joked, a sheen of sweat visible in the moonlight. “Now, enjoy your banishment.”
Nightmare pointed her horn skyward, summoning magic from the moon itself. Celestia couldn’t move, finding herself trapped in Nightmare’s magical grasp. “Please, Luna! Don’t do this!”
“Maybe you should have thought of that earlier,” Nightmare Moon hissed. “Goodbye, sister!” The magic in her horn was stunningly bright, nearly blinding Celestia. The energy throughout the room was nearly crippling, the pure force putting strain on Celestia’s mind.
The Elements were reacting to the magic though, pulsating to match the brightness and frequency. “W-what are you doing?” Nightmare Moon yelled. She backed up as the Elements continued to grow in power, the energy surpassing Nightmare Moon’s. “S-stop! Celestia, it’s me! Luna!”
Celestia looked her sister dead in the eyes and could not see her sister inside the creature standing before her. “Why do you lie Nightmare Moon? Luna isn’t there. What have you done with her!?”
“How easily you can see through my ruse,” Nightmare Moon chuckled, lowering her horn. “I still have more power than you or your pathetic Elements of Harmony. Let us fight, sister.”
“You are no sister of mine!” Celestia cried, lowering her head as well. The magical blast that ensued was immense, the clash of powers being felt half way across Equestria. Ponies from all across the globe turned to the Everfree City, a beam of pure white stretching to the heavens above.
“Please, stop!” Nightmare Moon screamed. She was losing the duel, giving ground. “Celestia! Please, don’t!”
“I-I can’t control it!” Celestia shouted back. The beam broke through Nightmare Moon’s, striking her right in the chest. “Luna!”
There was a massive flash that blinded Celestia, followed by a massive energy burst that brought her off the ground. Flaring her wings, Celestia landed a good distance away. Opening her eyes, blinking out the remaining flare from her vision.
In the center of the room was a massive crater, smoke wafting from the center. Celestia hesitantly walked forward, her entire body shaking with fear and adrenaline. “Luna?” She called out, hesitant to look inside the crater. She was met by the wind swishing through the open windows.
“Luna...” Celestia glanced over the edge of the crater, seeing nothing in the center except for more smoke. She dove into the center, dispersing the smoke. Other than the magical energy and heat, there was nothing else inside the crater. Luna as well as Nightmare Moon, had disappeared.
“Luna!” Celestia glided out of the crater, tossing aside the element of magic in her haste. It landed with a dull thud on the ring of the crater, forgotten by the princess of the sun. “Luna!” Celestia launched herself through the broken door into the courtyard, which had been destroyed by the resounding magical explosion. Much of the Everfree City had been damaged by the magical blast.
Ponies were outside, looking up to the heavens at the moon. Celestia noticed this, glancing up herself. She gasped, collapsing to the ground but not daring to let her eyes leave the moon. Emblazoned on the surface was the profile of a mare who watched Equestria with one eye.
“No... nononononononononono...” Celestia mumbled, shaking. “Luna!” Her cry carried throughout Equestria and anypony who had looked away after the blast turned back. Celestia hung her head, tears flowing steadily from her eyes.
“Princess?” A voice asked from behind Celestia. She didn’t even move, her grief overcoming all other senses. “Princess, please.”
Celestia refused to move, refused to think. With her sister gone, her will to go on vanished. She no longer cared what happened to her, no longer cared what anypony believed of her.
“Princess Celestia!” The voice shouted. Celestia was dimly aware of a pair of hooves shaking her. Her eyes, still full of tears, turned slightly. She could barely make out the blurred outline of her top captain, Orion. “Are you ok?”
Celestia wailed again in despair, her head tilted back to the heavens, looking for some answer or sign. She saw nothing to lighten her spirit, to make her hope that her sister would one day come back to her. She gripped Orion, holding him close, needing somepony to hold her.
“Princess... What happened? What happened to the Elements of Harmony?” Orion asked, gasping for air. “The Elements, where have they gone?”
“W-what?” Celestia mumbled, reaching for her head. She then noticed they were missing and she spun in a circle. ‘If anything can bring Luna back to me, it is the Elements,’ Celestia thought, dashing back to the throne room. Orion followed close behind, readjusting his helmet with magic.
Celestia was surprised to find that the crater in the throne room had dissappeared, and in its place a massive statue that held five orbs, each with a different symbol engraved upon the surface. They looked exactly as how she and Luna had found the Elements of Harmony years ago. With a shock, she realized the horrible truth.
“No! They can’t! Not now!” Celestia screamed at the statue. It remained silent and cold to her words. “Why?! Why now!?”
“Princess, is everything alright?” Orion asked, taking a few steps back from his enraged princess.
“Why?! What have I ever done to deserve this!?” Celestia sobbed, throwing herself against the statue, banging her hoof against it. In response, the statute blasted her away. Celestia backed away as the fauna of the surrounding area reacted to the monument, growing at a rapid rate.
“Princess, we must leave!” Orion called out, backing away towards the entrance as tree roots broke through the marble floor. “It is not safe anymore.”
“Then leave, captain!” Celestia shouted. “I will not leave. Not until I get my sister back!”
“But Princess-”
“Captain, I order you to leave!” Celestia demanded, forcing the stallion out the door with her magic before sealing it closed with her strongest spell. She returned to statue, attempting to unlock the secrets hidden within. “What must I do? What will it take for you to return my Luna to me?!”
The Elements remained silence, no energy coming from them. She sighed in defeat, dropping to the ground, exhausted. She didn’t care that the forest was growing out of control around her anymore. She didn’t care what anypony did or how the world worked. She just wished for an end, to be reunited with Luna.
*****
“Celestia,” An ethereal voice called, filling Celestia with a sense of hope. She raised her head, finding herself in a world unknown. She was nowhere, yet everywhere. Here, nor there. She just was, as where all things.
“Celestia,” The voice called again, teasingly. She glanced around, trying to find the source. All she could see was a glowing off in the distance. Multiple sources of light actually. Stars twinkled all around her, though none of them made any sense, none fit into her knowledge of the stars.
“Hello? Who is there?” Celestia asked, barely audible even to herself. A pony walked into view from seemingly nowhere. She stood taller than Celestia, which was quite astonishing. She had a pale coat, not as white as Celestia, yet more regal and definitely older. A magenta mane hung down, plain and unassuming.
Celestia would have known the pony anywhere, no matter where she was. “Mother!” She jumped up, running forward, only to find that the pony was not truly there. “I-I don’t understand...”
“I’m sorry, my darling Celestia,” The mare cooed, stepping forward. “This is the best I could do. You know I have been gone, for a long, long time and that returning is almost impossible.
“Now, I cannot stay for long, so please listen Celestia. Your sister, Luna, is not gone, merely locked away in her moon. The Elements will not function unless she is also in Equestria alongside you. They saw the disharmony between you both, and that is why they returned to their normal form.”
“But, how long will Luna be gone?” Celestia asked, tears blurring her vision. “When will my sister be returned to me. I have already lost you. I cannot go on without somepony by my side.”
“Don’t worry Celestia,” Her mother whispered, calming her daughter. “Luna will be returned to you on the eve of the thousand year. It will seem like a short time to you and even shorter for her. I promise she will return. But you need to promise me, that when she does come back, that you can forgive her.”
“Of course I will!” Celestia responded, shocked. “I love her. You know I do! Luna is my only sister, and she means more to me than the whole realm of Equestria.”
“You cannot leave Equestria alone either, Celestia.”
“W-what?” Celestia mumbled, unsure of what her mother had meant. “Why would I leave them?”
“You must not shut down.” Her mother looked her dead in the eye, all sense of motherly nature gone. This was the alicorn that had ruled before Celestia and Luna had taken the throne. The alicorn who had lived for many eons longer than the sisters. “The ponies of Equestria need you now more than ever, Celestia.
“With one ruler gone and the Elements lost, they will look to you. If you cannot guide them, then Equestria will again become divided among the three tribes. You must not allow that to happen. Do you understand me?”
“Of course,” Celestia nodded, not wanting to disappoint her mother. “Mother?”
“Yes, my darling?”
“C-can I just stay here with you a bit longer?” Celestia asked, tears forming again. Her mother smiled, nodding. Celestia sat on the ground, though it was hard to tell if there was ground to begin with.
The two mares simply just sat together, enjoying the company and time they had lost so long ago. Celestia was happy, though she felt empty inside. But she could wait and wait, as long as she had hope that Luna would return. And that Equestria would be there to support her as well.
Until then, she would treat all ponies as equal, as she knew she should have with her sister. Never again would anypony grow jealous of another. Never again would a new Nightmare rise to threaten Equestria, or her family ever again.