//------------------------------//
// Sacrifice 
// Story: The Fall of Nightmare Shadow 
// by Silver Inkwell 
//------------------------------//

Meanwhile Luna grabbed the broken horn of King Sombra and tried to figure out how to escape, force wouldn’t work against it, but maybe perhaps instead persuasion would work even better against this prison. No, she thought, I don’t want to channel her, what is she takes over? What will happen to me then?

She didn’t know, but she had to try, and so she accessed a deep dark pit where a part of her that she wanted to forget but would always keep lay silent in the darkness, and while she, or rather it wasn’t quite fully awake, it’s wasn’t fully asleep either rand when Luna approached it within her mind it slowly got up to greet her. Well hello there, Luna. Have you finally come to set me free? It said.

“No,” she said, “I have come to use you, I think that I might need your help.”

How strange and ironic, you come seeking my help again, but this time you are not fully willing or ready to embrace and use my power, and for that you are very foolish and stupid. After all, didn’t you enjoy using my power last time?

“I thought that I did, but now I know better, now I can control you without letting my emotions control me, and because of that you will obey me and do as I say and command, and you will never take over my mind again.”

Don’t be so sure of that, it said with a deep angry low growl.

“Complain all you want, but you are now mine, Nightmare Moon.”

And with that said the image of herself fully awakened.

I almost thought that you had forgotten my name, it seems like I was wrong though, but what is it that you want me to do oh great and wise powerful master? It said clearly being very sarcastic at the end.

“Help me escape this prison by using your magic or perhaps maybe even talking to it, I don’t know if either option will work, but I really hope so, I need to get back to my friends, and you’re going to help me do just that.”

And with that said it growled and then said; As you wish.

And with that said Luna slowly pulled her to her waking mind very carefully and cautiously making sure that she would never ever gain control again.

And so it was that Luna now could speak as Nightmare Moon and had the same powers of her, and luckily enough for her when she tried to use her power on her prison once more again it finally broke and then she escaped.

“HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY ESCAPE?” Nightmare Shadow said when he saw her, “THE ONLY WAY THAT YOU COULD IS IF YOU USED HER!”

And then with that he smiled, “Yes, you must have used her, and I bet that she’s still in your waking mind, and if you can hear me then fight her, fight Luna’s control over you and come back to me again, please.”

“I am trying to!” Nightmare Moon shouted out of Luna’s body, “But she is very strong, I don’t know that if I can hold her, even now she is slowly gaining.”

“Well don’t let her, you are stronger than her, you have to be.”

And with that said the battle for Luna’s mind continued for quite some very long time as every pony else stopped fighting to watch in horror and hope for their friend, “Nightmare Moon?” he said when she 
stopped moving and now stood very still with her head hung down low, “Are you still there?”

“No,” Luna said raising her head very slowly, “She is not, I am in control here, I am much stronger than her now, and it seems that you were wrong about her, and about everything, after all, how could any pony be right and strong if they fail against some pony as weak as me? Unless of course I am right instead.

And maybe perhaps that is why I was stronger and therefore won.”

Nightmare Shadow staggered in shock and surprise, “No, this cannot be, I thought that you would surely fall under her power and control and influence if you used her to escape, but I was wrong, I didn’t estimate all the variables correctly, but that doesn’t matter now, midnight is almost here and I will soon rise in more power and strength unlike anything Equestria has ever seen before, even the gods themselves would bow before me.”

“Okay,” Star Swirl said, “I knew that you were crazy and stupid before, and I doubted your insanity, but now I know that you can never be reasoned with.”

“What gave you that hint or clue?” Nightmare Shadow said.

“When you started mentioning gods, that’s never a very good sign.”

And with that said Nightmare Shadow laughed a cold cruel crazy insane laugh, and he wouldn’t stop for quite some time that it eventually became awkward.

“I don’t blame you about how you think about me and also what, but while I may be all that you say, you are not all that others claim you to be.”

“You’re right,” Twilight said, “We’re much smarter than you.”

“And much stronger than you as well,” Applejack said.

“We’re kinder than you,” Fluttershy said very nervously.

“And also even more awesome and braver than you,” Rainbow Dash said.

“We’re much wiser than you,” Star Swirl said very calmly.

“And we’re more generous and inspired than you,” Rarity said.

“More fun than you are!’ Pinkie Pie said chewing on some treats.

“And more loyal than you are or ever will be,” Flash Sentry said.

“And we are a family, and we’re much better than you are,” Celestia said.

“Wow, did you rehearse that before you got here because that is really quite impressive and is very well done,” Nightmare Shadow said to all of them.

“But sadly enough your sentiment alone will not be enough to save you.”

“No, it won’t,” Luna said from behind him holding the broken horn to her heart ready to stab herself with 
it, “But I can if you don’t surrender to us right now.”

Nightmare Shadow looked very nervous and even trembled with some fear when she did this for some kind of strange mysterious unexplained reason.

“Calm down there,” he said, “You won’t really do this, you’re bluffing.”

“Oh really, am I?” she said cutting herself with the horn as he winced in some pain, “I don’t make bluffs, I only make threats and promises.”

“And you keep both, I know,” he said, “But please consider what you’re doing.”

“Sister,” Celestia said, “What are you doing? Is this part of your plan?”

“It is sister, but you have to understand that none of you are part of the plan anymore, but the only way 
that Equestria can be saved now is by me alone.

You cannot help, so please stay back and accept that which will happen.”

And with that said she turned back to Nightmare Shadow, “End this now or you will never get the chance to ever see her again, end this madness and stop your pointless futile quest and goal, give up this dream and 
have me instead.”

After she finished speaking he had a look of deep thought and contemplation on his face, but that was 
soon replaced with something else instead.

“But do I want you? After all, you taught me that love is a weakness and that I should get rid of all my weaknesses, and that is what I will do once midnight has come, but now I am starting to doubt all that I know, so the only real question now is if your threat means anything anymore at all.”

“It still does,” she said, “I know that you want to save me no matter what.”

“Maybe, perhaps, but at what cost? If I let them live then there would always be something to hold you back and quite possibly even return you to like this again, and I cannot have that when I rule, so I’m sorry, but the answer is no.”

“That’s such a shame, but also the answer I was kind of hoping for,” Luna said as she then suddenly plunged the horn right into her heart.

“NO!” both Celestia and Nightmare Shadow said as they leapt for her.

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?” Nightmare Shadow said stepping backwards and as soon as he did so a black storm cloud suddenly appeared over his head and then started to pour down rain on him “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?”

“Me?” Luna said very softly in the embrace of her sister, “No, it is not me who did this to you, it was all you from the very start up on the moon.”

“BUT HOW?” he said burying his head in some clouds.

“Because I have changed, and you didn’t listen to me.”

And with that said he let out a great cry of agony and pain as his body slowly started to dissolve into tiny little black bits and pieces of dust and shadow.

“Return to that which you once were, which was dust from the moon.”

And with that said he slowly started to dissolve, but it took a really long time, so much so that he had enough time to do a whole entire speech.

“You think that just because you have beaten me now that I cannot return?

That I shall not? The darkness and shadow will always return with the fear of the nightmare to spread chaos, and just because I’m going to die and fail now doesn’t mean that you can’t pay, and I’ll start with your older sister Luna!”

And with that said he sent a death spell towards her, but she quickly blocked it away from her only to launch itself at Star Swirl.

“What the-?” he said as he quickly deflected it away.

“It won’t stop unless it hits something living!” Nightmare Shadow said as it went through the air towards Twilight who then also deflected it away.

But that was when it finally found a target to hit.

But who was it you ask? Flash Sentry, that’s who it was.

It went through the air towards him and suddenly the whole world seemed to go into slow motion, but it was too late for them as it hit him.

“FLASH!” Twilight said running over to him as rain slowly poured down all around them (which seemed very appropriate for the moment and time).

“No,” she said leaning over his body, “No, I can’t lose you.”

“Don’t cry for me,” he said as his face turned gray, “Be happy, and know that I always did love you Twilight,” and with that said his body turned into dust,”

“That was number ten,” Nightmare Shadow said, “Soon it will be eleven.”

“What do you mean by that exactly?” Celestia said while Twilight still stood over the ‘body’ of Flash Sentry still crying to herself very silently.

“Don’t you remember? I said that eleven would die tonight, he was number ten, and granted I didn’t and still don’t know who is dead exactly now.”

“You are an utterly despicable monster,” Celestia said.

He smiled, “Only to your perceived thought and mind I am that, but if I had completed my goal and quest then I would be seen as a hero by many instead.”

“I still don’t know how you can be so misguided,” Celestia said.

“Perhaps maybe it is the same reason as to why you think the way that you do, it’s the way that we were raised and taught, and then we thought based upon what we were inspired by most and then took away 
what we liked and loved and also enjoyed, and soon enough we expanded upon that becoming even better and stronger and having more power and knowledge. And that is why we are the way that we are, we were formed and shaped that way, because you see monsters and heroes aren’t born, they’re made, even if only in one day.”

“So basically what you’re saying is that perceived thought is much stronger than reality,” Celestia asked him very curious as to what the answer could be.

“Yes and no, it can be, but sometimes reality just takes over and ruins life, just like I can and have, but don’t worry, I will only torture you for your whole entire life within your memories and dreams, for I will always live in there.

And the real truth about death, you don’t ever really die, you just sleep forever, and think about that, if you sleep then you dream, but you can also have a nightmare too, and that’s what I will be to you, an eternal nightmare shadow.

I will always haunt you, and no matter what you try the horrors of what you have seen and down will always live deep down inside you lying within.

I may be dying, but in some ways I will also be living too.”

And with that said he stood still (since he couldn’t move anymore after he cast the death spell) and waited for his end to come to him eventually.

“At least my death won’t mean nothing,” Luna said, “Yours will mean almost nothing except victory, but me, I will live on forever within the moon itself.”

Nightmare Shadow said nothing except for this, “There is no victory without sacrifice,” and with that said he remained silent and perfectly still.

Soon enough the wound took its toll on Luna and she took her last breath in and then her last breath out. 

And as she did Nightmare Shadow then dissolved completely all at once with his body first and then his cold cruel eyes last.

And that image alone was enough to haunt all of them forever now.

“What do you think happened to them?” Rarity said curiously.

“I honestly don’t know,” she said crying over her sister’s body and cradling her head very gently and softly, “But I hope that she is in a happy place that is better, perhaps maybe she is among the stars even now, but as for him, who knows, perhaps he has no afterlife, but if he does I sincerely really hope that it is his worst nightmare, after all, he doesn’t deserve to be happy after what he did,” and with that said every pony remained silent as they mourned the loss of their friends, and eventually the rain stopped pouring down gently and softly as the new sun started to rise on the horizon signaling a new era.