//------------------------------//
// Endgame: The Queen of Nights 
// Story: Cards of Prophecy 
// by SwordTune 
//------------------------------//

	That was... brutal.

"Don't judge me Card Master, I'm through with your games," Celestia replied. She stared down nervously at her heart card, reading "2/140" on it. She had a blessing that could have helped, but Celestia knew it would be unwise to rely on anything she gained from the Card Master. 

But what of your own resolve? Will you be able to live with yourself, knowing you let the King's dark powers take hold of your mind?

"So now it's your turn to have the existential crisis?" she answered, watching as the game board slowly burned away the cards, clearing the board. "The wounds may be real, but an alicorn's mind isn't as easily affected by brute force." 

Very well, Princess. Here, the loot from the castle is now your spoils of war.

The Card Master waved his hoof over the table, commanding eight cards to sprout from the woodwork like trees. They flipped over one after the other, revealing three food cards, two gold cards, a shadow sword card, a royal armor card, and a cat card. On their own, the cards queued up and slid into Celestia's deck, doubling the size of her collection. 

"Why do I need these?" Celestia demanded. "The game is over, all the boss cards are destroyed!"

The Card Master pondered the thought of a moment, as if the notion had just dawned on him, but regardless he simply waved the thought away. 

A reward is a reward, and you've earned it either way. Besides, there's still one last battle you must face.

Celestia shook her head. "Twelve boss cards, twelve bosses. That was the deal." 

The Card Master reached out his hoof and shot out a single card onto the table. 

I never said they were the only part of the deal. All victors must face this final challenge.

Celestia clenched her jaw, looking at the card's different aura for any clues as to what it might contain. It was different from the other bosses; it wasn't just more potent in power, but it sent chills down Celestia's back when she looked at it. 

She quickly stared back at the Card Master, avoiding the sight of the card on the table. "And after this? What will happen when I complete this card?"

You will win. Only if you defeat it.

Celestia glanced warily back at the card. Something about it instilled fear in her, but she didn't show it. She gingerly lifted her figurine and placed it on top of the card, revealing its image. 

Celestia's eyes widened in shock, staring strait at a portrait of her own sister, Princess Luna. Celestia shot a fierce glare at the Card Master, who's smile was so wide Celestia could feel it from across the table. Dark magic glowed from her card deck, filling her eyes with the same darkness as with the King of Shadows. 

"Explain this!" she commanded, slamming her hoof onto the table. The woodwork cracked and the figurine shook, but the Card Master sat in perfect stillness, projecting his elation in waves of aura. 

In due time, you will not need my words.

The Card Master spread his forelegs up, as if beckoning the sky itself. Around them the tent began a low rumble, tumbling down, uncovering a veil of dense, dark fog around them. The fog was sucked into the tent, swallowing whole the table and the Card Master, leaving only Celestia in the darkness. 

With her ax and shield, Celestia gave a hearty Klang!, sending a shockwave of magic ringing across the room. But nothing was revealed. No darkness was removed, not even a slight revelation of what lied behind the fog, because there was nothing behind it at all. No scenery grew from the darkness, it just remained there, spiraling around Celestia. 

Celestia looked around, noticing that she could see her ax and her shield in the darkness, as if they were in a well lit room. She tested her magic, and it too shined bright like the sun, but there was nothing to see but herself.

Celestia spun around, evaluating what she would have to accomplish to leave the empty realm. She stepped around, turned left and right, ran a few paces only to double back. With no idea what the purpose was, Celestia reached the only plausible conclusion: the Card Master had simply trapped her in the void, and left the game unfinished. 

She scrunched her face in rage, slamming her shielded hoof into the ground repeatedly. How could she have let herself be trapped, she thought to herself. 

"Card Master, you coward!" she cried out, facing the black sky. "If you rig your game from the start, then you deserve no enjoyment from it." 

"Such anger; you're despicable."

Celestia whirled around, ax ready to end the Card Master in his own realm, but she halted her rotation and stumbled to the ground. Looking up, she couldn't believe what she saw. It wasn't a simple mirage by the Card Master's magic; the entire scene that had appeared from the black fog was as real as the memory. It was her memory of the night Luna had turned to Nightmare Moon. 

The Queen of Nights picked up Celestia by the wing and hurled her into the old castle, producing a sizable hole in the hard brick wall. The impact blurred Celestia's vision, but she could still make out the dark figure of the Queen of Nights, the pony known as Nightmare Moon. She struggled the rise, but couldn't find any strength in her legs. She quickly saw the reason why; in front of her was a faded heart card, ripped in half, reading "0/140."

In an instant, the world turned to fire, and in the next, the ashes blew away into nothing. 


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Nightmare Moon stood in the center of the castle, gazing down at the opponent, now turned to a pile of cards. It was the first pony she'd been able to face since the Card Master made her card. As she waited for the instance to fold into its card form again, her mind wandered, digging up memories placed by the Card Master's magic. 

"I'm just a copy, dear sister, but I can hate you all the same," she said, smirking at the pile of cards before her, each carefully engraved with the same symbol upon the opponent's flank. 

A few seconds passed in complete silence. Nightmare Moon gazed into the night sky, admiring the detail in every star and moon. She held the memories of her time on the moon, memories stolen from Luna when she attempted to overthrow the Card Master.

But how could they defeat a creator as gifted as the Card Master? The Queen of Nights smiled at the thought. She watched the Princess fight her way through every perfect piece of the Card Master's creations, never understanding why he laughed when they were brutally destroyed. 

But she never questioned him, not once. She was sure the Sun Princess was the one he intended to duplicate for the next card on his list to craft. And when the Queen of Lights was done, the Queen of Nights would be free to take her place in the real world, as the Card Master's successor. 

Of course, the plan was to make the Queen of Lights her successor, but she would never let that happen once she had control. The memories of hate were just too real; the Card Master had done his job exceedingly well, branding her card with ever lasting disdain for the sun. She welcomed it, rejoicing over the feeling of hate towards another, the feeling of dominance over an eternal enemy. 

But Nightmare Moon began to feel uneasy as the scene of the castle remained, refusing to return to its card in the darkness. Instances never took this long to collapse, and the bizarre behavior made her feel uneasy. 

"Card Master!" she called out, looking to the sky for answers. "Has there been a fault in the card? Why does it continue to hold me in here?"

The Card Master did not reply, he never truly spoke a word to any of his creations, but the Queen of Nights understood the sign perfectly; there was something amiss, some deed needed to be done. 

As if a direct response to her thoughts, a light glowed viciously from the Sun Princess's pile of cards. The power of it blinded Nightmare Moon, stumbling her back into the wall. She willed her self to overcome the blinding whiteness of the magic, inching closer to the card in spite of the pain, hoping to destroy it. 

It was all for naught, and the next moment she found herself halfway through a ruined castle pillar, staring up at a resurrected Sun Princess. Her face twisted in anger, and she thrust herself into combat with her would-be successor. 


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Celestia had little time to react, jumping back and spinning out of Nightmare Moon's path. Resurrection hadn't returned her weapons and armor to her, but that still served as an advantage, relieving her of the weight that slowed her previously. 

Nightmare Moon spread her wings and looped around, diving from the air for a second strike. Celestia constructed a wall of light, misdirecting the Queen of Nights enough to strike the carved stone floor next to her. Celestia swiftly turned to Nightmare Moon, shifting her guard stance to adapt to the loss of all her armor and weapons. She realized she grew too used to the feeling of plates of steel holding her back.

Dust clouds grew around the Queen of Nights as she fanned the castle ruins toward Celestia, using her full wingspan to sweep up all the debris. Celestia responded with her own whirlwind, holding the cracked stone and rotting wood at the center of the stalemate. They held the clashing tempest as they held each other in a fierce gaze, daring the other to weaken her storm. 

But Nightare Moon's resolve proved stronger; she wasn't weighed by the guilt of battling her sister. With a burst of raw strength Celestia faltered, blown out of the castle by the whirlwind. Fighting Nightmare Moon was one thing, but she couldn't bring herself to finish the fight. 

She rolled out of the way as a reflex to the sound of Nightmare Moon's charge, avoiding the flash of magic from her horn as she drove it into the dirt of the garden outside the derelict castle. Celestia took the opportunity to return a blast of energy back at the Queen of Nights, throwing her into an overgrown rose bush. 

The blast burned away part of the darkness in the Queen's form, but she swallowed the pain as her magic begun to heal it already. Nightmare Moon twisted herself, sticking her hooves into the soft dirt to find a solid combat position, but was stopped short by a buck to the head from Celestia. 

Cracking through the masonry, Nightmare Moon spun into the castle, tumbling down onto the floor. Her legs shook but continued to support her weight long enough for her to take to the air. Celestia followed, chasing her down through the halls of the old castle, exchanging shots of magic, collapsing structures as they passed by. 

With only the key memories of Princess Luna, the Queen of Nights was poor in her areal maneuvers, surviving the fight in the sky only with Celestia's reluctance to harm what was so similar to her sister. They swooped down into a music room, with a large pipe organ opposite of the entrance. 

The pipes cried out as they bent, making room for the clashing of the two alicorns. Though even in size, Celestia pressed her advantage of age and experience, twisting one of the Queen's wings at an odd angle, disabling it for a short moment. Magic flowed into the castle scene, invisible to Celestia, and began repairing the wing even as the tendons were stretched. 

Nightmare Moon let out a growl, belying the pain she truly felt. Celestia went soft at the sight of Nightmare Moon's face, twisted in pain, and released her immediately. The Queen flexed her wing, attempting to escape to more open areas, but her wing had healed at an angle, making balanced flight an impossibility for her. 

Celestia noticed the twist in Nightmare Moon's wing as well, and for a moment both paused as tears swelled in Celestia's eyes. But she shook the tears off, reminding herself that the Queen of Nights was only a construct of magic, not the real Princess Luna. With her magic, Celestia lifted up six of the longest pipes of the bent organ, aiming them towards Nightmare Moon, threatening to impale her and destroy her for good. 

"Please, no!" cried out the Queen of Nights, covering up her plans with a submissive tone. Celestia held the pipes, but froze to the sound of a perfect copy of her sister's voice. "Celestia, don't do it, please. I'm not doing this by choice. Really, I don't want to!"

Slowly, Celestia lowered the pipes, but kept them aloft with magic, aimed at the Queen and ready to strike. She looked to Nightmare Moon with confusion on her face. "What do you mean?"

"I have her memories, even the ones of turning into... into this beast I am now, this beast the Card Master made me to be." Nightmare Moon cautiously moved her position into a loose combat stance, disguising it as limps and discomfort. She spoke with an intimate and caring voice, hiding what was to come in the next few moments.

"I can remember how Luna felt when she lost control," the Queen continued. "It was, and is, her biggest regret. She loved you deep down, but she never really brought that love to the surface until it was too late." Oh how gullible she had become!

Celestia dropped all the pipes at once, taking time to process the emotions sprinting through her mind. In that time she didn't notice the glow of the Queen of Nights' magic as she swung a pipe around in a half-turn, bludgeoning Celestia's face into a bruised, bloody mess. 

The impact shocked Celestia, bringing out primal feelings of fear, hatred, and betrayal. Her power swelled with her anger, drawing on the dark magic repressed deep inside with the core of her magic. Dark purple and green spewed out, overwhelming Nightmare Moon in a rampage of dark energies. 

Celestia repaid the Queen's attack with her own pipe organ swing, flinging her dark figure into the walls of the music room, bringing down chunks of the roof one at a time. Nightmare Moon rose quickly, out of fear rather than hatred this time around, and fled through the large cracks in the castle's walls. 

But her wings were not heal properly, and Celestia caught up to her only seconds later, tackling her into the dirt path behind the castle. With a burst of magic, Celestia levitated Nightmare Moon from the ground, swiveling her into a gnarled old oak tree. As ancient as the tree was, its thick bark splintered and cracked from the impact, forming a silhouette of the Queen of Nights' back on its exposed trunk. 

Celestia's horn felt like a runner's legs, pushing the limits of its performance. Light and dark magic flowed out in equal amounts, weaving around the landscape, filling the entire castle rear with magical lights. Holding back the burning sensation in her horn was not easy - her horn felt like it was about to split open - but Celestia's focus was solely on the Queen of Nights. She leveled her horn parallel to the ground while Nightmare Moon struggled to stand, drawing on every last drop of magic she could muster, and let loose a beam of energy so potent it might as well have been a piece of the sun itself. 

The blast threatened to grow out of control, pushing Celestia farther back despite her perfect combat stance. However, Equestria was at stake, and Celestia hadn't come this far to let her own power cut her off from her home. Her home, where her real sister was. 

Memories of her time with Luna, both before and after Nightmare Moon, flipped through her mind like a book. Through the whole fight, she had tried to limit her feelings from interfering with the fight, but all the magic flowing through her final blast clouded her conscious, blurring the lines of reality between the Card Master's game and her real life. 

At that moment, her thoughts churned and swirled in her head, mixing together as a blender would do to fruit. She confused the Queen of Nights for the real Princess Luna, and her will shattered to pieces. 

"No! I can't stop it Luna, I can't!" she cried out, but the sound of the rippling magic drowned out all other noises. Her eyes teared up as she felt her uncontrolled power and rage shredded through the Queen of Nights' protective field, evaporating the dark magic that kept her alive and real.


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"It wasn't real."

Then why do you believe it was?

"No, I don't. I - no, you - muddled the thoughts in my head."

Tisk tisk Princess, you know I hate ruining a good story.

Celestia hung her head, ashamed of herself. No matter what she told herself, she couldn't keep out the final memory of the Queen of Nights. She saw the Queen as her own sister, thinking it really was Luna, and then her own magic obliterated the scene. 

Cheer up Princess, you've won. You're unique, a champion of the world. The only one to have ever completed the quest laid out before her.

Celestia looked up, watching as the Card Master gathered all the cards off the table, storing them in his seemingly endless sleeve. 

"You don't get to walk away, Card Master. Don't you remember? I came to stop you from terrorizing my citizens with your tricks." Celestia rose from her seat, feeling in full control of herself this time, and conjured a pair of hoof-cuffs for the Card Master. The Card Master simply watched, and then chuckled. 

Of course, the thought slipped my mind. We can't have ponies knowing that the game can actually be beaten, can we? Yes, we'll just keep it our little secret.

Celestia ignored the Card Master's prideful talk about his game, cuffing his forelegs together and dragging him up from his seat. But the Card Master did not follow. He wasn't resisting, no he wasn't foolish enough to do that, but his large sagging cloak simply slipped off when pulled along by the cuffs. 

Time seemed to stop in the tent, Celestia wide eyed and staring at the figure that stood before her, and the Card Master showing no emotion or reaction. In fact, his whole face just fell off, flopping onto the ground, crumpling up. 

Then, the Card Master stood, revealing everything that shocked Celestia. He had no tail, no mane, and definitely no face. He resembled a mannequin pony only his skin looked alive. The images on his skin, the exact same designs on the back of every card played in the game, moved around like a school of fish through the water, overlapping and passing each other.  

Seeing the oddity of the Card Master struck her more than anything she saw in the cards. No matter what happened on the board or in the cards, she could remind herself it was part of the game; the Card Master was not part of the game, in fact, he was the game. 

He presented his hoof, responding to the curiosity written plainly on Celestia's face. Without a word, he unraveled himself, commanding the cards to break apart one by one, revealing only more cards. Before the minute was over, his entire right leg had unwound into the thousands of cards majestically dancing around the tent, like leaves in a cool autumn breeze. 

I'm afraid your prisons are going to have a hard time containing them.

The Card Master looked around his tent, obviously referring to each of his cards. Celestia watched as well, but once she felt that the Card Master's attention was elsewhere, she snared him in her levitation, driving the Card Master into the ground to subdue him. However, Celestia didn't expect the Card Master to explode into a hurricane of cards when she pinned him down. 

The whirling cards took to the air, cutting apart the tent into scraps, displaying their accuracy, power, and terrifying intelligence. Celestia was mostly unharmed, save for a dozen paper cuts, and recovered immediately after. She spread her wings and prepared to chase the fragments of the Card Master, but she could tell it was useless as the cards began to scatter farther and farther apart, each card quickly vanishing into the sky by itself. 


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The Traders Exchange was over, the only sign it was even at Rainbow Falls was the occasional piece of trash that would blow across the trodden dirt. It was only a day to the rest of Equestria. Twilight would probably be with Luna, waiting to celebrate a victory over the fabled Card Master, but she wouldn't understand. 

Even her sister Luna, who had faced a great deal of the Card Master herself, would not know how much the cards had affected her. The Card Master, he was right, she was unique. Unique and alone in the world. There might be a time when all the events in that tent faded away from her memory, but that time would not come for long. 

Could I even stand to see Luna without remembering the Queen of Nights? She thought to herself. Imagining was one thing, but Celestia could feel that she wasn't ready to return to Canterlot for a heroic party with all her friends. It was a shame to have to skip a party thrown by Pinkie Pie and the famed Cheese Sandwich, but Celestia's thought lingered to Starswirl, the only pony in Equestria's history that might have understood what the Card Master was. 

The Canterlot archives were vast, even for Celestia, but there were questions she needed answered. Celestia sighed to herself while stretching out her wings to take flight. "I suppose I should catch up on my reading. I haven't done an all nighter in eons."