A World Without a Rainboom

by Mocha Star

6. Nightmare Moon Returns to Canterlot

Appearing before the castle gates, Nightmare Moon levitated Celestia beside her. Terrified guards readied their spears and spells, preparing to fight the unknown Alicorn before them that held their Princess Celestia. "Put down thy arms or suffer a fate worse than thine Princess of the day hath." The guards kept their weapons at the ready, trembling in their grasps. Three guards were levitated, then smashed into the ground with enough force to dent their armor and make the ponies within shout in pain.

Other ponies charged and others cast magic. With a motion Nightmare Moon's horn glowed and pulled the spell casters forward. The ones on the roof or posts fell, several never to rise again. The charging ponies had their spears dissolve before they were thrown back into the walls. With no opposition Nightmare Moon opened the main door and entered, sneering into the main lobby illuminated by Celestia's magic. With a stomp of her hoof the marble floor cracked and the lights changed from sun yellow to dark blue.

More guards appeared from numerous doors and hallways, ready to fight. With a thought, five unconscious or dead guards flew into the hall, flying several feet before Nightmare Moon as she tossed Celestia in front of herself grinning with carnivorous teeth. Celestia rolled to her side, Finally waking up, she looked at her royal guards and spoke wearily. "Guards, stand down. Your lives are precious, and should not be wasted this way," she said, gasping softly as pain shot through her chest.

"Your highness, it is our duty to sacrifice our lives for you!"

"Shining Armor, protect the civilians, that is your new order." With a moment’s thought Shining looked at Nightmare Moon, then the injured guards before her that followed his command.

"Troops, fall back. Regroup and guard the city," he shouted loudly as his troops left. Standing fast he waited to see what Nightmare Moon would do next.

"Where is Celestia's apprentice? I demand thee bring her before me."

"Rising Tide isn't going to cower before you. He is more than enough to best you, Nightmare Moon."

"Thou knowest of me? Finally some recognition," she said smugly before she raised an eyebrow. "Rising Tide? Thou speak a fool’s name. He hath no power comparable to mine."

"You will not win, monster," Shining said backing up. "You will be defeated and peace and the sun will return." With that he turned and ran down another hall to join his troops.

"Celestia, thou hath a new student with such a foolish name? Where is his home, Seahorse Island?" She chuckled, then picked Celestia up with her magic as she continued to the throne room. "Thy hath the same building style now as thou did then, sister. The throne room will be ahead, while the barracks will be in the east wing, the meal hall in the south, and your room third from the top. Always respecting the old ones before us, I see."

"L-Luna, please. You don't have to-"

"I am not Luna! I am Nightmare Moon. The night shall reign for all time; and I will be loved or they will perish."

"Nightmare Moon, you don't understand, without the sun, they will perish. There needs to be a balance for life to exist in Equestria."

"Thou only wish to confuse me in my triumphant moment, sister. Thy words fall on deaf ears." Nightmare Moon opened the doors to the throne room and entered, walking to the throne; dropping Celestia as she walked. "At long last, Equestria's true queen hath arrived!"

As she turned to lay on the throne a bright blue bolt of energy struck her in the back, between her wings. Shouting in pain, she looked for the source. Nopony was there. "Thy think I am a fool, Rising Tide? I know thou art hiding in the shadows. I see thy body gliding through them, come before me and meet thy end!" Looking around the room she believed that he believed her lie. After a moment she galloped beside Celestia, "If thou attack me, would thou risk harming thy Princess?"

"She would rather die than kneel to you, witch." His voice came from the corner and Nightmare Moon blasted an energy beam at it, shattering the marble walls in a bright blue light before dimming. "You are too slow in your old age, grandma." Blasting at the ceiling she smiled as rubble fell and clattered to the floor. No body.

"Confound it, coward. Thou are a master of hiding and striking from the dark. Shall we, turn up the lights?" Raising her hoof she was hit in the postern with a blast of ice magic that made her fall over chest first into the floor.

"You can't get rid of me that easily, Duchess."

Jumping to her hooves, Nightmare Moon roared into the dim light her magic had created. "I AM QUEEN OF EQUESTRIA. I will kill thee with thy own horn."

"Not on my life, you mewling quim," he shouted from several spots.

A blast of energy sparkled towards Nightmare Moon and she flew into the air, charging the source. A pair of yellow eyes blinked before she could see the stallion that had them; then he was gone. Another bolt from behind her struck her left wing and she cried in pain as she fell to the floor.

With a roar she spat onto the floor and stood tall fanning her wings. "First thou insults me, and now thou tests my patience, coward. This game ends now."

She cast a spell that blanketed the entire room in a thick magical darkness. The room was pitch black. With a few yards of visibility around her she slowly walked ahead. No sounds of clopping left her as the magic nullified sounds as well.

In this unnatural darkness and silence even the mightiest ponies can't find their way. Closing her eyes Nightmare Moon took a breath in and held it. The sound of her heartbeat filled her ears as she turned into to mist and flew around the room looking for him. She found him quietly sneaking against a wall feeling for anything before him. A tall slender stallion with a blue coat, black mane, and yellow eyes. The eyes that she had come to hate over the past five minutes.

Taking her true form again she landed behind him and began smiling as she watched him grope forward in the darkness. Raising a hoof she stomped his tail then turned to mist again. He spun around and cast a lightning spell at the air behind him. Nightmare Moon giggled to herself through the darkness as she saw fear building in his face. I think I'll play with him for a moment before I end his life.

She took her true form again and was about to strike him when he looked right at her through the darkness and cast the lightning spell again. She fell back several feet and screamed in pain as her armor conducted the energy to her very core. The mystic darkness faded.

"I couldn't see you, Nightmare Moon, but your tactics are out of date. Greetings, you relic," he said proudly, "I am Rising Tide and Celestia is my teacher." He bowed slightly as his horn began to glow.

Pain wracked Nightmare Moon's body but she turned to mist before he could cast his spell again. Darkness overtook the room but she left the sound and cast a ventriloquist spell. Having her voice come from several places at once she began taunting him.

"Thou thinkest me a fool and mewling quim,” she sneered angrily, “yet thou follows Celestia blindly not knowing the truth behind her power? Her power is the same as mine, only I am not controlled by it. I don't need the love and loyalty of others to survive. I can live eternally on magic itself and I am free to kill if I wish it so."

She dispelled her darkness as she fell with her true form onto his back smashing him to the floor with heavy cracking sounds. Stepping off Celestia's student Nightmare Moon shook her forelegs and kicked some blood from her hoof at Celestia. "Thy chooses proteges like thou chooses places to defecate sister, and they always carry the same quality. This insulting pest is done with and none shall grace your presence ever again."

Celestia winced as she turned away from her pupil. Nightmare Moon walked around Celestia twice, casting several spells. A mystic ward appeared expanding several feet around Celestia, binding her to the floor.

"Tia, thou art bound inside this ward. Magic is useless and escape would prove deadly, even to thine immortal flesh. Enjoy the night, for I have won. Thou have lost." Nightmare Moon levitated Rising Tide before Celestia and laid him before her. "Remember this day, for it is the last thy sun will rise."

"Nightmare Moon, I may have lost for now. However you will lose in the end. The world needs both day and night or it will die. You will rule a dead dark world in a few centuries and I will be here to watch you lose your mind to loneliness."

"I will kill thee before I allow thee to see me suffer loss like thine has," Nightmare Moon hissed through clenched teeth. "Thou defeated me last time thanks to thy infernal gems of harmony. I will destroy them so none may use them ever again. I shall return shortly, sister."

Returning to a mist she flew through a window near the ceiling, and headed to her old castle in the Everfree forest. She quickly smashed the Elements of Harmony, giving the shards a venomous smile before returning to the palace.

"I leave and return to find thy in the same place sister. How does it feel to be powerless for the first time since we were fillies? Since our parents taught us to raise the gorgeous moon and that blinding sun? What have ye to say?" Celestia took a deep breath and sighed, still looking at Rising Tide. "Sister, if he is that much of a distraction then I will dispose of him."

"No, wait!" Celestia called as Nightmare Moon raised the dead stallion through the window she had left through earlier. Celestia sat up and winced from her already healing wound and glared at Nightmare Moon.

"Ah, I see thy healing is as good as ever. I knew enough to not aim for thine heart, lest you die a martyr for the people. Thou shalt be my prize pet in my throne room."

Taking her seat on the throne Nightmare Moon smiled and began using her magic to look across what would be her kingdom, forevermore.

---

"Twily, Mom, Dad?! Nightmare Moon has taken the castle and princess Celestia hostage. We can't stay here, we have to leave Canterlot," Shining shouted as he burst into his childhood home.

"Shining? Are you serious? Is that why the sun didn't rise?"

"Yes mother. Get packed quickly with whatever you can but travel light. We have to leave immediately!"

"But Shining, where'll we go? I have my jobs in Maneapolis and I can't-"

"This is more important than work, sis. We have to start a resistance and if you're here then you're going to be hurt as collateral damage. Please, we have to go now. Get on the train and take it to any stop; hide until I find you. Nightmare Moon can't know about my family or she'll use you against me." Galloping to his room upstairs, he gathered some personal items and a saddle bag, then rushed his family to do the same. Escorting them to the train, which was over full capacity, he used his magic to levitate them to the top. With a nod to the conductor the train pulled away from the station.

Author's Note:

Props to Rancor.

This chapter with it's many uses of middle English were a nightmare (moon) for him to fix.

Comments

[IMNOTHERE889]

Day 1: obviously, another chapter read. But, honestly, I'm becoming stressed, what will happen to Dashie, Flutters, Jack? Twiley? Rarity and Pinkamena? This is getting interesting and I love it.

[Yubella]

"You will not win, monster," Shining said backing up. "You will be defeated and peace and the sun will return."

I hope not. I finally see the fall of Celestia. Hopefully it's permanent. Not like those other ones.

[Mocha Star]

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