//------------------------------//
// 2. Nightmare's end 
// Story: The Taste Of Blood 
// by Shrink Laureate 
//------------------------------//

Twilight stepped carefully through the rubble.

This was one of the most damaged wings in the old castle, missing parts of walls and ceilings. This was where two alicorns had fought. It was impressive, really, that what remained of the castle after that battle had survived so well for a thousand years. Time and weather had taken their toll, but many of the ancient murals were intact. The builders of old had done their jobs well.

Ponies danced across the walls in light brushstrokes, telling the stories of their lives, mute but agile. A flight of pegasi met a herd of unicorns in battle. A trio of windigos besieged a cluster of ponies in colourful costumes, shivering the snow. A handsome pegasus flew from one wall to the other in front of her to woo a unicorn princess locked in a tower. A tribe of breezies migrated across the arched ceiling, weaving around one another, each barely more than a dab of coloured ink made with a narrow brush.

Some of the scenes Twilight recognised as depicting stories from history, myth and fairy tale. Others she couldn’t identify. Lost stories? Forgotten history? There was so much to learn here, left pressed between the pages of history. Twilight wondered if Princess Celestia might have deliberately allowed some of them to be forgotten, and would even object to her learning them. She shook her head. No, the Princess had never denied her learning.

Reaching a hoof gently to the wall, she allowed one brave figure to step lightly onto it. She grinned with the wonder of it. The proud earth pony warrior in dark blue armour perched on her hoof. He bowed to her before leaping back into the wall.

She stepped through a doorway into a larger chamber, one she recognised. This was the chamber that had once held the Elements of Harmony, on the now empty pedestal. At the far end, two stone thrones sat side by side, broken by time.

Half the roof had fallen in here, letting the moonlight shine through. The night sky above was alive with bright stars and nebulae scattered across a cloth of blues, purples and blacks that billowed like Princess Luna's mane.

Twilight stepped around the side of the room, entranced by the living stories playing out across its faded walls.

A gasp caught in her throat as she spotted something behind the pair of broken thrones. A dark shape, though in this light anything would look dark. She took a cautious step closer, peering into the shadows, and realised that it was a pony. 

“Is somepony there? Are you hurt?” She trotted quickly over. As she got closer, the shape became more clear. The long legs and elongated muzzle, the elegant long horn and wings of an alicorn mare, the dark colour coat and blue mane. “Princess Luna? What’s wrong, are you—”

She stopped. The mare in front of her was not Luna. Her coat was darker, too dark, practically black. Her eyes were narrow, draconic and cruel.

“Nightmare Moon!”

Twilight backed up frantically until her rump hit the wall, sending two dozen mural ponies scampering away to different walls. “D-d-don’t... don’t...”

Frantically she conjured a shield, surrounding herself in a globe of magic. She held it, trembling in the middle of the shield. A squad of curious, brave pegasi ventured down from the ceiling to land on the shimmering, oily surface. Twilight stood there, defiance wavering on her nervous features, waiting for Nightmare Moon's attack.

It never came. The figure of Nightmare Moon didn’t move, even an inch. It lay slumped on the floor behind the two thrones, its legs and wings splayed uncomfortably.

Gathering her courage, Twilight dismissed her shield and stepped closer again. Still, the figure didn’t move. Stepping to one side she took in the figure’s face. That long noble muzzle, reminiscent of Princess Celestia's but covered in fine black hair. The mane filled with the night sky all its glory, laying flat against its neck. Its eyes, open but unfocused, staring at nothing, their surfaces dry and without sparkle. Its mouth hung agape, fangs evident, the defiant snarl she’d last seen on it replaced by an awkward, ugly expression that hung badly on the elegant muzzle. Its barrel lay low, the lungs empty and unmoving.

With a glance at the figure's flank, Twilight saw that Luna's moon cutie mark was gone, leaving a black and purple space. Even the figure's purpose had been taken.

Twilight sagged to the floor. Had the six of them done this? In freeing Luna from a millennium trapped under Nightmare Moon, had they in fact murdered her captor?

She sat there, not far from the figure – the corpse. She had a hundred questions, but it gave her no answers. It simply lay, gazing at the corner of the room. The moonlight flowed over the broken tops of the two thrones like mist over a waterfall to bring shine to that black hair.

It looked so much like Luna. Like the kind, vulnerable, sensitive mare that Twilight had discovered since her release. How far apart were they really, these two? How far removed from Luna's insecurity was Nightmare Moon's resentful grab for power? Could the mare before her, under different circumstances, have been just like Luna?

Twilight stood and stepped forward with slow, shaky hoofsteps. Part of her still expected the figure to leap up, to reveal it was all a trick, but it didn't.

On reaching the corpse, she slowly knelt down. With one hoof she gently closed one eyelid then the other. She nudged the mouth closed, and tucked the splayed wing into the barrel where it belonged. With this little ritual complete, she stood up straight and backed away.

Friezes full of ponies, caught in the act of history, turned to watch her as she walked slowly out of the chamber, shoulders and head held low.

The hole in the chamber's ceiling was briefly obscured by a shadow as Princess Luna sailed down into the hall from above, dark wings outstretched, landing with four quiet clops on the tiles. She snapped her wings shut neatly and walked quickly over to the body of Nightmare Moon behind the two thrones, taking in the respect paid to the old enemy.

After a moment paying her own respects, she looked up at the retreating form of Twilight Sparkle. With a small kindly smile, she closed her eyes and dipped her head in a curt bow of thanks.