Snowflakes came gliding down all around Luna, as she squinted at the blinding mass that was Midnight Snow and Nightmare Moon. She couldn’t make out either of them or the shield bubble they were in.
Several minutes had elapsed since the two were engulfed in this light, which was forcing everypony to shield their eyes.
Luna then began feeling the chains binding around her body begin to loosen. As she looked, the chains started to unravel and come apart before disappearing completely. Gingerly and suffering from severer cramp, Luna gradually got to her hooves. Peering over her shoulder, she was glad to see the same happen to the others. Glimmer and Sunset dropped their shield and started helping them.
This was not an unwise move on their part, for all the ponies under Nightmare Moon’s control had started groaning with the heads in their hooves. Even the ones that had been chaining Luna down where giddy.
One of them was Ponyville’s mayor, Ivory Scrolls. Luna Stepped over and placed a hoof on her shoulder, “Are you alright?”
Ivory Scrolls blinked several times with her eyes returned to normal, “Yeah, I think so…”
She glanced up at Luna and at once the memories of the day's event flooded her mind, “Your highness! I…I’m so sorry! I….”
“It's alright,” Luna reassured her. “I know you not responsible.”
“Hey!” Rainbow Dash called from up high, propping up one of the dizzy guards. “What going on down there? They're all coming round!”
“It’s Nightmare Moon’s power!” Twilight answered back aloud. “She’s losing control of her spells! Whatever Midnight’s doing its working!”
“If her spells are breaking,” Luna mumbled to herself, inadvertently drawing Ivory Scrolls ear. “Then That means that….”
A ball white light high above the city now grabbed every ponies gaze’ as it gracefully descended from the sky and onto the causeway between luna and the others who trapped like her. It's light started to diminish as layers flaked off it like rose petals. Stepping out of it as it finished falling away, was a pony that many thought that they would never see again.
“Princess Celestia!!” Ponies all-round chimed. Her name spreading through the city drawing more to the spot.
“Sister,” Luna said utterly relieved. Walking unsteadily to her.
“My dear, Luna,” -Celestia embraced her- “Oh, how I’m glad your alright.”
Twilight and Rainbow dash landed near to them and trotted up to them. Celestia noticed her pupils approach and a warm smile, “Twilight, Rainbow Dash, you are alright.”
“Forget us! You were stuck on the moon!” Dash said jokingly. “Are you alright?’
“Oh, I will be fine,” Celestia chuckled. “But tell me, how did you defeat Nightmare Moon?”
The three ponies exchanged glances but it was twilight that spoke first, “We didn’t.”
“Sister, it is Midnight Snow who is current fighting Nightmare Moon,” Luna added, turning to show the bright light that was the pair in question. Celestia looked visibly concerned, even she did not know what to make of it.
“Errr... Is it me or is it getting brighter?” Dash said using her wings to shield her eyes. The others nodded and they all back off a couple of paces. The lights intensifying, however, did not last.
The light suddenly ended. From what was its epicentre, the figure of Nightmare Moon appeared to stand tall while Midnight Snow was hurled back. Sliding on the stone on his side and coming to rest in front of Twilight Sparkle’ his sweat steaming in the cold air. She asked him if he was alright but Midnight did not answer. Instead, he rolled himself onto his hooves and sat upright, his concentration back from he had come from.
There Nightmare Moon stood with head thrown back, mouth wide open and her eyes rolled back into her skull. A sickly indigo cloud was flowing out of her mouth and nostrils and filled the air above her.
This spectacle started drawing a crowd from the ponies that had been gathered below the palace. Wise to the situation, Cadence kept them from getting too close.
When the indigo cloud had grown to a size larger than the body that it was leaving, the last tendrils left the mouth and nostrils. Foxtrot, now devoid of Nightmare Moon, swayed and collapsed onto the ground.
But there was something off about these last tendrils. The tips of theses tendrils were not indigo but gold, and it was spreading. It grew and started to devour the indigo above it like a fire, leaving areas it had passed through to turn grey and fall away like ash.The cloud that was Nightmare Moon was making a whole host of ungodly noises as the golden fire continued to ascend unabated. Before it consumed her entirely, Nightmare Moon let out one last ear-shattering scream of frustration, despair and agony that shook even Celestia to her core. With this, the last of the indigo turned to gold and then falling apart as ash, vanishing from the fabric of existence before it reached the ground.
A stunned silence came over all the souls in the city. No-pony dared move, except that was for the near exhausted Midnight Snow. He was moving towards the slumped figure of Foxtrot. Still lying on the ground, her body reverting to the form before she was taken as a host. When it was done, the only evidence that of had remained of Nightmare Moon’s being here was her alicorn Wings and the blood moon cutie mark.
Midnight bent down and stroked her mane gentle. His warm hoof drew her into lifting her head to look at him, “Mid….Midnight?”
Midnight smiled. It was her eyes. Her gently emerald eyes.
“Shhh..” He coaxed, gently rubbing her brow. “Rest now. Don't worry not, I’m here.”
Foxtrot did so and fell into a deep sleep. Looking up from her, Midnight turned to the ponies that had gathered, “Can any medics help her please?”
A handful of ponies including Fluttershy raced over to Foxtrot and began administering aid. Midnight backed away and left them to it.
“What did you just do, Midnight?” Twilight asked, to recognising the spells that had been in use.
“I, um….”Midnight tried to find his words. “I used a decimation spell on Nightmare Moon.”
Celestia and Luna’s eyes widened. Of the others, only Twilight understood what he meant, “You destroyed her!?!”
“Yes, I did,” He replied with a neutral expression. “I know it’s not the Equestrian way but I could not see any other way of stopping her, not without killing Foxtrot.”
“Such spells are forbidden in Equestria,” Celestia added.
“Yes, I ‘d guessed as much.”
“Despite this,” She continued. “I can clearly see why you had no choice in the matter and will…….Midnight?”
Midnight was grabbing his chest around his heart, discomfort swelling on his face. His entire being then flashed gold and recoiled away from the others in pain.
“That hurt far more then I thought it would!” He exclaimed in heavy breaths. Drawing concerned faces on those present.
Twilight though gave him quizzical look, “Wait? You thought!?!”
Midnight slowly nodded, “Just before I separated Nightmare Moon from Foxtrot, she forcible left a small piece of herself inside of me.”
Luna gave him a disjointed look, “You don’t mean she's taking control of you!!”
“No! No! The piece she left is too weak to that,” He said waving a hoof. “She did it, I think, to stop me from using a decimation spell.”
“But you used it anyway!?!” Celestia said, not believing what she had heard. He nodded a response.
“What does that mean?” Spike asked, echoing the thoughts of many of the ponies there.
“The decimation spell is still destroying Nightmare Moon,” Luna replied slowly. “And the last fragment of her is inside Midnight, so the spell will also….”
She was interrupted by Midnight flashing gold again and recoiling further away. This and the sheer amount of pain verdant in his breathing meant that Luna didn’t have to finish her sentence.
“How do we stop it?” Twilight asked expectantly.
“You can’t,” Celestia answered slowly shaking her head. ”Once it's cast it can’t be stopped. Part of the reason why it's forbidden. But surely Midnight, you must have known about this.”
“I had guessed that was she trying to take me down with her but at that point, there were only two things I could do,” He said gathering his breath. “Cast the spell or let her win. Not that much of a choice, really.”
He flashed gold for a third time and recoiled further back. The pain was clearly worse than before. Twilight one of several who instinctively moved to his aid. Midnight with his head down and breathing deeply, held out a hoof to kept them at bay.
Midnight raised his head up and stared at his outstretched hoof. Its tip started ominously glowing gold, which slowly started spreading. Checking the rest of himself, he found more glows. On his tail, mane, horn and wing tips. His head turned back to ponies watching on, although many found that they couldn’t.
“Basically,” He said with a heavy heart. Lowering his hoof back down. "Goodbye.”
Midnight’s eyes couldn’t help but wander over to Foxtrot, still asleep on the causeway. He smiled contently as he closed his eyes and fought the inevitable no more. With this, the golden glow raced throughout his body, turning to dust and falling away until there was nothing left of Midnight. This ash was carried away on a gentle breeze, becoming indistinguishable from the falling snow.
So ended the Battle of the Dying Storm.