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// Chapter eight: “Oh Celestia!” 
// Story: The Prince of Darkness 
// by Morningstar 2143 
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The royal castle of Canterlot was quiet and dimly lit by the moonlight. The rooms, corridors, and even the streets below lay barren and devoid life. The citizens of the glistening city were in their homes cowering, waiting, and anticipating the arrival of the vampire forces and the mystery of what lie on the horizon for not only Canterlot but Equestria as a whole. The moon began it’s descent and soon after, vanished into the horizon. As the moonlight faded into darkness, the sun’s rays of light emerged from the eastern horizon. It’s light cascaded across the sky, shimmering on the polished silver and gold armor of the mobilized troops. It continued casting it’s light up the royal tower to reveal a fully armored Celestia. She stood there, eyes full of intense rage and hatred for the enemy. Her armor covered her from head to tail in glistening gold plating that reflecting the light in a way that made it seem as if the armor itself was crafted from it. She was soon joined by her sister wearing armor similar her own but instead was a dark hue of silver and covered all but the head. Celestia stepped forward, her glistening armor catching the attention of the large battalion stationed outside the northern border. Using her royal voice, she addressed the contingent of troops down below.

“Attention my loyal subjects!” her roaring voice was heard for miles, grabbing the attention of even those not in iron clad armor. “We have lived in peace and prosperity for thousands of years, worry free and confident that the day war threatened to destroy our way life would never come upon us. But that day has come; the day to pick up arms and rise against evil. Our enemy is one you have heard legends of, but dismissed as myth. They skulk in the shadows and strike without warning. They go by many names but there’s only that you would recognize. They are vampires.” the troops were shocked but remained at attention. “They are evil, seductive, and murderous blood sucking demons that not only threaten to end our way of life but also threaten to end our lives. We owe it to this great land we call Equestria for protecting us. We will defend it from darkness and eradicate the vampire race. Today is the day we change the definition of what it means to win a war!!!” she reared as the hundreds of troops stomped their hooves, hollered, and cheered at the eloquent speech. As dead silence returned to the battlefield, the rhythmic pounding of drums could be heard in the distance. A blanket of shadow could be seen off in the horizon, crawling over hills making its way towards the troops. The strange mass grew closer and revealed itself to be clouds shrouded in darkness. Beneath the shroud was the entire vampire army. They stood there, protected by the shroud.

“Oh Celestia!” the monstrous voice rang in mocking tone. “I humbly request a parlay. Let us talk things out.” Celestia made a gesture to Luna signaling her to follow. They landed in the field between the two armies, waiting to see what there once trusted ally had become. “I’m glad you could make it. I hope i’m not interrupting your busy schedule.” he stepped out from the crowd and made his way to the edge of the shadow being cast by the shroud. The only thing that could seen where his eyes backed by a menacing tall silhouette.

“Star. Is that really you?” Luna asked, mortified at the sight of her student. Celestia placed her hoof in front of Luna’s face, signaling her silence.

“You can’t win. We have the upperhoof, the sun will not be going down this day.” she gazed into his demonic red eyes, firmly standing her ground. He grinned, presenting his large gruesome white fangs.

“Where's your pet frankenstein Discord? I thought for sure that you would have dragged him into this.” 

“He has no business being here. This is between the ponies and the vampires.” the grin grew into a smile. “Why do you continue to smile, what are you planning?!”

“I just think it’s funny, that you think you have the advantage. Without chaos or the Elements of Harmony you have no hope of defeating me. It doesn’t matter if you have the sun at your back anymore.” he continued his slow pace towards the edge of the shroud. He lowered his head and shut his eyes. He left the safety of the shroud, light bouncing off his vicious metal horn. With each step he took, the grass turned black, weathered, and died. He unfurled his massive black metal wings, and hoisted his head using his size to intimidate Celestia. He slowly opened his eyes. There piercing gaze instilled fear in the hearts of the platoon. “As you can see, I’m not like the others.” he turned his gaze to the sky. “You have no idea of how powerful I really am.” he returned his gaze to Celestia. “I think it’s time for a demonstration.” his horn began emanating a massive amount of red energy. While Luna and the other troops turned away from the blinding light, Celestia never took her eyes off of him. She continued watching him until something that she thought was impossible caught her eye. Rising behind him was the moon and the starry night sky. It sluggishly moved across the sky, bringing the bone chilling night air with it.

“That should be impossible!!” Celestia shrieked. The moon finally reached it’s destination. As the darkness of night overpowered the light of day and the moon merged with the sun, the sky turned a very rich reddish orange color and the moon blocked the sun's harmful rays.

The light emanating from his horn ceased and the shroud vanished. “Welcome ponies of Equestria.” he addressed the kingdom as a whole. “To the Age of Eclipse!!” he pointed at the sun-moon hybrid hovering in the space above them. “You no longer have control over the sun or the moon, I’m the only one who can separate them.”

“I won’t let you get away with this.” then, in the blink of an eye, Celestia held a large sword up neck. “Tell me monster, do you bleed?” he just smiled and pulled Celestia in by the collar of her armor. They came face to face, mere inches from touching noses with the blade still at his neck. They looked into each others eyes and saw nothing but anger and determination.

“I don’t know, do you?” he responded with a toothy grin. “Let’s…. Find…. Out.” his horn illuminated with red energy that continued to grow in intensity.

“Sister no!” Luna shouted as she charged, head first, into the unknown spell being cast. With a flash of red they vanished.

“What did they do with the princesses?!” a guard shouted from the back. The Equestrian army took up arms. “Where are the princesses!?” another guard shouted. They began charging, the front line had their spears drawn and pointed at the vampire forces.
Rosemary stood and shouted “Charge!!”. The two armies ran towards each other with no intent on losing. They screamed their battle cries as the dust picked up. The pounding of hooves and the beating of flapping wings sounded similar to a thunderstorm. The two armies collided with one another, spears piercing undead flesh and razor sharp fangs delving into fatty muscle tissue. Blood curdling screams of pain and agony were heard by the residence of Canterlot as they cowered in their homes.

Little did the two armies know, their leaders were teleported to the Castle of the Two Sisters in the Everfree forest so they could fight their own fight in privacy. With a bright flash and a loud bang, the three bodies were sent flying in opposite directions. Luna’s entering the spell caused it to destabilize and implode, resulting there launch from the spell field and a shock wave that reignited the torches lining the walls. They climbed to there hooves and stared at each other as if they were in an old western.

“Why did you bring us here?” Celestia asked, clearing dust from her throat.

“I need to work on my landing.” he said shaking his head vigorously. “I figured that it would be poetic, being that this is where you defeated Nightmare Moon. this castle is where you will meet your end as well; amongst the ruins that you once called home.” he turned to look at the restored banners of the sun and moon overhanging the two dilapidated thrones. “Once I beat you your highness, i’ll return to the battlefield with your living body and drain your blood completely. I want your blood to be the first that I taste. I want to know what it tastes like, how it feels when the thick red liquid courses through my veins.” he liked his lips anxiously.

“That’s not going to happen, not now, not ever!” with a flash of light a blade appeared within Celestia’s grasp.

“So that’s how it’s going to be, good. I was hoping you would put up a fight.”