//------------------------------//
// Hello Darkness My Old Friend 
// Story: Hello From The Other Side 2 
// by FoxMcCloud7921 
//------------------------------//

“I missed you...so very much,” the Nightmare said. “It's been...a very long time. I was abandoned... forgotten...mocked...and you didn't have the courtesy to come back for me…”
“That's enough of your bile, demon!” Celestia snapped. “Begone-!”
“SHE PROMISED ME SHE WOULD RETURN FOR ME!” the Nightmare screeched as the room seemed to grow darker.“You have nothing to say to me now Luna?”
Luna stared at the being, no sympathy in her eyes. “You think I should feel sorry for you? You're part of my past that no longer has meaning to me. You mean nothing to me...you never have...and you never will.”
The Nightmare was silent for a moment before it began floating over Twilight, Sunset, and Starlight. “So...these are your proteges? Interesting...wait... I recognize you…”  In a split second, the being was in Twilight's face, almost nose to nose, as Twilight could feel it's cold breath which made her wonder if spirits could breath. “Twilight Sparkle...so now you're an alicorn. I should destroy you right now and-!” It paused again. “Wait... you're not her...you look like her but... your magical field is different…”
“Oh horseapples…” Starlight groaned.
It's words gained Celestia's interest as she gave a bemused glance to Twilight. “Um...I can explain?” Twilight grinned sheepishly.
“Ah…but there's something more...this one has indulged in the taste of dark magic…all of them have one way or another...very interesting.” It floated above the three ponies again. “I suppose I could give you one last choice Luna. So...take your pick. Any of these three mares would make a... perfect host.”
“You will do no such thing!” Luna screamed as her horn flashed threateningly. “I will not let my past mistakes affect the future!”
“Are you volunteering yourself?” The Nightmare glanced at Luna. “Look at yourself...you are nothing like Nightmare Moon was-”
“I COULD'VE GIVEN YOU ANYTHING YOU WANTED-!”
“But you tossed it away.” The Nightmare paused and suddenly a small mirthful laugh rang throughout the room. “My apologies...my mind is rather... unstable. A thousand years of solitude will do that to you…”
“ENOUGH!” Luna yelled, her eyes glowing white. “It's time for you to disappear from this world just like the rest of your 'soul’ Nightmare!”
“Oh Luna...this is just the beginning!” The Nightmare shot forward with such quickness that caught Luna by surprise and she had no time to shield herself.
“No!” In that last moment, Luna felt herself be pushed away as the Nightmare collided with Celestia's body, causing a small explosion of magic. The small shockwave sent the four mares toppling back but Sunset managed to shield them from the brunt force of it.
“What... just happened?” she said. Her thoughts were cut short as the sound of maniacal laughter filled the room. It sounded like Celestia but…
The dust had finally settled and the being that stood in Celestia's place was no longer Celestia. To be more accurate, one could say it was something that ascended from Tartarus itself. Gone was Celestia's calming mane, instead now a mane of fire, and now her once calming and gentle eyes were replaced with ones filled with malice and evil. The armor she now wore bore the colors of the sun.
“Oh Celestia you fool~” the mare said amidst bouts of laughter. “I knew she would've protected you; she couldn't stand the thought of poor Luna turning back into Nightmare Moon. Oh well, she wouldn't have been my first pick but she'll do. Daybreaker? Interesting choice of name…”
“W...What is going on!?” Sunset almost yelled.
“Um...you know how I told you I resolved a friendship problem with the princesses?” Starlight said.
“...Yeah?”
“Well let's just say I had a nightmare and... something like this happened. Daybreaker is Celestia's...dark form.”
“So... this kind of thing happens a lot here then?” Twilight asked.
“Pretty much,” Starlight replied.
“Oh what's the matter Sunset?” Daybreaker said tauntingly. “You didn't think your former teacher had a breaking point?” She looked at her hoof as if bored. “Celestia bore many hardships, that's no secret. Betrayed by her own sister, betrayed by a former student, truly it is-”
“You release her, now!” Luna yelled, her voice borderline on the Royal Canterlot Voice.
“No, I don't think so,” Daybreaker chuckled. “Consider this your punishment dear Luna. You having to stand watch while your sister burns her whole country to the ground. Well...maybe that's a bit too much, but things are certainly going to change. Tell me something: did you ever wonder how the Everfree Forest got like this? Over a thousand years ago, this was our capital, but surely you and Celestia wouldn't have lived here in such a dark and dreary place to begin with? No, something changed.”
Luna swallowed nervously. “Discord planted his seeds of darkness before-”
“Oh you and I know that's just ludicrous,” Daybreaker interrupted. “Sure, Discord did his little thing before getting stoned but the Tree of Harmony was able to suppress that. However, there's a taint over the forest that has never gone away. Now where could that have come from?”
“Wait...you mean…?” Starlight began.
“Exactly,” Daybreaker said, pointing a hoof at Luna. “Your princess of the night, the night she became Nightmare Moon, changed this place permanently. The forest is scarred and it's irreversible I'm afraid...not that I'm complaining of course.”
She then teleported to the balcony up above. “So what now, you're probably wondering. Surely we don't have to fight…”
“Twilight,” Luna said softly. “I trust you can handle yourself in a fight?”
“Well...I'm not so sure about her,” Twilight said honestly.
“Don't worry, Starlight and I are aware of what she's capable of,” Luna said. “You take the right, I'll take the left…”
“You know Luna, I'm truly insulted that you think I'm that hard of hearing,” Daybreaker smirked. “Oh well...I suppose I have to give this body a try anyway.” She spread out her wings, the fire in her mane growing brighter. “Come then Luna, my faithful subjects. Allow me to show you what a true princess can do!”
She quickly disappeared before the two beams of magic could hit her. She reappeared near the top of the ceiling as she flapped her wings forward, throwing two fireballs at the two alicorns. Luna and Twilight dodged in time but the carpeting underneath caught fire immediately.
The two of them stuck to their plan while Sunset and Starlight attacked from the ground, trying to distract the fiery empress. Both alicorns attacked at once but Daybreaker managed to shield herself with her bare wings alone. “Honestly Luna, you should already know you're no match for me...why bother fighting? You know the things we can accomplish together!”
“What I know is that Celestia managed to keep Equestria a peaceful country all those years without me, and you will ultimately bring it to it's destruction!” Luna snapped.
“Well, sometimes you have to start again from the ground up!” The sudden shockwave that erupted from her felt like an explosion as both alicorns were sent backwards towards the ground, both leaving an impressive sized hole in the ground.
Twilight's vision was hazy as Sunset helped her up. “This isn't quite how I thought the day would start…” Twilight mumbled.
“Yeah, not everyday your former teacher gets turned into a demon form of herself,” Sunset added.
“This isn't working,” Luna said as she got to her feet. “She's too powerful... I'll have to…”
“You can't!” Starlight suddenly snapped. “If you revert back to Nightmare Moon you'll never regain control of yourself and even then, you saw how she fared against Daybreaker!”
“Then what would you suggest?” Luna asked icily.
“We can't take her head on, but maybe we can wear her out,” Starlight suggested.
“And then we attack together?” Twilight asked.
“It's worth a shot,” Sunset shrugged.
“And maybe then if Celestia is still in there fighting, maybe it'll be enough,” Luna nodded.
“This is getting boring,” Daybreaker called out. “Let's see how good you all are at dodging!” Her horn glowed and soon the ground started to shake.
“Everypony move!” Luna said as large meteors came crashing through the ceiling, causing the foundation to crumble on top of them.
“Phew,” Daybreaker said, wiping her brow with a hoof. “That worked up a sweat~”
The floor suddenly erupted as Luna's shield spell flung everything in all directions. Luna glared up at her former sister. “Oh, now we're taking things serious?” Daybreaker asked. “Good, I'd hate for you to not be able to show your true potential.” Luna suddenly shot into the air, straight for her. “Oh it's going to be like that-!”
The two crashed into one another midair. Luna's momentum was cut off by Daybreaker holding her ground and her humor was starting to waver. “Whether you like to admit it or not, you have to realize we make the perfect pair,” she said, her face taking on a serious look. “Why is that so hard for you to accept?”
“You talk too much,” Luna said. “Twilight, now!”
Twilight admitted that she wasn't as magically skilled as her counterpart but she allowed the magic to take control as a shield surrounded her and she shot forward towards Daybreaker as well, causing her and Luna to make an arrow point. Daybreaker could only laugh. “Oh, so that's the plan? Overpower me with your little group?”
Starlight used her magic to fly upwards as she attacked with a spell with her own. Sunset snorted in annoyance. “Guess I'm the only one here that can't fly.” She then thought back to her studies and thought of the most powerful spell she had memorized. “Just hang on Celestia, she can't control you forever!” Her horn sparked red and suddenly a powerful blast of magic erupted from her horn.
It was in that moment that Daybreaker started to feel her strength begin to falter. Luna must've sensed it for a grin spread on her face. “It's not a matter of overpowering you, it's about tiring you out. And you forgot one thing: my sister is still in there and she's not going to give up her body so easily!”






???



Celestia opened her eyes slowly and she saw that she was among the cosmos. There was something familiar about this place and yet she couldn't place her hoof on it. “Hello? Luna? Anypony?”
“No one can hear you.” Celestia turned around and saw the Nightmare staring at her. “This is, as you've probably guessed, your consciousness. Appropriate considering Luna often said your head was in the cosmos at times.”
“So this is your plan of revenge?” Celestia asked. “You're going to use me to take control of Equestria?”
“Oh, it was never about taking over Equestria,” the Nightmare said. “Yes, at one point I wanted to have eternal night but I'm now a separate entity with a will of my own. Luna created me and ultimately abandoned me and she'll have to live with the consequences. Whether she ends up submitting to me or not, Equestria will burn to the ground by Daybreaker’s might.”
The Nightmare was suddenly cut off by Celestia's hysterical laughter. She was laughing so hard that tears began to form in her eyes. “What is so funny!?”
“O-Oh I'm sorry,” Celestia replied as she wiped away a tear with her wing. “It's just... Daybreaker? I'll pardon Starlight since it was her nightmare and all but you too? Come on, surely you could've come up with a better name than that?”
The Nightmare seemed at a loss of words. “I don't understand...you are under my control, you're hurting your own sister and loyal subjects and you're laughing about a name!?”
There was then another bout of laughter but it didn't come from Celestia. “She really has no idea what's she dealing with, does she? Poor thing...I suppose it's time for her to learn her lesson…”
“What!? What's going on here!?”
“Nightmare, I think it's time I introduced you to somepony,” Celestia said as a shadow appeared next to her. “Meet Solar Flare… my true dark persona.”
In truth, Solar Flare didn't look too different from Daybreaker (Celestia had to give Starlight some credit), the only minor differences being her armor and mane, but she was still an intimidating being.
“This... can't be happening.”
“Oh it's happening, sweetheart,” Solar purred. “Let me make it simple for you: someday poor Celestia here is going to get tired of the daily shit she receives in Canterlot and when that happens, I'll be right on her doorstep, ready to… 'takeover’ as it may. That being said, there's only room for two of us and unfortunately I happen to like Celestia much more than you.”
“You really don't want to get on her bad side,” Celestia added.
“So we can do this the easy way...or the hard way,” Solar said. “Personally I love doing it the hard way... honestly Celestia when was the last time you had a good-”
“Focus dear persona of mine,” Celestia said, rolling her eyes.
“NO!” the Nightmare screeched. “CELESTIA IS MINE AND THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT!”
“Yesssss….” Solar Flare hissed gleefully. “I love doing hard…”
“I'm...just going to move out of the way…” Celestia said as she casually walked away from her dark counterpart.
“Suit yourself.” A predatory smile crept onto Solar Flare’s face as she stared at the Nightmare. “Don't worry dear, this is only going to hurt a lot.” Her eyes glowed brightly. “This is how we say hello where I come from!”
In that moment, Solar Flare called upon the pure power of the sun, the pure heat and glare that made Celestia magic up a pair of sunglasses. Solar’s Wrath, as she liked to call it, was beyond anything anyone could comprehend, and Nightmare's screams of pain were momentary before it was all over and the setting returned to that of the cosmos.
“Ah, it feels good to let myself go every once in awhile,” Solar sighed happily. She then turned to Celestia. “She's been driven away, your soul is free.”
“I suppose I must thank you then,” Celestia replied.
“Well... you're currently unconscious so in return I could…”
“Absolutely not.”
“Aw, you're no fun,” Solar said, sticking her tongue out at her. Her demeanor suddenly changed to a more serious one. “So... we're just going back to our stalemate then?”
“You want to prove me wrong so badly that I don't need you.”
“Hmm...I've waited almost two thousand years, I suppose I could wait a little longer. Now hurry and wake up, your sister's calling you.”




Celestia slowly opened her eyes as the sight of her sister came into focus. “Oh Luna... what have I done?”
Luna could only smile as she hugged her sister. “I knew deep inside you were fighting,” she said.
Celestia then noticed they were now at Twilight's castle, in one of the bedrooms and her eyes widened. “The Nightmare, where-?”
“She...got away unfortunately,” Sunset said, looking down. “She released you and fled...we could've gone after her but...we didn't want to leave you behind.”
Celestia smiled. “I can't fault you for that. Thank you.” She then got to her feet slowly. “I... hope I didn't damage the castle too much.”
“Well... considering the castle was already in ruins I don't think it changed much,” Twilight said before she got dirty looks from both princesses.”
“Twilight's not going to like this…” Starlight groaned.
“Speaking of which...I think you three have some explaining to do,” Luna said. “I don't think we have to ask where Princess Twilight is, do we?”
“With all due respect,” Sunset said, coming to Twilight's defense. “You two pulled the same schtick with Twilight so don't go blaming this on us.”
Celestia sighed. “She's still upset about that?”
“Kind of?” Twilight replied.
“Well, it doesn't matter right now,” Celestia said. “Do any of you know where the Nightmare went?”
“She definitely fled towards Ponyville but she could be anywhere right now,” Starlight explained. “Even…”
“The human world?” Celestia asked.
“Yeah, which means Twilight and I need to go back there,” Sunset said.
“Patience, my former student,” Celestia said. “I think we all need our rest, yourselves included.”
“She's right Sunset,” Twilight said. “We can't rush around especially since it's probably night time over there.”
Sunset sighed. “Alright...all that running around did make me hungry.”
“If it's alright, I think Tia and I will spend the night here,” Luna said. “If anything happens, we'll be the first to know.”
“Well...there is that one burger place in town,” Starlight said. “That should hold us over for tonight.
Twilight suddenly perked up. “Burgers you say?”
The group started laughing as they made their way out, but Sunset still had much on her mind. I better warn Twilight about this. I'm not sure if the Nightmare even knows about the portal but I won't take any chances. I hope everything is okay over there...