Fallen

by ElementOfKindness

Mourning

Twilight had stayed with Celestia after The Fall: as far as either of them knew, they were the last two alive in all of Equestria. With only one working eye and no use of her once brilliant magical skills, her student had been able to do little other than attempt to console Celestia.

“There was nothing you could have done; it’s not your fault,” she had said. But it is, thought the princess.

“I should have realized from the beginning. Instead of saving my sister from this… parasite, I banished her, giving it a thousand years to solidify it’s hold on her. When she returned, it was too late. Your use of the elements of harmony was enough to suppress it for a while, but I now know that is was truly impossible to save her by that time. Slowly it crept back until it again had control of Luna, and then it was too late to save anyone.”

“We still have each other.”

But it was not to be. Twilight grew sick, slowly withering away to nothing. Celestia tried to heal her, but again was unable to make use of her great power, for she herself had inflicted the wound that was causing this sickness. Twilight eventually faded away, dying in her mentor’s arms, giving one last reassuring smile as she closed her eyes.

Celestia buried her herself and placed a great stone over the mound, using her magic to burn an inscription into its surface in beautiful, flowing script.

The text could no longer be read, but Celestia knew it well. Burying her friend was one of the last coherent things she had been able to complete before falling into millennia of denial as the true weight of what had occurred had hit her. Acceptance had restored her sanity, though her spirit remained as broken as ever. A single tear dropped from her face as she turned away, landing in the dry, cracked earth before her friend's gravestone.

Celestia stumbled on through the same bleak scenery she had seen thousands of times before. Nothing ever changed here: the wind and rain had stopped long ago, after she caused the deaths of all of the pegasus ponies, both directly and indirectly. She walked with her eyes closed, moving aside just in time to avoid memorized obstacles in her path, until she came to a stop, raising her head to look at the hole in the wall before her, and the pieces of it stacked beneath. There was almost no structure left in this part of the castle. It had been here, not five meters from where she stood, where the end had begun.

Luna had ran when they came for her. Perhaps the other had been in control, but Celestia knew neither would be willing to undergo the process that Twilight had described to her. After a few minutes of chasing through the castle after her, to the astonished looks of many ponies that they passed by, Twilight was able to create a magical barrier to halt Luna's flight. The princess crashed into it, before lashing out with her hoof and shattering the faintly purple wall. By this time, her pursuers had caught up with her, so she turned to face them, giving up hope of escape.

"Don't do this," Luna pleaded. A pained look came to her face as she struggled with something internally, then her expression changed to one of scorn as she stopped cowering and stood before Celestia and Twilight.

"Luna would not like the results," Luna's mouth said. Celestia gasped. She knew that voice, and she could see from Twilight's paled face that she did too. She knew what had to be done, whatever the cost.

"Twilight?" The purple unicorn nodded as Celestia spoke, a determined look coming across her face. Celestia turned back to her sister's body and together they began the spell. Seeing what was happening, a panicked look came over the dark blue alicorn's face as she realized what was happening.

"No! You mustn't! It will kill uuuus!" The final word was drawn out to a shriek, which Celestia could have sworn carried a little more of Luna's voice in it than the other's. A flash of light came from Luna, followed by a wall of physical force radiating out through much of the castle. Twilight and Celestia being part of the spell were passed over by the force, however Luna herself and many other unfortunate ponies were thrown with lethal force into the solid stone walls that surrounded them. An almost imperceptible dark blur detached itself from Luna while she was in the air and knocked Celestia down. Twilight rushed over to check Luna, but was unable to find a pulse.

The princess of the night was dead.

Twilight turned with sorrowful eyes as her mentor got back onto her hooves, only to stop and stare. The air about the white alicorn was dimmed, as if the light was being absorbed somehow, and the princess' eyes had taken on a turquoise color and a manic glint. They snapped to Twilight's face.

"Power! Yes, she is much stronger than her sister. And easier to control," She finished with a nasty chuckle. Twilight broke out of her stupor, raising another barrier between them and attempting to run, but before she had taken a step energy flashed from what had been Celestia's horn, piercing the barrier and striking the side of Twilight's head. The unicorn fell to the ground, and with her loss of concentration, the barrier dissolved. The alicorn stepped forward and stood over the unconscious Twilight.

"No," she whispered. "You will not use the Elements of Harmony against me again. I will see to that, permanently." The smile on her lips could only be described as twisted.