Words completely failed Princess Celestia. Frozen in terror, she gazed upon Nightmare Moon's terrible new look. The sight ingrained itself within Celestia. To her, the dark alicorn truly looked like a demon spawned from the deepest and darkest depths of Tartarus. No other thoughts could hope to penetrate the princess's mind. In all her years, she hadn't fathomed such a thing. For Celestia, the only thing more horrifying than Nightmare Moon's savage new look was the thought of the impending clash with her—if she and her friends failed here, Equestria was doomed.
Nightmare Moon briefly glanced at Rainbow Dash, keeping the threatening glare she bore. “No courageous remarks from you this time?”
Visibly shaking more than anypony had ever witnessed from her, Rainbow did not reply. All she managed was a weak, incoherent stutter. Cadance and Shining Armor inched closer together, and everypony else remained where they were, paralyzed by fear.
“No comments from anypony?” Nightmare Moon scoffed. “How disappointing... Now, are we going to fight, or are we just going to stare at each other all day!?” A white aura formed around her horn and encompassed her claws, masking the sharp digits as the white mingled with itself. She reared back, then slammed her claws into the ground with such force that it cracked.
A fissure opened up in the ground in front of Nightmare Moon. The chasm was solid-white; pitch-black clouds swirling deep inside it. The rumbling sound of earth splitting apart rose up as the ruptured land quickly moved toward Celestia and the ponies. Large plumes of black and white mist shot up all along the way as it snaked forward rapidly, each one creating a loud hiss like a steam vent.
The winged ponies immediately took to the air, while the others jumped to the side as the earth was ripped in half, separating them by a temporary wall of the ghostly cloud.
Celestia barely had time to move aside again as Nightmare Moon fired a black and white beam of magic at her. She retaliated with a beam of her own, only for the golden stream to strike the ground with a boom as Nightmare Moon spread her wings and shot up high into the air. Quickly recovering from avoiding the sundered earth, Cadance, Shining Armor and Twilight all aimed their horns and sent simultaneous beams of turquoise and magenta. Celestia fired another laser as well.
Nightmare Moon's horn glowed and a translucent black and white barrier appeared in front of her. All four of the ponies' beams struck it a second later. Her horn flared bright, and she brought her right claw behind her then thrust it forward like she was throwing something. The ponies' beams suddenly changed color to match Nightmare Moon's barrier, and each was launched back at its original sender at the same furious speed.
The horned ponies quickly erected their own shields in response to the return fire. Each of them let out a pained grunt, staggering back as their own corrupted attacks struck their barriers with greater force than they had unleashed them with.
All the while, Rainbow, Applejack, Pinkie, and Rarity looked on in horror; hopelessness filling their souls.
None of the ponies noticed it amidst the chaos, but immediately after the corrupted beams struck the ponies' shields, the Elements of Harmony briefly flashed a mixture of gold and silver.
She can turn our own magic against us? thought Celestia as she wiped her brow with her right foreleg. That cursed amulet has made her more powerful than I previously thought possible. She's probably been absorbing the energies of midnium every day since taking the Crystal Empire. That's probably why she waited until now to attack Canterlot; she's not taking any chances this time. There's just no other explanation! I'll have to try and distract her so that Twilight and the others can use the Elements, even if that means...
Celestia's thoughts were interrupted as another bolt from Nightmare Moon came zooming toward her. Flapping her wings to keep herself airborne, she pushed to the side, but it was a split-second too late. The laser grazed her left cheek, leaving a perfectly smooth singe mark. Celestia winced and clenched her eyes and mouth shut. She rubbed her cheek briefly as the burning sensation invaded her thoughts, then opened her eyes.
“There is no escape!” cried Nightmare Moon, her voice once again booming and echoing through the air. Keeping her horn aglow and with the Alicorn Amulet mimicking the aura, she became engulfed by black and white flames.
Suddenly, countless orbs resembling fireballs formed in the air around Nightmare Moon. They launched themselves in all directions, leaving trails of smoke that made them look similar to comets. There were so many of them and they fell fast enough that the likelihood of somepony being able to dodge all of them were small.
An ear-splitting scream came from Fluttershy as the magic comet-like orbs rained down everywhere. Cadance, Shining Armor and Twilight all conjured another batch of barriers, but each of them knew they wouldn't hold up against a prolonged onslaught.
Creating her own barrier to shield herself, Celestia streaked down and landed in front of Twilight and the others. A moment later she amplified her magic to expand her barrier so that it covered all the ponies. Each meteor that fell against her barrier was like a blow to the stomach which caused her to grunt. Celestia's thoughts started to wander back to her first dream on the morning of Nightmare Night—to the part where she'd protected the ponies from a wild meteor.
Every magic comet that didn't fall upon the ponies struck the ground. At every location one did, a pillar of the ghostly black and white flame rose up from the ground. Instead of going away, the pillars lingered. They surrounded and towered over the ponies, with each one being at least twice as tall as Celestia, and the spaces between them barely large enough to fit only a single pony through.
“Lower your shields!” called Celestia, maintaining her barrier.
They hesitated for a few moments, but Twilight, Cadance and Shining Armor allowed their barriers to drop now that Celestia's shield was covering them, but their fear didn't lessen in the slightest as the magic meteors continued to rain down upon the group.
The Elements of Harmony flashed gold and silver again, but like the first time, nopony noticed it amidst the chaos of the battle.
“What are we going to do, y'all?” cried Applejack with eyes wide and sweat streaming down her face. “There ain't no way we—anypony—can fight against this kind of power! If we can't even get a moment to use the Elements....”
“Ready them now!” shouted Celestia as she took pained breaths. “Be ready to fire the moment I drop my shield! Hurry! It won't hold much longer!”
The comets stopped.
Twilight nodded at Pinkie, who pulled Cadance's Element from its hiding place in her mane. However, before she could toss it to the princess, the ground beneath Celestia's shield rumbled and split open. The sudden rush of dark energy that exploded up from it canceled out Celestia's magic, shattering her barrier, and pushing the ponies off in all directions. The force also caused all of the nearby pillars of flame left by the meteors to be extinguished.
Celestia let out a groan as she picked herself up. Her whole body tingled, but the sensation faded after a moment. While Nightmare Moon phased in and out of her thoughts, her main concern was the safety of Twilight and the others. She didn't have time to look for them though, as the telltale rumbling of the ground came from beneath her again. She leaped to the side as the earth beneath her opened up, sending another rush of dark energy erupting from the split ground. Taking to the air, she noticed that the fissures were opening up everywhere, making the area look like a crude spider's web.
Fatigue wracked Celestia. Of all the actual fights she'd been in before, none even came close to this one. She had to take a moment to wipe the sweat from her brow and breathe. However, when she turned her attention back to Nightmare Moon, she had vanished.
Celestia frantically looked around until a loud scream reached her ears—the familiar voice of Fluttershy. Her heart sank, and she turned in the direction the cry came from.
Nightmare Moon was standing several yards away in the center of Twilight and the others. Her horn was still aglow, as was her left claw, which she held up to level with her head.
Celestia's gaze shifted to Twilight and the others. To her horror, she saw them being held by giant black and white clouds that resembled Nightmare Moon's own claws. However, struggle as they might, they could not escape her clutches.
No!
Celestia flapped her wings and propelled herself toward the assembly as fast as she could.
Nightmare Moon flexed her claw, and the magic clouds gripping the ponies clamped down on them, eliciting a pained cry from each of them.
Celestia shot a beam from her horn. The blast struck Nightmare Moon on her side, causing the dark alicorn to stumble and her magic to drop. The magic clouds gripping the others faded and the ponies fell to the ground, motionless.
Nightmare Moon turned and glared at Celestia.
The princess glared back just as fiercely. Coming in range, she pulled her right hoof back and swung it forward, aiming for Nightmare Moon's head.
Nightmare Moon jumped back, dodging the attempted blow. “Admit it!” she boomed. “You know you cannot defeat me at my full power! Especially now that I've drained your friends of the strength they need to even stand up, let alone use the Elements!”
Panting and sweating heavily, Celestia continued to glare, even as a pit had formed in her gut. As much as she didn't want to admit it, deep down, a growing fear told her that the struggle truly was hopeless. Luna was gone. Twilight and the other Element bearers were down. She was all alone, and was barely managing to stay standing herself under the weight of the crushing fatigue.
Is this truly the end? Have we lost? Everything looks that way, but still...
“I won't deny that you are exceptionally strong,” stated Celestia. “Far more powerful than even the most accomplished of unicorns in Equestrian history. But here's the thing: you and I both know that you owe a lot of that to the Alicorn Amulet.”
Nightmare Moon's demeanor betrayed an uncaring expression. "Do I now?"
“I take full responsibility for its continued existence. I should have had that cursed thing destroyed when Twilight brought it to me for safe-keeping after wrestling it away from Trixie.” Celestia stood her ground, a fire in her eyes and heart, and kept her gaze fixed on Nightmare Moon. “Regardless, even though it looks hopeless, I will continue to fight so long as I draw breath!”
“It was hopeless from the very beginning,” stated Nightmare Moon. “And now we finish this!” Her horn glowed, and a black and white barrier formed around her. The barrier was translucent, its surface mimicking the rolling waves of an ocean. She spread her wings and leaped into the air.
Celestia fired another beam, but it dissipated upon striking Nightmare Moon's shield, leaving the dark alicorn unharmed. Celestia groaned under her breath.
The Alicorn Amulet began to give off a blindingly bright white aura as Nightmare Moon spread all four of her legs apart and looked up at the night sky. Suddenly, her shield expanded at a rapid rate.
Celestia called upon what strength she had left to conjure a barrier large enough to shield herself as well as Twilight and the others.
The ponies remained unconscious. Celestia didn't notice it, but even though their owners were down, the seven Elements of Harmony started to glow a mixture of gold and silver.
A moment later, Nightmare Moon's shield grew large enough that its edge crashed against Celestia's. The princess let out a grunt and winced in pain from the powerful force that continued to push against her relentlessly. Her whole body, including her horn, began to tingle from the onslaught, but still she did not let up. However, she suddenly felt a strange warmth inside that enabled her to keep standing and her magic flowing.
Nightmare Moon's wave of destructive magic eventually faded away, but at the same time, so too did the strange vigor that Celestia had felt. All of her strength was gone. Her horn stopped glowing on its own, her barrier dropped, and she fell to her stomach. Her mane and tail no longer flowed. Staring at the ground and taking weak breaths, dizziness wracked her head. Her vision became blurry, then cleared up after a moment before becoming blurred again.
During the brief moments of clarity, Celestia saw Nightmare Moon slowly walking toward her. The dark alicorn stopped several inches away, a white claw slid under her chin, and next thing Celestia knew, she was gazing straight into Nightmare Moon's ominous solid white eyes.
In the lowermost part of her peripheral vision, Celestia noticed the Alicorn Amulet giving off weak crackles of energy.
“A valiant defense to be sure.” Nightmare Moon's voice wasn't loud and booming anymore. It was soft, and almost pitying. She kept a gentle hold underneath Celestia's chin. “Though fruitless all the same. You had no hope of victory.”
Celestia couldn't hold back her sorrow any longer as Nightmare Moon let go of her chin, and the reality of the situation sunk in. Countless memories dating back to as early as she could remember flashed in her mind. She had failed; she had failed Luna, Twilight and her friends, and everypony. She stared down at the ground. Her eyes began to water and she clenched them shut, letting out barely audible whimpers as her tears fell uncontrollably.
“But just to be absolutely certain...” Nightmare Moon stepped back, and her horn lit up.
Lacking any kind of strength, all Celestia could do was ready herself for her ultimate fate, whether that be imprisonment, enslavement, or eternal banishment. It would all be the same to her, but worst of all was whatever fate awaited her little ponies. Just contemplating all of the possibilities sent Celestia's heart into a downward spiral.
Suddenly, the sound of crackling energy started up, and Nightmare Moon gasped in surprise.
Celestia opened her eyes and looked up.
The Alicorn Amulet was giving off more crackles of energy, but they were much more wild and rapid than before.
“What—”
A burst of energy erupted from the Alicorn Amulet with a mild boom, and Nightmare Moon cried out as she was thrown back a great distance.
The dizziness assaulting Celestia grew worse. Even in her current resting position, her heart continued to race and her breaths were caught in her throat. She lowered her head and fell onto her right side as everything went dark.
“Princess Celestia?”
The garbled sound roused Celestia from her slumber. She kept her eyes shut and groaned weakly. Suddenly, she shivered as the frigid air of the winter night caught up to her senses. Several moments passed by and the voice came again, now more audible than the first time. She peeked her eyes open, only to be greeted by a total blur. Slowly, her vision cleared enough to reveal a pair of white forelegs with golden armor covering the pony's hooves. Celestia turned her head to look up, and found herself meeting the gaze of one of her royal guard stallions.
The guard let out a deep sigh of relief. “Thank goodness you're okay!”
Celestia watched as the guard waved his foreleg at something beyond her sight. Next thing she knew, a large cloak had been draped over her like a blanket. Apart from the cold wet grass she was lying on, the added warmth of the cloak helped to ease her shivering somewhat.
“Can you stand, Princess?” asked the guard as two royal guard mares—the ones who'd given Celestia the cloak—joined the stallion's side. Gazing down at Celestia, the mares wore the same concerned expression their comrade did.
“I—” Celestia coughed and stayed curled up underneath the cloak. “I could use some assistance."
The guard stallion nodded, and he and the two mares helped Celestia rise to her hooves.
Celestia noticed the guards weren't wearing cloaks and were shivering as much as she was. “Why aren't any of you wearing something to keep warm out in this cold? You'll succumb to hypothermia like this.”
“All that matters to us right now is the safety of you and your companions,” stated one of the guard mares.
Celestia thought back to the dream she'd had the eve of Hearth's Warming. She pictured the little glowing orbs of shifting gold and silver inside the guards' chests where their hearts would be. The mental image caused a flicker of warmth like fire in the depths of her heart, and she gave them a warm smile which they returned.
With the three guards as support to keep herself up, Celestia looked around and noticed that it wasn't just guard ponies who'd come to assist. At a glance, it seemed like the entire populace of Ponyville was present, minus Spike and those who were staying at Sweet Apple Acres. Though it was late at night, the field was partially aglow with magic light from a number of unicorns. A tidal wave of relief passed through Celestia, seeing that Twilight and the others had all come to. They appeared bruised and weakened, but otherwise seemed to be okay and still had their respective Element of Harmony with them. Each of them had a small group of ponies with them, providing them with warm cloaks, some cookies or rice cakes to snack on, and general emotional support with pats on their backs and shoulders.
“How long were we out for?” asked Celestia, taking a small bite of a regular glazed doughnut that the ponies offered to her.
“Fortunately not too long,” said the stallion guard. “Not more than an hour.” His tone suddenly turned sullen. “Princess, we... we saw the fight but—” He paused and both mare guards frowned. Sighing, each of them hung their heads.
“We were too scared to try and help,” stated one of the mares. “We've never seen such... such power before. We didn't think such was even possible. Our job is to protect you and everypony else but instead we hid in the background like cowards.”
Celestia glanced at each of them one by one, taking in their regretful demeanors. “It's okay, my little ponies.” Maintaining her warm smile, Celestia wrapped her wings around the guards. “Even I wasn't expecting anything like the power that Nightmare Moon displayed. And if we want to bring that up, I failed too. It's as much my job to protect you ponies as it is yours to protect me.” She brought her wings back to her sides. “How are Twilight and her friends?”
“They're feeling pretty weak, but are otherwise okay.”
“How did you and the Elements ever escape from that horror?” asked the stallion.
“I'm... I'm not exactly certain,” said Celestia. “I think the Alicorn Amulet might have actually malfunctioned and backfired on her, possibly from drawing too much power too quickly. Speaking of, where is Nightmare Moon. Is she still here?”
The three guards gave each other rather curious looks which made Celestia furrow her brow.
After several moments of awkward silence, one of the guard mares finally spoke up. “Well... um... it's complicated....”
“Complicated...?”
The guards turned their attention back to the princess. They each slid a hoof along the ground—none of them seeming to know exactly what to say.
By now, Celestia was admittedly a tiny bit annoyed, but she kept it to herself and did her best to maintain a gentle tone. “Is she still here or not?”
“There is something you need to see,” said the stallion to which both guard mares nodded in agreement. “Just... just trust us on this one....”
The three guards looked over at a large group of ponies—some armed and others not—gathered around something a number of yards away. The ponies among them who were armed all had their weapons pointed at something lying motionless on the ground.
Celestia's gaze became fixed on the gathering as the three guards escorted her over to it, but mostly upon the thing in the center that the Ponyville ponies were circled around. Her heart pounded faster and faster as they got closer and a lump started to form in her throat. Once they reached the ring of ponies, the royal guards cleared their throats to signal the ponies to clear a path. Celestia stepped through the little opening in the ring the ponies created for her. Looking down, she froze. She went wide-eyed, and her mouth hung open.
“Bring Twilight and the others over here...” she half-stuttered. “Bring them now.”
The royal guards bowed their heads then stepped away.
“Everypony please clear a space.” Celestia briefly looked up at all the ponies present, who appeared to be just as shocked as she was, nor could any of them believe what they were seeing.
The ponies spread out, creating a wide open space on either side of the princess. A few minutes later, the three royal guards returned with Twilight and the others in tow. For a moment, the air became filled with their pained groans as all of them took a place beside Celestia. Immediately, all became silent again as they too beheld what was laying on the ground in the center of the gathering.
“No... apple-pickin'... way...” said Applejack.
Several more moments passed by before anypony else spoke.
“Somepony please slap me or something,” said Pinkie, “because I must be dreaming.”
Twilight stepped forward and nudged the creature with her hooves. “Not a chance, Pinkie. This is as real as it gets....”
The thing upon the ground still wore the Alicorn Amulet, which retained the altered black and white coloring but wasn't showing any sign of activity. However, in the place of Nightmare Moon, was a tall, thin, black, equine-like insectoid creature.
It took a minute for the ponies to recognize the creature. Whether it was because of sheer shock or not was irrelevant to them. Suddenly, Celestia, Cadance, Shining Armor, and Twilight all blurted out in unison.
“Chrysalis?!”
The Queen of the Changelings remained unconscious with a pained look on her face, taking audible, raspy breaths.