//------------------------------// // Ch 3: Last Chance // Story: If You Had To Choose // by Black Hailstorm //------------------------------// Lightning struck and two Alicorns soared in the air, trading spell for spell. Minor weak spells that consumed oh so little magic, something to sting and daze the foe, a light tap that caught the enemy off guard so a more devastating blow could be delivered sooner rather than later. It was a trick Star Swirl had taught them quite some time ago. Sparing light doses of magic to reserve more powerful spells of the draining sort for more serious damage. Of course, as time went on and she and Tia grew stronger in magic, resorting to serious forms of combat outside of those...well...special few, became less and less savory. Back when bandits were common visitors to a village or town, especially to the enriched environment that was the capital Nightmare Moon could recall those often grim times where a village was not just plundered and burned but inhabitants were stolen, taken away to be made servants or in some cases, things much worse than laborious servitude. Angling her wings just slightly so, Nightmare Moon pirouetted left as a paralyzing spell was sent zooming her way. It was a foolish thing to do, to paralyze another when you were over a thousand feet in the air but then again they weren’t like the others. They were so much more different, so much more powerful and durable that falling from a height like this would only leave soreness at best where paraplegia would be guaranteed for others, if a miracle didn’t happen first. Turning, gliding, horn flaring a sickly dark green glowing, Nightmare Moon fired a paralysis spell of her own, one that would induce horrific pain on its recipient to induce muscle clenching immobility so long as the hate of the user was there to fuel the spell. And oh how she hated her. It was to bad the spell ended up missing instead. Two different wings flapped now and again, and in the distance, all around them there was signs of battle. Glancing behind her, Nightmare Moon saw Everfree Castle the place she was doing everything in her power to keep the solar princess from reaching right now. Glancing below her, Nightmare Moon could see her forces were losing. A part of her cursed herself for training the Royal Guard so bloody damn well. Another part expressed relief, that at the very least they did not shame all that effort and time put into training them. “You’ve lost, Luna.” Pupils became nothing but needle thin slits, and with widening eyes and blank expression, Nightmare Moon looked up at Princess Celestia with all the stunned expression of a suddenly startled child. Princess Celestia stared back, her expression calm as they flew above the slowly waning battle. A long time ago, this had been natural. Celestia had been more about the wit, the plans, the manipulation-- where she had been more about instinct, reaction, and the then and there. The two watched and studied each other. The only sound between them were the flap of wings. Now sitting on the receiving end of the table, Nightmare Moon now realized what it was like to face her sister in war, and what she realized sent a rising heat of emotion through her. She had been played. This entire time, she was being lured away, and now that her forces were fleeing and their numbers had dropped she would either be forced to fight or flee. The problem was, Nightmare Moon knew they’d spent far too much time fleeing and they had no desire to board that train again. Eyes closing, nostrils flaring, wings still beating, Nightmare Moon sighed; a calm yet exasperated sound. Without a word she snapped her wings shut and fell to the ground. Celestia only realized what the disguised monster had planned a second or two later Crashing into the ground, legs sore, body full of minor bruises, scratches, wounds, Private Cartwheel winced as he rolled, hopped out of the way of a swinging axe, then watched as a friendly lit his opponent on fire with a flick of magic, only to turn and gallop away as his foe reached out with a gargled cry before dropping into a toasty, burning mess. Wings snapped out and the Private took off flying, he needed to report the Sergeant’s message and inform the rest of the divisions of their advances. The private flapped his wings, feeling a burn in the already tired and strained muscles as he wung it with everything he had. “Section C is all clear!” Cartwheel shouted to others as he flew by. “I repeat, we have cleared this area and are moving back to the castle to assist the Princess against the Nightmare!” A flare was sent out and it exploded in blinding green light, signalling the task complete. No sooner had this light been sent out did something else catch his attention on his northwest. Something large, something equine, something that glowed as it was being chased down by Princess-- a weight hit the ground with a shaking rumble that rolled the earth, scattered clouds of dust then pushed those growing clouds forward as air pressure and wind sent the airborne pegasus back as though he’d hit a wall and it was pushing him back with everything it had. Flying backwards due to the force of the shockwave, Private Cartwheel found himself tumbling through branches. He tried to angle his wings just right to regain control of his spinning trajectory, but whatever spell had hit him in that shockwave, it made his wings resistant to his commands. Several paper thin branches dug into his dirty, sweat stained pelt, and then several branches attempted to break his ever dropping altitude and fall. Private Cartwheel felt a horrible pain pepper his body as his muscles twitched in an attempt to regain control, only for him to lose focus through the haze of agony that came when his face banked off a branch and the world became a blur of colors as he rolled and tumbled like a ragdoll against the ground. When he blinked next, Private Cartwheel couldn’t recall when he’d met the sweet, cold embrace of the wet ground. Nor did he remember his wing ever being so limp and difficult to move to his responses. In training he’d always been able to move certain parts of his body when a paralysis spell of some sort was used, but right now he couldn’t move or twitch a muscle and his left wing was unresponsive to a single twitch or rustle. There was an odd liquid that dribbled from his face somewhere and he was almost certain that a tooth had been forcefully misaligned during his tumble from just how much his muzzle hurt and his lips seemed to ache. There were groans around him, groans from distant allies who had suffered a similar fate and there were groans from enemies who suffered the fate of the same attack. Astounded by this turn, Private Cartwheel could only find solace in the one fact that whatever this monster was, he was relieved to know that this monster wasn’t Princess Luna. Because if there was one thing that was well known about the missing princess of the diarchy, it was that she would never harm her own soldiers. But would rather die than bring them harm at her own hooves. Laying there, motionless, unable to move, only able to feel a dull numbness and slight pain as he breathed Private Cartwheel looked up at the sky as far as the side of his face that wasn’t in dirt would allow him. And in doing so he saw the blotched out sun that radiated an ominous reddish orange from behind a impossible dark moon. This was...the end, wasn’t it? The end of the world had come again, only this time it was not some unknown trickster god bringing its reality...nor some overlord centaur of immense power, but a monster, a demon that had killed the princess of the moon, taking her from this world and from her nation just to usurp her title. He swallowed the lump in his throat because that was the best he could do. At the very least, he wouldn’t die from spittle or blubbering like a little foal. Worse came soon though. And it came in the sound of carefully placed steps. She stopped. The injured pegasus laying before her was not one of her own lunar pegasi of the guard. Or to be more precise, this was not one of her own loyal sworn subjects. Nightmare Moon eyed the pegasus, moving closer with no hesitation as she knew at this moment Celestia would not go to the castle to retrieve whatever weapon she had in plan when her subjects were suffering at their very hooves. “AH!” The grunt made her pause as she studied the pegasus with a raised brow. One lime green eye was locked solely on her. “AH! Ah ahg gah un!” He stuttered, rambled or...whatever it was he was trying to do at this moment. A wing twitched when the Nightmare took another step closer and this time the soldier made no garbled response in saying whatever words he was trying to say with a numb tongue and lips. Horn glowing, eyes cold and indifferent Nightmare Moon considered her options. Wait for Tia to emerge and use the soldier here as a shield or heal the soldier now and gain his pledge as her loyal subject. Her eyes scanned her surroundings and she heard nothing of importance that would warrant her to be alert, just the groans and moans of the weak and injured, nothing more and nothing less. She would take care of them soon enough, healing shouldn’t be difficult now, not with the power she had at her disposal. Leaning forward Nightmare Moon offered the downed soldier a fanged smile, one his eye looked at, blinked, then focused back onto her face. “Tell me my subject”, his ear flicked at the word ‘my subject’, “will you pledge your life to me if I heal you from these wounds?” The pegasus forelegs twitched and his tail flicked almost too sluggishly as he struggled against the freeze spell placed on him. Nightmare Moon’s eyes glanced down to the dislocated wing and she leaned in closer to the soldier’s snout, now very well taking in the scent of blood, sweat, and stench that lingered around as she drew a hoof step closer. “Will you pledge your life to Us, if We save you? You only need but nod, it is the best you can do in this state after all.” The night deity whispered in almost calming tones. Private Cartwheel merely stared at Nightmare Moon. He didn’t try to nod, he didn’t try to speak, he just breathed and blinked. Seconds went by and the Nightmare’s calm, pleasant expression began to shift into a look of impatience. The task was not hard, it was not difficult, the spell had been set to restrict attempts of retaliation not submissive or neccessary acts such as breathing, swallowing, nodding or shaking. “Well?” The alicorn asked now raising her head to her full imposing height. “Do you not wish to be healed?” Again, Private Cartwheel said nothing, did nothing, he blinked and looked up at Nightmare Moon with a narrowed eye but he did not responded. Seconds ticked by, these were longer. They were seconds that proved all the paranoid points of Luna to be true. Points Nightmare Moon checked off on a mental list as every second she was aware of ticked by and every second seared the reminder of loneliness, rejection, and the loss of those glory days she once held into her mind. Pupils became serpentine slits and Nightmare Moon revelled in the way that eye widened in fear for the briefest of moments before that fear was dashed with a dragged out sense of chivalry and courage as the wounded pegasus’ eye narrowed into one of defiance and anger. “You...insolent little pest”, the Nightmare whispered in growing ire. Horn glowing she lifted the pegasus up and a second later, the cold numbness in Cartwheel’s body began to release its vice grip hold from around him into a dull sense of restrained movement. “You dare defy your queen?” The Nightmare asked, her voice lacking in volume but the weight of her words just as heavy as she tilted the pegasus head tightly in her direction. Cartwheel for his part made things difficult for her, he flopped left resisting the alicorn then right trying to regain control of his muscles but only managing minor movement at best. “Yush r mo queen”, came the answer. Lips pulled back in a derisive, angered snarl to hide the blow those words had done. “What name do you hold?” Struggling, Cartwheel was shaken roughly in the Nightmare’s field to reassert who was in charge here. “Carhwheel Drahg”, the private answered with narrowed eyes and numb lips. Lips he was currently trying to pull back into a confident snarl of his own but they refused to listen as he began to dribble drool. Searching for the name in memories not her own, Nightmare Moon found she did not recognize it. But the insolence of this one was one she would not soon forget. “You forget your place.” The field tightened and Cartwheel wheezed as his gaze was made to focus solely on the demon before him. “Soldiers swear fealty to their princesses and princes, their rulers and lords, their kings and their queens. What you’ve shown me here is that when I take over, We must make changes to ensure more like you” the star peppered mane flicked a painful sting on the bruised stallion’s crusted nose, “do not have a chance to raise unnecessary acts of insubordination.” “Nightmare Moon”, a firm voice interjected. Nightmare Moon’s eyes narrowed and her fanged grin turned to face the Princess as she stood with a division of wounded, injured troops behind her, several less harmed officers flanking her. Horns glowing, a telltale warning . “Release him.” Princess Celestia ordered, the warmth in her tone before now completely lost as she said this. One earth pony stallion of reddish brown coat and a dripping bruised nose trotted forward, static light travelled between his semi-glowing hooves as he glared at the Nightmare and more flicks of energy sparked between his front hooves. Eyes from the leading stallion on the left to the rest of the soldiers on the right, Nightmare Moon became aware of the distant pegasi floating overhead; two groups of three floating feet above. “...So this it is, isn’t it?” The Nightmare asked and as she did so, her grin faded as she took in her surroundings and what this all meant. Her forces had lost. Either that or they were far too scattered and divided to pose much of a threat, which meant that the Vassals of Light, the royal guard, were simply mopping up the rest while the others regrouped to capture or defeat her-- the general. “Yes”, Princess Celestia responded, her expression a chiseled stone of patience. Nightmare Moon nodded. A slow dull nod as if she registered her defeat or the chance it was near. “Tell me, insolent one”, Nightmare Moon turned her gaze back to the wounded stallion she grasped in her magic. Her expression neutral, her eyes slits of emotion that glowed a strange, enticing light that could only be associated to the enchantments of spirits of the dark. “...What is it about Princess Celestia you love so much”, the Nightmare asked aloud in a voice as clear as day “that makes you serve her so loyally, so faithfully, and so staunchly?” Of all the things he’d expected to have heard, the battered Private had never expected that. Seconds slowly ticked by, and every second that ticked was one that added a chip of tension. A long time ago, she had never had a problem with where she stood. Back then there was no staircase of class or social hierarchy to climb. Back then things had been...well not different...but different enough. She'd accepted their differences, welcomed it even, and merely went wherever her sister went because being alone was a fate far worse than being bored or being in peril. Celestia had always been the more charismatic one, the one that others flocked to, the more magically talented, and in youth the more boastful while she'd always been the subdued, patient one. As time changed, so did they. Positions switched, ponies changed. And as they changed and grew and learned they’d stopped being foals, started being adults and somewhere along the line she was became second best. Somewhere along the line them differences between them became something painfully hard to disavow and ignore. For a long time she was fine with where they both stood. Aside from the occasional intrusive thought now and again, everything had been fine or normal as far as what one could expect when leading a nation. Luna had been fine. Till the day she wasn't, the day her qualms became weighted problems and she handled them by ignoring them. She'd always passed it off as nothing, simple doubt, motivations to goad her into working harder. Unaware of the pedestal she'd put her sister on while day in and day out, she lowered herself to meet standards she'd long since exceeded.. It was odd how things worked in life. Discord had once jokingly told her the very same thing. She and her sister were different, not on the same level or on par with each other even if the positions they occupied required them to ‘act’ as equals in every degree. These were statements that had aggravated Celestia, and statements that had incensed Luna. Statements meant to drive a wedge between them in their first altercations with the trickster god of candy and bubblegum until Discord said something one altercation that made them both pause. “The truth is neither of you will admit I’m right when I’m right because it scares you and by the time I am, you both know it will be far too late.” Moments after he’d said that, both their horns had sprouted wings and quacked away. As an illusionist it was necessary to have a creative imagination. Luna knew her contributions to the School of Illusion were many. So in using her imagination she’d taken those words with a grain of salt, and like her sister considered those words to be nothing more than Discord’s games. Without creativity illusions could not be flexible, they lacked the finesse to be versatile, could not trick the eye if one focused too much on the rules, the hows and whys; so she'd taken her doubt, her envy, her paranoia, and concerns and ignored them. She'd ignored them by giving them a different role and would have continued to do so for all of time. Then Accord had shown up and said something quite similar in line with his counterpart, and it had shaken her on some level she never truly realized. Perhaps that too had been her own way of ignoring what was wrong. Even now as these seconds stretched into a minute --as the only sounds that could be heard were crickets, the only feeling of cold air and the thick sense of tension growing-- Nightmare Moon was aware of the mysterious problem that plagued them and the problem that was also the root of her desire for control. During a failed patrol she would have thoughts that made her question herself, her efforts, her position when she had to tell families how their son (or even rarer, daughter) had died and it had been under her watch. Soon enough those questions began turning to everything she thought she knew to be true. During the night when the stars aligned and she'd crafted such beauty, only to see many had dispersed back to their beds. Forcing her to question if perhaps she was not reaching out to the public enough. If perhaps she were at fault or if they were just ignorant to her efforts. She watched Cartwheel’s confused expression and studied as his eyes turned to the army waiting for his freedom but hesitating at the odd turn of events that had just taken place. A question no one had expected when something else entirely would be warranted from the bad guy about to lose when pushed in a tight corner. Here she was, out of her element, losing the battle, not in control or the imposing figure she expected them to see. But here she was, tipping the control back into her hoof. A question that had never been asked before, because it was too instilled in culture at this point to bother thinking over. How were the princess any different from the nobles that held serfs and peasants up in the mountains, miles from here? In times like these it was important to maintain control. Nightmare Moon knew this well. It was Luna’s primary rule, their primary rule to always be in control and never let any easy weakness be known. Just like how her question had thrown them all for a loop, she was planning an out. An escape or a means to tip things back into her favor. “I took an oath”, the private stated, “to serve and protect Princess Celestia till I could no longer draw breath. That oath was not to just one princess, though I serve one now, but to both Princesses and all of Equestria.” Both Princesses, the words caused the magic surrounding Cartwheel to flicker. “One of whom you killed.” Private Cartwheel finished with a tone of resigned anger. Blinking rapidly twice, Nightmare Moon processed the answer and then without a word, turned, and with a slight nod of her head, sent Private Cartwheel flying towards his allies. “He will live.” The Nightmare stated, just as  several unicorns caught the bruised trooper. “Be thankful for his reply.” Nightmare Moon stated and as she did her body flickered, broke, and became a gas of stardust and light. “It has spared your lives.” Scattering into billowing violet gas, Nightmare Moon zoomed off towards the castle. “Halt!” Princess Celestia shouted as her officers began to move after the fleeing enemy. “Return to Sergeant Twist and Commander Flake! Regroup with them and make certain all of our soldiers are accounted for.” “Princess--” “Do not argue!” Wings flared out and the captain bowed his head after a moment in acceptance. “Thank you... I must go. Private?” The dazed pegasus did not reply but a hoof did raise in response. Princess Celestia offered a sad smile before glancing one last time around her. “Protect each other, I will return soon.” A thunderclap sounded, and Princess Celestia was gone with the wind. A princess should never lose control, and so she'd always followed her sister's advice and reigned it all in. Only to slip right now and become this form that was neither flesh, muscle or bone. Nightmare Moon floated and zoomed through the dark in her nebulous gaseous state towards the Everfree Castle. Moving by trees in a blur, slipping past soldiers through the shadows, floating over the gnarled, shrivelled bodies of alien creatures that had once served her while others of unique pegasi proportions lay lost to the living among some of the enemy’s fallen. Somehow, those words Cartwheel had spoken had caused her to slip and she did not know why. Floating over the bridge, flying through the yard, entering the castle’s main gates and dropping through the same hole she had created the first day she had appeared, Nightmare Moon entered into the throne room and slipped into the shadows. Waiting for any signs of nearby hoofsteps. When a sound didn’t emerge she appeared in her nebulous state at the center of the royal hall and then with concentration pulled her form back together becoming solid once again. Huffing a breath as if she’d just run miles, the Nightmare took a moment to compose herself and as her breath eased she looked around at the royal hall then made her way into the throne room where her throne once sat, but now was broken and Celestia’s stood firm, peppered with cracks only here and there otherwise not any worse. How many times had she opened court to the masses, only to have no one or barely anypony demand a moment of her attention in these very halls? Anger bubbled to the surface and that anger gave birth to strength and with a snarled shout, Nightmare Moon pointed her horn at the sky and blew a hole into the roof. There were times she wondered if things had turned out differently for her and Celestia, what would've happened? If she had raised the Sun, and Celestia had raised the Moon would things have been different? Would their positions be switched? Would she be standing here, watching her sister in her place just as Celestia watched her now? Nightmare Moon, the Mare of The Moon, didn't know. She frankly wasn't certain if she even cared. Her breathing steadied, her eyes narrowed, her posture straightened with dilated slits and she watched as Princess Celestia descended in the ominous light cast by the sun blocked by her moon. All she wanted was what she was due. All she wanted was to go back to those days of praise and those times where things hadn’t been absolutely dreadful. She wanted so much to be like her sister, but not be her at the same time and in some ways she hated this form she'd taken because even now, it was her just copying her elder. She hated Celestia oh so much, almost as much as she hated the way her moods shifted and changed. But all she wanted was what she was due. What she rightly deserved. What the voices told her she could obtain. Horn flaring, wings spreading, Princess Celestia lightly touched the ground at a distance from the Nightmare and when she landed neither one said a word. Both were battered from days of battle, both were tired but not nearly as so as their troops, and both wanted something that the other wasn’t willing to give. “I’ll ask you one final time”, the princess declared “...will you yield?” Nightmare Moon’s nostrils flared and her face betrayed her as she grinned. “Will you?” The silence was the only answer either one needed. “Once you pick this path Luna” -- sharp teeth appeared in the form of a snarl-- “you can’t go back.” Blasts of crackling purple lightning flew from Nightmare's horn and with skill, Princess Celestia dodged left then right. “I don’t intend to”, was the only reply. Flying quickly, moving swiftly, Princess Celestia  took off through the same opening in the roof she had entered, a second after she slipped back into the blank night, a scalding blast flew by and from that new roof opening, Nightmare Moon emerged. Banking right Celestia took off at graceful speed and following right behind her was Nightmare Moon. Shots were fired, shots were returned. She’d miss, then Tia would fire, glancing a blow that barely did much but only because Nightmare Moon knew that on some level, her sister was holding back. “You flee instead of fighting! This is why I should rule!” The Nightmare yelled. Back into the castle they went, in a different room on a higher floor. The conference room’s door exploded outward as Celestia broke through and landed on the adjacent wall. Horn glowing a golden light Princess Celestia conjured a shield and a second after a beam of light struck that she reflected right back, only for Nightmare Moon to quickly teleport out of the way as it struck where she had been and turned the stone footing to aged broken pieces that crumbled into the floor below. Apparating back into the room, Nightmare Moon looked left, saw no Celestia, looked right, saw no Celestia, then looked up to the doom ceiling above and the dim lights ahead. A blinding flash of light flooded her vision and with shut eyes, Nightmare Moon shouted curses as she tried to clear her vision from the sudden light. “Over here!” A flick of her ear and she sent a charged blast forward. Thump, nothing. “Here!” The voice was at her 6. Snarling, trying to clear her vision and regain the night vision she was gifted with but seeing nothing but doubles and triples, spots of color and more Nightmare Moon stomped in outrage and sent her anger forward. Something got destroyed and from the lack of screaming it wasn’t her intended target. Furious, Nightmare Moon stomped harder like a upset child and the ground cracked dangerously under her immense earth pony strength. She focused, reached out with her telekinesis, feeling around for anything and everything. Tables, cushioned chairs, she flipped them, only growing madder that they were simply in the way. Pillars, statues, more chairs, other unnecessary things. Pillars she ignored, anything else she flipped because she knew Celestia was here somewhere from the scent of sweat and blood that wasn’t just hers,  and a part of her hoped this childish display would somehow work to her favor. Seconds went by and there was nothing. Blinking hard, everything shook and came back slowly into focus. The place was a mess and Celestia stood unharmed. Worst of all she raised her brow in that annoying manner she used to do when they were younger and this did nothing but made them angrier. “Is that all?” Furious screaming was Nightmare’s only reply and in an instant she was following Celestia out of the room, back into the sky. Grabbing at anything she picked up stones, she broke statues, sort of wishing Discord were here instead of in Canterlot, and began chucking them at her sister. Celestia flew like a ballerina, a swan dodging and bobbing. Maybe a stone or a twig or something less damaging would hit but it amounted to nothing if Nightmare Moon could get no satisfaction from seeing the pain. Like a twister they slammed  into another section of the already demolished castle, somewhere further back, deeper into the locations they had ordered to be constructed and then with Melvin the manticore had further developed. Both sisters shook dust and detrus off, but it was Nightmare Moon who struck first as Celestia quickly moved. "ENOUGH!" A wall of darkness rose and formed a hundred spiked spearheads, blocking the Princess' path and with a painful, sliding halt she came an inch away from being skewered. "I will not be lead to my doom, Princess. You will face me here and we will end this once and for all." Lips pressed firmly, breathing heavy, Princess Celestia eyed the ground and with one final breathless huff, she nodded, shifted and then one hoof came up before swiftly coming down. In one echoing instant, there was a brief static spark...then several circles flashed a golden bright light that illuminated the ground both Nightmare and Princess stood on. Runes burned a brilliant blue glow, circles brightened with brilliant yellow, the light extended upwards like a transparent wall and in an attempt to break the spell circle being activated, Nightmare Moon's horn glowed; her eyes turned a sickly black, green sparks of diseased greenish yellow flew from her horn and she fired at the core center of the floor where the center of the spell circle lay. Nothing happened, and when she tried to conjure her magic again, Nightmare Moon's horn only released nothing but a few  minor sparks. "We end this now." Princess Celestia whispered. And right then and there, the spell circle turned white, then the whole floor collapsed. Something that would've been fruitless given they both had wings, if one single bolt of magic didn't suddenly render the Nightmare's wings useless with a paralysis spell of a kind. Down and down the two tumbled as rubble smashed the floor below with each new cave in, a new opening was made as the sisters fell deeper into the cliff where their castle lay. One floor cracked, the second crumbled, then the third was their last stop and in an effort to free herself from harm, both blinked out of the way only to land into a open, demolished room free from the oncoming rubble. Dark purple lightning crackled and with a wheezing cough, Nightmare Moon grimaced as her wings twitched, unresponsive to her commands. Together the sister’s shielded themselves from the gust that came as rubble settled and a part of the sky came into view with both sun and moon. Looking around, Nightmare Moon realized where they were. It was the Chamber of Harmony. The place Luna and Celestia had built as a vault to protect the and hide the elements of Harmony. Horn crackling, eyes leaking a misty purple glow, Nightmare Moon fired. Hooves glowing, lips barely moving Celestia clapped her forehooves into the ground and instantly a wall of light emerged from the hooves up and deflected the blast of magic. Both breathed heavy, both stood on guard. Watching Celestia slowly rise, fur matted in dirt, scratches, and bruises with nothing but a glare Nightmare Moon scowled. Slit pupils glanced around the partially lit area and then her eyes landed on the statue several yards away. It was a fused combination of the sun and moon, in the center Nightmare Moon could clearly see Magic, Kindness, and Generosity. But there was no Laughter, Honesty, or Loyalty. The Nightmare couldn't help but offer a mocking smile. She may never know how her sister managed to get three Elements so quickly, but it didn’t matter. "You lose, Tia." She stated with a manic cackle then she aimed and fired, but was a second too slow. Magic clashed with magic, two streams of energy  collided from two separate horns. The air crackled around the central point of focus as one beam of light pushed into another. Nostrils flaring, teeth clenched, Nightmare horn threw rays of indigo sparks and she poured into her assault barely able to move but maintaining her ground. The beam lurched forward and pushed Celestia at a snail's pace back and back as her ears splayed to the sides and she steadied her focus, feeling a growing ache in her horn. "Luna!" Her voice a strained cry, "Please!" "Never", the Nightmare's slit pupils contracted and the mist from her green eyes poured out in writhing waves. Slowly, like a snail, she took a glacier step forward and dropped her silver shod hoof into the dust covered ground with twice the weight behind it. "I will have what is mine Celestia. There is only one way this ends!" She called over the ringing noise. Eyes flickered to the Elements and Celestia strained as she was pushed back an inch again. "Choose.” The voice demanded coldly. “Your Kingdom or Your Life!" The beam pushed back, the ache in Celestia's horn increased to agonizing as one eye winced closed as the battle began to turn. She slid an inch or two further and then the glide came to a awfully slow stop as Nightmare Moon screamed: "CHOOSE!" Barrel hitching, eyes burning, throat clenching, Celestia found she couldn't breath. The light became blinding as her beam was pushed back effortlessly now and she found that if this was her choice, she would choose death. "CHOOOSEEE!" Nightmare Moon's voice bellowed in the royal voice and the whole room shook and trembled as the air vibrated and wasps of heat wafted in the air with every second the beams pushed against each other. "Fine..." Nightmare Moon said in humbled, cold tones. "If you won't choose, I will choose for you." Closing her eyes, tears slowly trickling, Princess Celestia felt the pain grow as the beam closed in. She couldn't teleport, she couldn't dodge this, she couldn't raise a shield quick enough to block it. If she lost it was over. Whatever Luna had become would win, and if it won...her subjects would suffer. If she could just reach the elements, if she could just stretch her concentration out to the one she needed most, she could turn the tide and stop the madness. But wish all she wanted, they did not come flying from their closed constraints. Useless, lifeless, un-moving the Elements sat there. Doing nothing to provide the only window she could find. "Goodbye, Celestia." The chilling whisper touched her ears as the searing heat began to burn with blinding light into her closed eyes. “Goodbye, Luna.” With a pained cry of emotion, Celestia's eyes blazed white, and in a searing explosion of blinding light, everything went white.