“Celestia?” Luna tried once more to get her sister’s attention from the crowds. “Tia.”
“Not right now, Luna.” Celestia looked at her briefly with a stern expression, then paid her attention back to the large number of ponies she was speaking to.
Luna gulped and flattened her ears. “O-ok..”
Why was she even surprised at this rate? Celestia had begun focusing more on impressing the growing amount of ponies across Canterlot. They knew she had a duty to uphold, and that duty she would keep. Even if she never noticed how distant her sister was becoming.
Luna seethed at the sight of her sister relishing under the praise of THEIR subjects. At the indignity of it all! Her night was beautiful, covering everything in a glow and cooling down the sun’s heat, and it was no easy effort to make this happen, having only mastered raising the moon after Gods know many times she almost sent the moon hurtling into the sun as a filly. Everything she did was for her little ponies, and she wasn’t even given not one single compliment or praise for this love. Not even from her sister or her husband.
Glowering at her current situation, the younger sister slunk away from the crowds and padded over to the large mirror in the main hall. The voices in her head had merged into one voice, and sometimes, if she was in a horribly bad mood, a shadow would emerge from the mirror. This time, the shadow emerged in all its haunting glory, much to Luna’s annoyance and relief.
However, this was no ordinary shadow. It had a name, Nightmare Moon. All it talked about was something about how she could fix everything with the concept of “Eternal Night”. (Luna still had no idea what that meant, and “Nightmare Moon” had been around ever since Moondust’s death.)
“Where have you been, Nightmare Moon?” Luna demanded. “It’s been almost 4 moons since I’ve seen you!” She glared into slitted eyes, black diamonds shining in pools of blue.
This Alicorn had stopped being frightening to it’s target after the 4th meeting. It slowly managed to become a friend, the only creature willing to interact with Luna. Granted, their interactions usually ended with Luna having destroyed the room in a vain attempt to destroy her so called friend, but it was still better than facing the fact that nopony loved her anymore.
Reality was draining her sanity, so this creature was Princess Luna’s only escape, her weakening clutch on a cliff face that would soon crumble away, letting her plunge into the darkness below.
“Hello.” Nightmare greeted, strangely...quaint for how she usually spoke.
“Where have you been?” Luna fretted, pacing around. “I have had almost no pony talking to me, and why didn’t you answer my previous calls?!” A sharp pain racked Luna’s soul when she said those words.
“I have been planning something for you.” Nightmare’s shadowy form slowly but surely swirled around Luna, though did nothing. It was if it was patient, waiting for something.
Luna swallowed a lump in her throat. “Does it have to do with that Eternal Night suggestion?” She murmured, bracing for Nightmare’s usual cryptic answer, which was most of the time something along the lines that she wasn’t ready to know yet.
Or her friend could pull her personal favorite answer, “It’s too dark in here for you to hear me yet.” The alicorn had never laughed that hard in her life, and Nightmare’s scathingly embarrassed face was now a treasured memory.
“Yes.” A slight laugh could be heard in Nightmare’s voice.
“Tell me what to do then, friend.” Luna begged, the last of her sanity shattering like glass and crumbling into dust. “I can’t go on being ignored anymore.” She really couldn’t take it. All she wanted was to be loved, and this was her only chance of regaining that emotion she so desperately wanted in the parched desert of her life.
“If you want ponies to love you…” The darkness swirled closer towards Luna, a small bit of it was holding her cheek. “Let me become you.” Nightmare quietly whispered with a hint of satisfaction in her voice.
“ . . ‘ Luna gazed into the eyes of Nightmare with a content, yet fearful look. Then she forced the fear away. This was her friend. She could trust her, right?
“I am yours, Nightmare Moon. Let Eternal Night begin.”
It was too late now. Luna saw the darkness swirl faster and faster, panic rising in her. “What are you doing to me?” she howled.
“Granted your wishes, of course…” Nightmare drew closer and closer to the panicked mare. “...and my freedom.”
Luna gulped, shaking violently as she held out her hoof. “M-my friend, do you promise? I-i can’t have another loved one betray me. You mean too much…” She took a deep breath, wondering why she was so scared.
“I promise.” Nightmare lied. Not that she would let it show.
Luna relaxed, a smile blessing the alicorn’s features. She closed her eyes, letting Nightmare’s essence enter her body. All her locked away emotions, the bitterness, the grief, the pain, all of them exploded to a point in her core.
“The only Princess that will be ruling Equestria…..” A whisper. Shuffling of hooves as they rose from the floor, the impact to be felt all across the planet.
“WILL BE ME!”
-----
Celestia’s ears flickered as she could hear a large boom, which quickly followed up with the room shaking. She gasped, holding onto the side of her bed. “What in…?” She questioned. “Was that an earthquake?”
The world outside seemed to be turning darker. Like something was attempting to block out the sun. Screams of terror were soon piercing Canterlot and the Everfree, all the cities across Equestria were screaming as the world turned almost jet black like night.
Rushing outside, Celestia took immediate notice of the overwhelming darkness. She looked on with terrified eyes, mouth agape by the sudden shift of the world. Who was causing this, and why? Was Sombra back?
“Y-YOUR HIGHNESS!” A royal guard ran into the room screaming. Soft Lotion. “IT-IT’S AWFUL!” The stallion collapsed sobbing to the floor. “THE MOON KILLED THE SUN!”
“The-the moon-” Celestia was trying to wrap her head around everything, using her wing to hug the guard. “Luna…” She quietly whispered.
“A-AND WHEN I-I WENT TO THE-SOURCE, P-PRINCESS LUNA W-WAS GO-GONE! SHE-SHE IS NOW A MONSTER!”
Soft Lotion’s screams were drowned out by the laughter of a pony somewhere in the castle. A demonic laughter. The horrific look on Celestia’s face grew as she heard the laughter. She wasn’t sure of what to say.
“No more sun… the world is gonna die… Momma, Dad, I love you….” Soft Lotion was reduced to a blubbering mess.
“No.” Celestia got up, wiping away the many tears on Soft Lotion’s face. “I know what to do.”
“Y-you are going to talk to the demon?!” Soft Lotion thought Celestia had gone mad! “I know she was your sister, but this is utter treason!” His teeth bared themselves through the cries.
“I have to get through to her.” Celestia stated, her face becoming more stern. “It’s the only way.”
Soft Lotion sighed, knowing that he would not be able to stop his leader. He could only hope that the demon would listen and lower the moon before the planet’s lifeforms were killed off. “Good luck, Celestia.”
With a nod, Celestia set off for her broken and corrupted sister.
Nightmare Moon finished her almost insane laughter with a content sigh, lavishing the screams of horror and the pleas for mercy shattering Equus with their sheer volume. That dumb Little Moon had acutally fell for her wills! Now all she needed to do was kill that wretched older sister, and the planet would soon be hers.
“Just you wait, Celestia~!” Nightmare Moon wildy purred. “Your blood will soon stain this castle and spill as the sun dies along with you!”
“Luna!” Celestia yelled, soaring straight towards Nightmare Moon. She landed with a strong force.
Nightmare sneered at the elder alicorn. “There is no Luna, you pathetic worm!” Blue fog raced around the throne room, the creators bloodlust slowly but surely choking out the air. “I am Nightmare Moon. Surrender, and maybe I’ll only tear open your throat!”
Celestia took deep breaths, trying to get closer but still a bit far from Nightmare Moon. “I won’t! I just want you to understand this isn’t the way to handle things!”
“Shut your mouth, you degenerate cur!” Nightmare Moon wasn’t listening, too wrapped in her desire for revenge to heed common sense as she lunged for Celestia, slamming her onto her back. Growling, the Nightmare’s sharpened teeth sunk into the base of Celestia’s chest and tore out a chunk of flesh, blood and fur spraying everywhere along with a stomach twisting crunch and squish.
Celestia howled in pain as the mare sunk deep, using a spell to blast her away before it got even worse. She didn’t want to hurt her, but there was no other choice there. Nightmare screeched in shock, the blast sending her tumbling outside, her armor taking the brunt of the magic blast, but not the wall. Bruises and cuts littered the alicorn’s body, making her flinch as she strutted up.
“You’ll pay for that, you know! I’ll display your maimed corpse once I kill you!” Nightmare Moon screamed at the bleeding Celestia.
Shakily getting up, Celestia continued with her attempt. “I only want to help you. Death is not the answer here. Just stop and-”
The white mare never had a chance to finish as her raging sister grabbed her by the injury and sent her hurtling into the air, firing a blast soon afterwards that barely missed. Growling, Nightmare Moon flew like a bullet train, ready to inflict another painful bite injury.
The blood was pouring even more out of Celestia, adding to her pain. She hissed, formed a powerful shield around her, and quickly used a healing spell that was...good enough for the situation at hoof. Knowing that Nightmare could probably break it, she pulled it down and fired a warning blast at the pissed off mare.
“You think a pitiful filly move would stop me?” Nightmare crowed, only to scream a moment later when a blast struck her shoulder. The demon’s wings almost gave out, blood dripping down her fur.
Now even MORE pissed off, Nightmare Moon barreled into Celestia and the fighters began to air wrestle, the once close sisters locked in a bloody struggle for victory. Cries of pain would echo into the air when a hoof stuck a soft spot, grunts of effort extended with horn clashes, and gurgly coughs as blood flew from their mouths. It was a warzone.
Celestia fell onto the ground, hitting concrete after a significantly powerful attack from Nightmare Moon. She groaned, slowly getting up upon seeing the other approach. They weren’t even in Canterlot anymore, they were where the Elements of Harmony were stored.
“Tell the maker I said hi, Tia~!” Nightmare Moon falsely smiled before she shot off a blast of alicorn magic that hurled Celestia right into the storage room, a huge block of the side wall caving in due to the sheer force of the magic, severely injuring the target. Certain that Celestia was dead, the Nightmare laughed and laughed, relishing the taste of cold revenge.
Celestia slammed heavily into the Elements themselves, groaning slightly over the impact. She was slowly beginning to give up on hope, the hope that she would be able to save her sister...she seemed too far gone. And it was all her fault. Looking at the Element of Magic, and how it shimmered at her, she knew what she had to do. Even if she didn’t want to, there was no other choice.
The god of Earth’s voice whispered into her ear. “This is your punishment as much as it is your sisters, young filly. We had plans for you both, and now they may all be in vain.” Anger seeped through the ancient being. “When my brothers and I blessed you with our gifts, we didn’t expect to see such tomfoolery!”
Tears were stuck in the mare’s eyes. “I know.” She whispered, while preparing to use the Elements.
“1,000 years on the moon for Nightmare Moon, Celestia! That is your punishment, and you will accept it.” The elements roared to life, racing around their user eagerly..
Celestia wordlessly did, flying into the air as she felt the elements’ magic surround her.
Nightmare’s mouth opened in disbelief when she saw the very well alive Celestia fly from the wreckage, her appearance changed and Elements of Harmony ready to fire on her.
“THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE! HOW ARE YOU STILL ALIVE? AND WHY DO YOU LOOK DIFFERENT?!” A deep fear wedged a hole in Nightmare Moon’s chest as she readied up a shield, panic flicking in her eyes.
“I’m sorry, Nightmare. But I can’t let you conquer Equestria...and I have to make up for my own mistakes.” Celestia slowly choked out, rising higher into the air.
“You’re bluffing.” Nightmare Moon squeaked out. “You don’t have the guts to do this to me.”
“Unfortunately, that’s not the case here.” The glow grew brighter and brighter, starting to charge.
Nightmare Moon screamed in fear and fury, firing off her most powerful spell yet in an effort to repeal the Elements’ beam. The struggle quickly became one sided, and the ray of rainbows tore through Nightmare’s chest, sending her hurling backwards towards the moon.
“ . . .” A blue shoe reached out towards Celestia, slitted eyes glinting a cry for help.
Celestia no longer could say anything, tears swarming down her eyes as she watched her sister launch towards the moon. She reached out for hers as well, only for it to be torn away.
The Solar Eclipse went away, the main cause of the event getting hurled right into the moon, becoming painted in the rock’s features. A mare on the moon. As the Elements lost their power and clattered uselessly to the ground, The God of Earth appeared in front of Celestia, like he did so many years ago.
“It is over, Celesita.” He rumbled. “Your punishment has begun. What can you say for yourself?” He sounded… almost sad, a stark contrast to his furious expression.
“I…” Celestia choked on her sobs. “...feel extremely g-guilty.” She bowed down towards the god, lacking energy to stand.
The God growled.. “As you should young filly. The future is going to be a harsh, cold one. By the order of myself and the other gods, you are hereby the sole ruler of Equestria until Nightmare Moon returns in 1,000 years. The Elements will be stripped of their powers so you cannot bring her back down early, you shall see how that happened once you look in a mirror. Nopony must remember Princess Luna. Do you understand me?”
The emotionally destroyed mare nodded. “Y-yes.”
The Earth God vanished into his domain, leaving a lonely immortal alicorn in his wake. The sun was now shining again, covering Luna’s now prison until it was time to rise. But the light seemed not as warm as it was before, reflecting the grief of its controller.
But then something happened.
“Hey, Aunt Celestia?” It was a familiar young voice, and one Celestia knew well.
Celestia’s eyes glinted, turning around to face the voice. Could it be…?
Moondust’s faint outline stood in the wind, Tempest standing right beside her. The dead father of Celestia put his hoof over his grandkid’s annoyed mouth and spoke up “It’ll be ok, my daughter. 1,000 years isn’t that long. Oh, and happy 1,500th birthday.”
“Father….Moondust….” Celestia lightly smiled, the tears still falling down slowly and gently; evaporating into the ground beneath. “You...you…”
“It will be ok, Celestia. We are just fine and content in the Everafter. I would stay here longer, but just being here uses an extreme amount of magic, and Faust would not be happy to see me come back with my and Moondust’s souls almost completely destroyed.” A deep laugh bellowed from the teal furred king’s throat, just like when he was alive.
“I...understand.” Celestia hesitantly replied. Course, she wouldn’t want them completely gone, but some part of her didn’t want to let go of the only family that she had left.
The two ponies faded as the sun completely took over the sky without a word. It was over. But at what cost? The government was shattered and a yet another princess was lost. There were loved ones of Luna that had to be informed, and lots of history to burn and clean from the face of Equestria.
Celestia looked among the crowd of ponies, all of which swarmed her with questions.
“Where is the demon!?” A pony demanded in fury. “Did you kill it? Why was there a face on the moon all of a sudden’?!”
“Don’t you have a sister who controls the moon? Why didn't she stop the sun from dying?” Another threw a tomato at Celestia, fruit bits spraying onto the mare’s white fur, staining it red.
“Why do you look so tall? And why is your mane flowing and multicolored?” A third growled.
Attempting to answer one by one, Celestia took a deep breath while shaking off the tomato. “Luna somehow got turned into Nightmare Moon. I had no choice but to banish her off into the moon. And I…” She paused to look at her mane, no longer pink, but the colors of an aurora that flowed gently. “...don’t know how this happened.”
“It’s not like we are going to miss her.” The pony who threw the tomato admitted. “But you made the right call to not kill her. I mean, nopony deserves to DIE. But now what? Canterlot is rioting and your castle in the Everfree is getting torn down by mobs!”
Sure enough, the distant sounds of the Castle of The Two Sisters getting looted could be heard if one strained hard enough. At this point, Celestia just wanted to faint. Too much was going on at once.
“Say, didn’t Luna have a husband as well? What are you gonna tell-”
The dumb soul was cut off by horrifed bystanders, but too late.
Realization set into Celestia’s mind immediately, and she rushed away from the crowd. Even though she didn’t want to, it was for the better to tell him…
“Your highness!” A mare stopped Celestia in her tracks. “You can’t just run off!” She pointed out that the mobs and riots may attack the alicorn, suggesting to get any of her royal guards that weren’t panicking or joining the raging population to escort the princess to Rising Moon safely.
Celestia groaned. “Ok, ok.” She quickly rounded up her more...calmer guards and continued to run off towards Rising Moon’s home.
Along the way, more than a few bitter subjects attempted to attack the group, but thankfully, most of them stopped once they got the full story. Some, however, didn’t, and one pony was foolish enough to suggest that Celestia dethorned her sister on purpose since she was a waste of air and space.
“How dare you say such slander towards her highness?!” A mare spat, arching her back in rage at the seething unicorn.
“The slander is that she didn't kill her worthless sister!” The unicorn spat back, only causing the group to grow more aggravated with each vile word that flew from his ugly mug.
“I refuse to do such a thing!” Celestia cried, moving past the crowd even faster as possible. Her heart was racing as much as her movement, she needed to get out of there as soon as possible.
The guards saw this and almost sent ponies flying in their dash to get to the Royal House of Stars. Once the group had arrived, they found that most of the ponies had fled after they saw the sun vanish, only Rising Moon and his younger relatives had stayed behind in fear for what the crowds might do if they stepped out.
“Search this whole area!” A lone cry from the de facto captian, Prismatic Spectrum, sent everypony searching for Luna’s now ex husband and any remaining family members.
Rising Moon hid away somewhere in his bed, trembling out of fear as to what happened to his wonderful Luna. Was she safe? Did Celestia save her? Would things go back to normal?
A guard walked into the room and gasped at the sight of the trembling lump under the bed. They dashed off to inform Celestia, but not before confirming the pony’s identity as Rising Moon by yanking off the blanket and telling the frightened stallion to stay where he was.
Rising hesitantly nodded, waiting for the guard to come back.
The guard returned some minutes later with Celestia right behind them. Grunting, they took a position at the door, blocking access from the outside to protect the ponies instead. “You may speak now, Rising Moon.”
“W...where is Luna?” Rising asked, stuttering.
The guard scoffed. “Ask her highness, not me.” Clearly the pony was irritated from having to run from screaming crowds that wanted bloodshed.
Celestia looked at the worried stallion, and sighed. “I’m sorry.”
“Stop stalling, your highness.” The guard sighed, his shoulders sagging. “He needs to know the truth about what happened.”
“...Luna was banished.” Tears started to run down the mare’s face again. “She turned into Nightmare Moon, and there was not much else I could do.”
Rising Moon backed away in tears. “No…” He denied. “You must be lying!”
“It’s true.” Celestia looked away, ashamed for her actions.
“You’ll never see her again, Rising Moon.” The guard’s voice was a reed playing in the wind. “She’ll be gone for generations upon generations, it is no lie!”
Rising Moon continued to back away, fully running off as soon as he was far away enough. Tears exploded from his eyes as he escaped to who knows where.
“Where is he going?!” The guard just blinked as the former prince vanished from sight. He was running right into the blood hungry mobs!
Celestia went after him, not caring about the mob anymore. He needed some form of comfort, obviously.
After a while of chasing, the two would talk about what had happened. Rising made a request for Celestia to relay Luna a message from him when she would be returning from exile in the far future so that she wouldn’t feel the torment he did.
With that out of the way, Celestia focused on repairing the damaged government and turning Equestria into a monarchy. There was nothing she could do about her old home; it was far too damaged to repair, so she moved to Canterlot and built a new castle on the hanging city in the mountains.
It had soon been 200 years since the banishment of Princess Luna, and she was now a myth that was merging with Nightmare Moon, as the Gods wanted Celestia to do.