//------------------------------// // Chapter 18 // Story: Taming Nightmare Moon // by Leafdoggy //------------------------------// Celestia’s thoughts raced as the stalked the halls of Canterlot Castle, going about her remaining chores without paying them much attention. They were all things she’d done countless times before, like looking over reports from the royal guard or approving budgets, and she couldn’t pry her thoughts away from what she had done for such menial things. The more Pinkie’s words bounced around in her head, the more anxious she became. Was it really possible that on some level she wanted things to go further? Was there a voice in the back of her mind telling her that letting things boil over was the best solution, that she should stop holding back and show Equestria what she was really capable of? She wouldn’t be violent, of course, she wasn’t a tyrant, but she’d never gotten anywhere with Evergreen by playing nice. Besides, Twilight hadn’t always been around to protect Equestria, and Celestia’s strength had been more than enough to keep evil at bay. Surely that strength would be enough to ward off the more insidious evils in Equestria, the rotten ponies in every town and city who would take advantage of others, who would— Celestia stopped and blinked. This was getting worse. She needed to put a stop to it, to find herself again, but could she? Her head was spinning, and with the slightest lapse in focus her thoughts slipped away from her. Her body felt hot. It was an intense heat, like nothing she’d ever felt before, but at the same time it was remarkably refreshing. It felt like home, and for a brief moment she wanted nothing more than to let it wash over her. She bit her lip and stumbled as the world came crashing back down around her. Ponies around her stopped whatever they were doing to ask if she was okay, but she didn’t hear them. She just walked away and went back to roaming the halls, searching for something, anything to occupy her mind. As she turned a corner, she saw Applejack step out of the library. Celestia put a hoof up and almost called out to her, but stopped when she saw the look on Applejack’s face. She was mad about something, and Celestia had the feeling that it was something she should know about. Luckily, Applejack didn’t notice Celestia peeking around the corner. She didn’t seem to notice anything, in fact. She must have been just as laser focused as Celestia, which was good, because it made her easy to follow. Celestia made sure to act as casual as possible as she followed along. She nodded and smiled at ponies she passed by, and only glanced at Applejack at turns to see where she was headed. Not that it was difficult; it became clear after a couple turns that she was headed to the throne room, and the castle wasn’t so big that they were walking for an especially long time. Nopony even had the chance to question what she was doing. Celestia waited outside the throne room at first, straining her ears to listen. It seemed to take Applejack ages to cross the grand hall, her hoofsteps echoing out and filling the room. Celestia kept waiting for her to stop and start talking, but it never happened. Instead, after what felt like an hour of agonizing waiting, Celestia heard a door creak open, and then a moment later it clicked shut. Celestia pursed her lips and moved into the throne room. This was a problem. She didn’t know how she’d be able to listen with the guards in the room, and telling them to leave would reveal that she was there. Even walking in the room was likely to end in them greeting her loudly enough for Applejack to hear. She let out a deep breath of relief when she saw that the guards weren’t there. Of course they weren’t. Celestia had told them to take the day off. Silently, she thanked herself for the act of kindness. When she reached Luna’s door and pressed her ear against it, the conversation had already begun. “—and I ain’t happy about what I heard.” Luna’s voice came next. “Whatever she told you, I’m sure I can explain.” “She told me everything. Your whole cockamamie plan.” Celestia’s brow furrowed. She didn’t like the sound of this. “Did she tell you why I want to do this?” “Yeah. Luna, I don’t wanna be a Princess if I gotta put all of Equestria at risk to do it!” Celestia could feel that heat welling up inside her. Quietly, she pleaded with Luna to not have done anything stupid. “It won’t! I promise, Vim is being very careful, and she won’t let me do this if there’s any chance of it hurting Equestria.” “Look, I like Vim and all, but I can’t stake that much on the judgement of a single pony who I barely know.” “I’m not sure if it’s even dangerous in the first place. It’s more theatrics than anything.” “Not dangerous? If it ain’t dangerous, then why’d you get sent to the moon last time you did it?” Celestia’s eyes went wide. Her bright, burning eyes with blindingly white pupils. She couldn’t believe it. She refused to believe it. After all this time, after all the effort from both of them, there was no way she could let herself believe that Luna was going to wind up right back where she was a thousand years ago. So long as even one tiny bit of Luna was still fighting back against Nightmare Moon, there was no way it could ever happen. Unless… Unless it didn’t work like that. What if they had found a way to coexist? What if all of Luna and all of Nightmare Moon could be there? What if… What if Luna really was Nightmare Moon? Would it still be impossible? Nightmare Moon was wicked and uncontrollable, she could easily do it all again. If Luna wasn’t wholly against it, then together they might actually do it. There was no way, though. Luna would never side with that-that monster. She would never even listen to Nightmare Moon, much less actually let her in. Luna could never actually embrace that thing. Unless she could. The heat buzzed in Celestia’s mind, and she could hardly think. Flames trickled into her mane, and she stumbled back as she tried, as she fought to hold on to what she thought she knew of her sister. She knew Luna could never put Equestria at risk again. She knew this was all a misunderstanding. Unless… Celestia’s eyes shot wide open and she gasped sharply as the heat within exploded outwards. It burned her away from the inside out, lighting a flame that could never go out. It lit her mane and tail ablaze, and it seared her eyes until they were a burnt orange, still with a white fire crackling within. It burned up through her horn, forging it into a fearsome weapon that sparked with a raging, uncontrollable inferno of magic. Then it burned away at Celestia herself, melting away the very core of who she was until there was room for something new to rise. Celestia was ashes. Daybreaker was born. The first thing Daybreaker felt was fury. Rage. Hatred. It all dawned on her at once, the injustice, the evil, the rot in Equestria that worked to take her sister back. She had to do something, to put an end to it all, but… But it was too much. With every moment she remembered more of the darkness that surged through the world, and with that memory came more and more anger. Too much anger. She couldn’t risk burning away this entire castle. She concentrated, and flames blasted out in all directions. Soon a huge bubble of fire surrounded her, and then it came back. The flames crashed in on her, surging through every part of her and burning her away until she was no more. The talking in the other room came to a sudden stop. The whoosh of air that came with the fire’s disappearance was not quiet, and in an instant Applejack and Luna were rushing to find out what was happening. They barged out of the door and looked around frantically, scanning for danger. There was nothing to see, though, but wide scorch marks on the floor and wall, and a small pile of ashes in the center of it all. Far away, in a field of rocks at the edge of Equestria, the air shimmered. The heat grew, and grew, and just when it seemed like it could grow no more, the air lit on fire. It spread in an instant, and was gone just as quick, and where the air had been now stood Daybreaker. Then she screamed in rage. With the sound came heat, more and more and more as she forced out all her anger. The heat turned to flames, wrapped around her and spiralling into the sky, and still they grew. The flames outgrew trees, they passed higher than buildings, they went so high they burnt a hole through the clouds, and only then did they stop growing. All around Equestria, from Ponyville to the Crystal Kingdom, ponies stared up in wonder, confusion and horror as far, far away the sky was pierced by flames.