//------------------------------// // My Greatest Failure // Story: Avenging is Friendship // by Boltstrike58 //------------------------------// Equis, Everfree Castle Mere Minutes After Nightmare Moon's Banishment In her entire life, Princess Celestia had never felt as bad as she did right now. It wasn't just the physical pain, though that hurt too, considering she'd been blasted with magic and knocked through a building. No, what hurt was the emotions. Her brain was swirling with more sorrow than she'd ever felt, and she was convinced she'd never feel happy again. After what'd just happened, she didn't think that was so far-fetched. She glanced down at the Elements of Harmony, the weapons she'd used to defeat her sister. Celestia knew she wouldn't be able to harness their full power, not without Luna to embody the other half. Still, some part of her had hoped that they would be enough to cure Luna of the corruption of the Nightmare. But her prayers had gone unanswered. And with her heartbreak had come terrible consequences, for the Elements had been reduced to stone once Luna was gone. The Element of Magic had vanished entirely. Celestia didn't have to probe them with her own magic to see that they would no longer work. Even worse was the sight of the moon. Her eyes beginning to tear up, Celestia cast her gaze to the sky, where the moon hung in its usual spot. The only difference now was the silhouette of a mare's face covering its surface. The Mare in the Moon. Celestia choked back another sob as she thought of Luna, trapped up there, alone. Would she ever be free again? Would Celestia ever hold her sister close to her in this life? She didn't know, and that thought crushed her. A huge noise suddenly drew her attention, and Celestia turned around, discovering the familiar golden column of light that signaled the activation of Asgard's Bifrost. The light burned bright for several seconds, before fading away to reveal two familiar figures: Thor, and Loki. They'd grown quite a bit since Equestria and Asgard had first formed their alliance, Thor having finally started to grow his first beard. The prince of thunder hurried towards Celestia, dropping his prized hammer in the process. "Celestia!" he exclaimed, grabbing her by the withers. "Heimdall came to us, told us you were in trouble...what happened?" He looked around at the ruined hall, the petrified Elements, and the bruised alicorn in front of him. "Who could've done this?" Loki took interest as well, his head flipping from side to side frantically. Celestia could easily guess what he was looking for. "Celestia, where's Luna?" demanded the trickster. Celestia couldn't speak. She just didn't have the strength. The best she could do was slowly raise her foreleg, pointing at the moon. Thor and Loki followed her directions, confused at first. But realization slowly dawned on them, and they turned to look at each other in horror. "You didn't..." Loki started. "I didn't have a choice!" Celestia sobbed, her walls breaking down as she began to cry anew. "She let the Nightmare in, let it take control of her! She wouldn't lower the moon...I wasn't strong enough to fight her. So I took the Elements, and..." Celestia squeezed her eyes closed, more tears dripping from her face as she crumbled under the invisible weight on her back. "Oh, Celestia," Thor breathed, his voice full of pity. "I'm so sorry. You shouldn't have had to—" Whatever he'd been about to say would remain forever unheard, as Loki cut him off by stepping forward, pushing his brother aside, reaching back, and slapping Celestia across the face as hard as he could. The solar alicorn slumped back into the floor, more out of surprise than actual pain. "LOKI!" Thor yelled, rushing over to his brother and seizing him by both of his wrists. "Let me go!" Loki shouted, attempting to wrestle himself out of his brother's grip. "I shall give her something she should've received a long time ago!" Celestia flinched at the sheer venom in the Asgardian's words, but she wasn't surprised by it. "Loki, it wasn't her fault—" Thor tried to insist. "OF COURSE IT WAS HER FAULT!" Loki screamed, wrenching one hand free and striking Thor across the face. The elder Asgardian fell on his back, but managed to spring back up, grabbing Loki by the shoulders at he tried to advance on the fallen Celestia. Loki pointed at Celestia, his eyes filled with fury as he continued. "YOU AND YOUR PRECIOUS SUN! HOW YOU PARADED THE LOVE OF YOUR PRECIOUS PONIES IN FRONT OF HER! MOCKING HER! TORMENTING HER WITH HOW PONIES NEVER LOVED HER AS MUCH AS THEY LOVED YOU! YOU DID THIS TO HER! YOU DROVE HER TO THIS! AND NOW YOU'VE LOCKED HER AWAY, BECAUSE YOU COULDN'T CONTROL HER ANYMORE! YOU CONCEITED, POMPOUS, HARLOT!" "But...I loved her..." Celestia weakly protested. "CLEARLY, YOU DIDN'T!" Loki screamed. "YOU RUINED HER LIFE, THEN DISCARDED HER THE SECOND SHE NO LONGER OBEYED YOU! IF ANYONE DESERVES TO BE BANISHED TO THE MOON, IT'S YOU, CELESTIA!" Loki shoved his elbow into Thor's face, stunning his brother and breaking his hold long enough for Loki to stomp over and punch Celestia once more. Then he turned on his heel, storming away from the two. He cast his gaze to the sky. "Bring me back," he demanded. Seconds later, the light of the Bifrost once again enveloped him, and when it faded, Loki was gone, teleported back to Asgard. Thor rubbed his crushed nose, raising his fist to the sky and shaking it, while shouting several Asgardian swear words. Celestia couldn't have cared less, however. She was in no position to deny that Loki's words stung her to her core. Her heart felt like a huge weight in her chest, and she felt like she could barely manage to take in each breath of air. Thor stared at the spot where his brother had been for a few more moments, before turning back to the solar alicorn. "Celestia," he breathed, "what Loki said...about you...you know he's wrong, right? You did not do this—" "I might as well have," Celestia lamented, resting her head on her hooves. She did not cry anymore. At this point, her grief was beyond tears. "But...you didn't make her take the Nightmare's power," Thor insisted. "You didn't make her feel that jealousy. You didn't—" "He's right about me." Celestia clutched her front hooves against either side of her skull, rocking back and forth on the floor. "She came to me so many times. Telling me how ponies ignored her, ignored the work she put into crafting the night. But I ignored her, more concerned with the adoration of my little ponies. I did this to her. I created Nightmare Moon." Thor opened his mouth, no doubt to offer his friend more words of comfort, but nothing came out. It was clear he'd simply run out of things to say. It never had been his strongest forte. Eventually, Thor simply dropped to his knees, placing one hand on Celestia's wing, rubbing the feathers a little. Celestia looked up at him, her eyes communicating the fact that she did appreciate the gesture, even if she found it meaningless. The alicorn and the Asgardian sat there for a long time, trying to process their grief, and wondering how to move past the tragedy.