Celestia stared at the ground. Before her lay her best friend, a companion who had been with her for centuries, spilling blood onto the rocky mountainside, empty eyes staring into the sky. Groza's blood stained the bottoms of Celestia's hooves red, but the princess could not bring herself to move away. She felt her insides seize up. After what seemed like an eternity, she saw something disturb the red pool below her. Teardrops had begun falling from her face.
"Ah. Ahhh!" She retreated from the pool of blood, her voice unsteady. "What…you…no! No!" The dead eyes of her oldest friend stared at her from the ground, sapping Celestia of all her strength. Her legs folded, and she hit the ground painfully. Her chest heaved with sobs, even though she wasn't taking in breath. Thoughts were coming in too fast. It all felt like just another dream…another horrible vision like those Nightmare brought on. In the face of horror, Celestia was helpless…and alone. Alone except for the griffons slowly advancing on her.
Though her vision was hazy from the tears, she swore she saw a gout of flame shoot in front of her for just the briefest instant, driving the griffons back. The armored form of Flash Burn interposed itself between Celestia and the griffons. The larger creatures all stopped in their tracks, except for one lone griffon. A younger griffon.
"Hey, listen, we're not gonna hurt you. We just need to see to…well, one of the fallen, at least." It was Erix's voice. She glared at the body of Oerda, but approached Groza's body gingerly. With her talon, the young griffon carefully closed her grandmother's eyelids. Celestia felt like a spell on her had been released, and her legs regained their feeling. She struggled onto her hooves.
"P-please. Erix. T-tell me she's okay."
The young griffon gave her an even glare, with eyes that suddenly looked centuries old. "Groza, once Eldest, is passed. Ynga is now the Eldest of the griffons. I would recommend you speak to her." Erix turned and attempted to disappear into the crowd, but Ynga appeared at the front and stopped her. Erix bowed her head and obediently sat at the elder's side.
"I give dire news, ponyfolk," said Ynga in her creaky voice. "As Groza has passed, her decision to give to you the Element of Loyalty is no longer valid." Whispers shot through the crowd of griffons. Flash Burn crouched aggressively.
"Hey," said Hurricane from somewhere behind Celestia, "they passed your trial. How can you just ignore that?"
Ynga hung her head solemnly. "It was Groza's to give as reward for the trial, even if the entire Council decided it. However, it is now wholly the possession of the griffons, and we must revisit the decision before we allow our sacred treasure to be taken from us. Time is short, and so I must render my judgment now."
Morning Glory made a delicate grunting noise. "Doesn't it matter to you that your leader died to make sure we got the Element? Are you just going to act like that doesn't matter?"
Celestia fully expected the old griffon to get angry, but she did not. "As far as our laws are concerned, that makes no difference." Celestia felt her stomach knot. Had Groza died for nothing? "However," the griffon said with a talon in the air, "there is more to life than the law. There are our duties to our people…" she paused longer than anyone felt necessary, "and our duties to those close to us."
The murmurs of the crowd had died, as they awaited the first proclamation of their new leader. "I abide by my predecessor's decision,” Ynga said at last. Any griffon who disagrees with me is free to spit on her corpse as well, for good measure." The griffons in the crowd exchanged glances, but said nothing. Ynga changed her speech to the griffon language. "Groza, once Eldest, shall be taken to the depths of the Eternal, and prepared for a funeral which befits her glory, her wisdom, her spirit, and her sacrifice." The griffon turned to glare at Oerda's body. "Burn the traitor, and let its ashes be locked away, so that they never return to the world." Slowly, griffons from the crowd began approaching the bodies. The rest turned to leave, Erix included. However, Ynga grabbed Erix's shoulder. "You must take the ponyfolk to the temple. Leave immediately."
Erix glared at the elder. "I will attend my grandmother's funeral."
Ynga snarled. "The traitor had many loyal to it, young Erix. We may face civil war. As the last unwed descendant of Groza, you are a primary target. It is not safe for you here."
"I don't care!" Erix snapped. Her face was contorted in anger, but there was more than a hint of sadness in her voice. "I'm not just leaving."
"You must, child. The ponyfolk must reach the temple, and you fly faster than those pegasus ponies they had pulling their carriage. Stay at the temple until someone you trust comes to get you."
"I can fight!"
In response, Ynga made a swift motion so small that Celestia could barely see it, even though she had wiped her eyes. Erix was on the ground, with the old griffon standing over her. "Not yet, child. For the last time, go."
Erix made some kind of face that Celestia didn't understand, but flew over to the ponies. "Okay, all of you, let's move."
Hurricane made a face. "What, like, now?"
"Yeah, now. I'll get the carriage. Stay here." With that, Erix took off and disappeared around the mountain. Celestia stared at the point where the griffon had gone before she felt something brush against her sides. The other ponies had all surrounded her.
"Princess," Twilight Sage said in a hushed voice, "are you alright?"
Celestia tried to sink lower, but found that her weight was held up by the ponies pressing against her. "No," she said plainly, "I don't think I am."
"We're here if you need us," said Amaranth in his strangely comforting matter-of-fact tone. Celestia was fairly certain that the earth pony was not actually touching her, if only because the other ponies had left no gap for him, but he was leaning into the group all the same.
Celestia wasn't sure how long they stayed like that. It might have been a few seconds, or it might have been many minutes. However, when she opened her eyes, Erix was landing on the ledge with the pony carriage's harness secured around herself.
"Get in," said the griffon, flicking her head towards the cabin. Slowly, the ponies broke away, filing into the carriage one by one until only Celestia was left outside. Before Celestia reached the cab, she felt Erix's talon on her shoulder. The griffon was giving her a sad look. "My grandmother always talked about a pink-haired pony whose little sister just loved watching the whole Element of Loyalty show. And even though a lot of things changed over a lot of years, I know one thing has been true since long before I was born. That she loved that pink-haired pony very much."
The two stared at each other for a long moment before Groza put her talon down. Celestia slipped into the carriage, and once she was inside, she felt it lurch into the air. Everypony was silent, and the shadow of Griffonmont made the inside of the carriage as dark as night. The slow bobbing in the air made Celestia feel just how tired she was. The trial had drained her body, and the death of her oldest friend had drained her spirit. With nothing sustaining her, the cart rocked her to sleep.
"And guess who's next, my pretty sister?"
Celestia wanted to snarl. She wanted to cry. She wanted to fall into senselessness. But just like the last few nights, she was powerless. She quickly noticed that her injuries had returned. Her elbow was broken, and her body scraped and battered. Though her breath was beyond her control, she could feel it becoming hard and rasping.
"The sun is down again, dear Celestia," said Nightmare Moon, pacing around Celestia at a greater distance than before. "Do you know what that means?" A pause. "Oh! How silly of me, I forgot that I took your speech from you. Well, allow me to explain." The wicked mare came close again, but still remained far enough that she wasn't touching Celestia. "Every time the accursed sun climbs into the sky, it takes you away from me. It takes everything away!" Nightmare's voice climbed into sudden rage, but calmed quickly. "But when it's gone, I have you to myself. Oh, just think, Celestia. You only have ten more suns until you'll have no escape from me. But will you even last that long? My poor, pitiful sister." Nightmare Moon brushed Celestia's hair with a hoof. "I have hours every night to break your mind, to break your soul." The mare's teeth clamped down on Celestia's throat. There was a horrible sound as they tore away flesh, forcing Celestia to emit a high-pitched whimper. The smell of blood assailed her nostrils. "I have hours every night," Nightmare Moon repeated, stomping on Celestia's face. Her head swam from being struck so suddenly. "And I will make you mine."
Nightmare leaned down to Celestia's face, her breath hot and stinging on the open wounds. But she gently licked around the wounds in a gesture mocking affection, numbing the pain just a little. "As you endure it all, you will understand that it is also in my power to grant succor. Oh, yes, I will grant you pain." The mare pressed a hoof down onto Celestia's bruised ribcage to emphasize her point. "But I will also grant you release." The hoof left. "I will be that which you hate and fear." Nightmare Moon's full weight pressed upon Celestia. She lay directly on top of her. "And I will also be what saves you. What you need most." She pressed her head to Celestia's and slowly rubbed. "And you may think that knowing in advance will help you to resist, to fight it. But it won't." Without warning, Nightmare jerked her head so that her horn pierced through Celestia's eyelid and into the eye with a horrible squelching noise. Celestia's stomach revolted, and the pain overrode every thought and every sense that she had. The wicked mare's horn withdrew, causing the shocks of pain to repeat. "You're going to give me what I want. What I deserve." Nightmare pressed into Celestia, her whole body rubbing against all the bruises and bones, but ever so lightly brushing fur against fur, softness against softness. The mare's mouth moved to Celestia's ears, and her voice fell to a whisper.
"You're going to love me."
The night lasted forever.
Somehow, a stinging feeling in Celestia's eyes stood out amongst all the other sensations. What followed was an overwhelming upheaval of all her senses. The stench of blood and sweat was overridden by that of vomit. The pervasive pain was replaced by pins and needles, and a strange half-numbness. Her ability to breathe had been usurped by a horrible, wet coughing, barely getting any air into her lungs. She gave a weak kick in order to adjust her body so her airway was clearer. At this point, she noticed that she was awake and surrounded by voices.
"Did you see that? I think she's awake!"
"She's still coughing. Should we do that thing again?"
"If we help her stand up, she should be able to clear her airway on her own. Come on!"
Squelching sounds came from the floor next to Celestia's head. Soon she felt herself being pushed and pulled into an upright position. Her legs couldn't hold the weight, but she was still being supported. She tried to open her eyes, but they were stuck shut by some combination of dried gunk. Every one of her coughs felt like an entire lungful of liquid. Her throat was already hurting, and each gasp just made it worse. After what seemed like an eternity, the coughs became smaller, and her breaths deeper. Her balance was gone as far as her strength, but she still did not fall. Though her eyes were still stuck shut, she turned her head left and right in an attempt to get a sense of the situation.
"Princess? Princess, can you hear me?" It was Twilight Sage's voice. Celestia turned her head in the direction she thought the sound was coming from, though since there was something in one of her ears it was a bit difficult.
Celestia tried to ask a question, but it only came out as a series of whimpers and coughs. She pitched forward from the exertion, but whatever was holding her up caught her.
"Hey, it's okay, you're safe now." Flash Burn's voice. "Open your eyes, look at the sunrise." Celestia whimpered something softly and shook her head. "What? What are you trying to say?"
"I can't," Celestia managed. It came out in a sob, which only caused more coughing. She felt herself start crying, but she couldn't tell if tears were coming down her face, or if she was all out.
"Here," said Twilight Sage. A hoof scraped against Celestia's muzzle, causing her to turn her head instinctively. However, it gently worked its way over her eyes, and she held still so that it cleared some of what was holding her eyes closed. When she managed to open them, she gasped, and started coughing again. Her vision was so bleary that she couldn't make out any details, but the sunset orange blob in front of her was most assuredly Sage. She looked to her sides. A green blob on one, and two dark blobs on the other.
"What happened?" asked Flash from somewhere behind. Celestia tried to swing her head around, but it made her dizzy, and she couldn't see anything.
"Nightmare. Again." Saying the words brought the memories back into focus. Hours of…whatever it was that Nightmare Moon had been doing to her. "Worse," was all she could say, as the last of her strength left her muscles. She could tell that she only stayed upright by being tightly pinned between three ponies. A pause in the conversation allowed the scent of vomit to re-enter the nostrils. "Was that me?"
"Was…oh!" Sage seemed to comprehend almost immediately. "Yes. Almost immediately after we went to sleep, you started making noises. A bit into the night you started crying. It wasn't until a few hours ago, though, that you threw up. We moved you and tried to clean you up a bit, but you just threw up again. The second time, though…you stopped making noises. You stopped breathing, Princess"
"Wh? Whuh?" Celestia's weak breaths were stolen from her.
"You were choking on your own vomit. We must have positioned you poorly. Once I noticed I immediately set about getting you to expel the obstruction. It worked, then you stopped breathing again, and then it worked again. A bit after that, you woke up."
"I choked? How?"
"I think, Princess, that you might have been physically reacting to whatever you were dreaming. It's not the first time that sort of thing has happened, though ponies can't normally feel pain in dreams."
"She would have killed me. She would have killed me with a dream." Celestia made an odd sound like a hiccup, or a weird laugh. Then she made another one. Then she blacked out.
Celestia's eyes opened to elaborate paintings whizzing by overhead. She was bouncing up and down. Groza was dead.
They opened again to a great domed ceiling that looked like brass. Nightmare Moon could kill her.
This time she woke to a low stone ceiling and someone murmuring. She would never gather the Elements of Harmony.
A dark room, with some small, flickering source of light. The world would end because she had failed.
A well-lit wooden ceiling. Something smelled positively delicious.
"Wait, what?" Celestia bolted upright. She was seated upon some kind of straw pillow, and in front of her was a table full of plates of cheeses and grasses. There was some kind of sweet stew in a kettle in a fireplace at one end of the room. And on the other end of the room was…something she could not see because her vision was blocked by the smiling face of an elderly mountain goat. Celestia shrieked and tumbled backwards.
"Be not alarmed, Celestia. I am a friend." The mountain goat's voice could not be more soothing, unfamiliar as he was.
Celestia climbed back up on the straw pillow. "What happened? I was just thinking about…something." She tried to remember what train of thought had been cut off by the smell of stew, but absolutely nothing came to mind. "Why can't I remember?"
"It was not a healthy train of thought. I am sure you will revisit it when the time is right. For now, though, relax, and enjoy the serenity of this room." Celestia looked around. Though it was large enough to fit fifty ponies if they crowded in, the room was exceedingly plain. Everything was made of simple, unvarnished materials, with nothing wasted on decoration. Even the floor was simply natural rock. And the smell of the food was overwhelmingly intoxicating. Celestia tried to focus her thoughts.
"Who are you?"
"I," the mountain goat said with a bow, "am Brother Skipping Stone."
Celestia frowned a bit. "Brother? What does that mean?"
"It is what we monks all call ourselves, and each other." The goat's smile didn't leave his face for an instant.
"Monks? Where…where are we?"
"Why, the exact place you are supposed to be, Celestia." The monk held a cloven hoof in the air. "Welcome to the Great Temple."