The years passed again. Luna had rejoined the ponies of the palace, but she was only a hollow shell of the pony she was before. She no longer spoke to anypony as her equal. Every word was laced with disdain, and her eyes saw nothing but the lowest of the low before her. Nopony could approach her willingly anymore. The strain was too much even for Rising Moon, who renounced his royal title and returned to the simple life he had once before. Even then, a life without Luna was meaningless to him.
Celestia tried time and again to restore her sister’s spirits. But it was perhaps her lack of any true understanding that made her fail every time. She had no husband who ever left her. Nor did she have a daughter who she had lost to a tragic accident.
After so long, Celestia felt as though she was teetering on the brink of her patience. In her darkest thoughts, she sometimes thought that she may as well not have a sister. For the sake of honoring the promise that she had made to her parents those many centuries ago, Celestia knew that she couldn’t give up. So, she had decided to do what she did best.
The days that followed were filled with golden light, blue skies, and painterly sunrises and sunsets. All across the lands, the ponies began to grow more mindful and appreciative of the gorgeous daytime that their ruling princess bestowed upon them. They praised her and thanked her every day for the light that was given, taking not a moment of it for granted. Something that Celestia knew that Luna was feeling.
However, Celestia was wrong.
Whenever Luna heard her little ponies talking about the Royal Sisters, they were only ever talking about Celestia and the things that she had done. No matter how Luna tried to bestow a beautiful night for them, not a single pony seemed to appreciate it. And when anypony did stay awake through the night, they always seemed more preoccupied with the dangerous and terrible things that came with the darkness.
One last night, Luna seethed at the sight of her sister’s sun going down. Looking out over the land, she saw the last of the ponies in town retreating indoors for the night. There was nothing left in her heart for them. And so, she simply raised the moon, threw some stars into the sky however she felt, and that was the end of it.
She returned to her personal chambers, feeling nothing but disgust and irritation for her nightly duties of running the kingdom.
There was a knock upon her door.
“Who is it?” Luna asked.
“Soft Lotion, your highness. The ambassador for the diamond dogs is here to see you,” the guard’s voice said.
“Send him away,” Luna replied.
“Er…Your highness, you may not want to do that. The kingdom has risked a great deal to begin this negotiation for an alliance–”
“Send him away NOW!!” Luna snapped.
Soft Lotion’s rushed steps faded down the halls of the castle, and Luna paced furiously in her room. As far as she was concerned, there was nothing left for her in Equestria.
“Luna…”
A soft, ethereal voice called out to her. Yet no matter how much she looked, she couldn’t see who had spoken.
“Over here, Luna…”
Luna’s head slowly turned toward the voice. All she saw was her mirror, sitting as plainly as it ever did upon her dresser. As though possessed, Luna began walking toward it and looked into the glass.
Nothing was there but her own reflection. Then, she began to see something else. Something dark was walking through the wall behind her. Luna gasped and looked over her shoulder, but saw nothing there. She turned back to the mirror, and saw the dark shadow walk around the room, until it stood before herself.
“It’s been a very long time, Luna. My, how you’ve grown,” the shadow said.
Luna’s ears flattened against her mane. “Do I know you?” she wondered.
“Yes. You and I have known one another since you were a filly. Not that you would have remembered it. You weren’t exactly yourself at the moment.”
Luna tried to study the features of the shadow’s face, but it was only an exercise in futility.
“Is there someplace that we may have met?” Luna asked.
“We’ve always been together, Luna. Even if you couldn’t see or hear me, you’ve felt me many times,” the shadow answered.
“Have I?” Luna said, her breath catching.
“Yes,” the shadow nodded. “All those moments of despair you felt as a filly. During your deepest moments of grief. Every venomous drop of spite you’ve felt. It was all me.”
Luna’s head felt as though it were spinning atop her shoulders. Who or whatever the shadow was, things were beginning to make sense. In her darkest hours when she felt her worst, Luna had always felt the presence of somepony else. A dark companion who was always there with her to guide her along.
“What do you want now?” Luna asked.
“The quest is: what do you want?”
“Me?”
“Yes. You,” the shadow said, pointing a hoof that looked as though it came out of the glass. “Every night you do your best for your little ponies, who do nothing but ignore all of the favors that you do for them. This night that you create for them, always taken for granted and overshadowed by the sunrise.”
For just a moment, Luna glowered at the mention of her sister’s beloved mornings, which many ponies woke up early just to watch. From the mirror, the shadow seemed to smile.
“You hate them, don’t you?” it asked.
“What?” Luna said. “No. I don’t hate anypony!”
“You can’t lie to me, Luna. I know you better than even your own sister. I know how you feel about her precious daylight, and how the little ponies look down upon your supposed darkness. Many of them even fear it and treat it as if it were a monster! And what about your precious husband? In your greatest time of need, he left you! If you were more than nothing to him, he would have stayed by your side and been there when you needed him the most. Instead, he abandoned you. Just like everypony else!”
The more the shadow spoke, the more that Luna could feel something like a cold spike in her chest. She had been abandoned, and she had been taken for granted. Whenever she had tried to bring it up with anypony, they always dismissed her feelings. Finally, Luna was vindicated. Sompony understood her.
“Tell me, Luna. What would you do to make things back to the way that they were?” the shadow asked.
She had spent so much time thinking about how things were that Luna had hardly thought about how to make things change. Only now that she was thinking of it was the answer obvious.
“I would make everypony understand my greatness! And make sure they never forget what I have done for them!” Luna declared.
“It can all be yours, Luna. All it takes is a little trust…” the shadow said, reaching its hoof from the mirror.
Luna raised her own hoof, mirroring the shadow. Closer they came. Closer. Until darkness overtook the princess of the night. She gasped as the shadow surrounded her, but soon grew elated. There would be only one ruling princess of Equestria. Her.
A loud boom resonated through the palace. Celestia quickly rose from her bed to investigate the sound. As she rushed through the palace, she noticed how the night outside had grown suddenly darker. And all across Equestria, screams of terror echoed.
Celestia’s fear spiked as she suspected the greatest enemy that she and Luna had ever known had somehow come back to haunt them. Nothing could have prepared her for the return of Sombra. But if she had beaten him before, she was going to do it again.
Soft Lotion rushed frantically toward her, screaming that the sun had killed the moon. The moment she heard that, Celestia knew what had happened. It was a disaster that only her parents had been able to avert. Now, it was up to her to face the demon her sister had become.
Celestia hastily told Soft Lotion to spread the word that Nightmare Moon was not to be approached. Following the sounds of manic laughter, Celestia took flight to confront her broken and corrupted sister.
The moment that she was outside the castle, Celestia saw that the world was brimming with the beasts of the night. They prowled hungrily, snatching up anypony who was foolish enough to try and run. Homes were broken into by the beasts, and the ponies within were feasted upon. Unnamable horrors flew through the air, catching and clawing the guards who had not heeded Celestia’s order to stay away. Above all of the pandemonium, the devilish laughter of her sister rang like a diabolical bell, heralding the arrival of the hordes of darkness.
The moon rose into the sky, larger and fuller than it had ever been seen, its surface dyed a sanguine shade. Against the moon, the tallest turret of Canterlot Palace stood as an imposing silhouette. Atop it stood the new ruler of the night who sat waiting for her honored guest.
The stones of the turret nearly cracked as Celestia landed with more force than she had meant, and stared down the demon. From the deepest recesses of her mind, she recalled that face so suddenly that it felt like a blow.
Nightmare Moon answered with a smirk.
“I never thought we’d meet again,” she said. “You haven’t changed much since we last saw one another.”
“L…Luna?” Celestia said.
“Do you not remember what I said during our first meeting? Luna is dead. And this time, she intends to stay that way,” Nightmare Moon replied.
“You lie!” Celestia snapped.
“Do I?” Nightmare Moon provocatively said. “Look around you, little foal. This is all a culmination of Luna’s desires. Long has she wished to eliminate every trace of your precious day to usher in eternal night. Just as she has desired to do this.”
Celestia had to dodge as Nightmare Moon lunged at her, her horn blazing with magic. With a swing of her head, Nightmare Moon’s horn sliced through the stones of the turret and swung again before Celestia could recover.
It was only the reflexive use of her magic that saved Celestia as she parried Nightmare Moon’s attack with her own horn. With a flap of her wings, she pushed herself away and shot a stream of fire from her horn.
Nightmare Moon summoned a shield before herself and flapped her wings, creating a gust that blew Celestia’s flames back at her.
The flames nearly overwhelmed Celestia before she moved. She barely had time to counter Nightmare Moon’s next spell.
The demon mare laughed and disappeared from sight in a burst of light.
Celestia sensed the presence behind herself and fired a concentrated blast of magic, only to hit the empty wall.
“Here I am!”
A heavy weight fell on Celestia, forcing her to the ground. Nightmare Moon wasted no time shooting a concentrated beam of light from her eyes at Celestia.
Celestia tried to dodge, only to have one of the beams slice across her face and gouge out her left eye.
She laid on the ground in pain, hoping, wishing to save her kingdom. It was then that she knew that the Elements of Harmony would activate and save them all.
When she was a filly studying with her sister, they had been taught of six powerful artifacts that contained the very essences of friendship. And in their darkest hours when they were needed the most, these essences would aid them. Only, something in the deepest parts of Celestia knew that it was no use.
Trust with her sister was broken. Any kindness in Luna’s heart had dried up. Any offer she could make would be rebuked. Their loyalty had been severed. The laughter they had shared would remain forever silent. And magic? No amount of magic would bring Luna back from the dark place she had gone to.
Everything had been lost. And somewhere, deep in their hidden conclave, the Elements of Harmony turned to dull, useless stone.
Nightmare Moon’s magic spread across the sky, turning it pitch black, the only light to be seen was shining from her eyes.
“Celestia…”
A voice called out to Celestia. One that she hadn’t heard in nearly a thousand years.
“When my brothers and I blessed you and your sister with our gifts, you were meant to use them for the benefit of all.”
Before her, she saw the earthen elk appear, glowering down at her the same way that her father always had whenever she had done something wrong.
“Why do you lay here and allow your own sister to abuse our gift?” it asked.
Celestia was silent.
“Do you not care for your little ponies? Have you forgotten your purpose as she has!?” the elk angrily asked.
“No! I’d do anything for my kingdom!” Celestia answered.
The stag nodded.
“Then you know what must be done…”
Celestia’s breath stopped. It was something she had never done before, but knew that she may have had to one day. Worst of all, she would never have dreamed that she would have to do it to her own sister.
“One thousand years to atone, Celestia. One thousand years to reflect and ruminate.”
And those were the elk’s last words, before it disappeared.
Faced with the darkness, Celestia clenched her teeth and looked with her one good eye to the sky, which filled with the thousands of twinkling lights of devils’ eyes. Slowly and painfully, she stood, facing the light of her sister’s mad gaze.
“Equestria is not yours, Nightmare Moon!” Celestia said.
Her horn began to shine and the light of the gods’ gifts began to shine around her.
Nightmare Moon’s eyes shone fearfully as she watched her sister’s injured eye miraculously heal until it looked as though nothing ever happened to it. Stranger still was how Celestia had changed. She was taller now. As tall as Nightmare Moon herself. And her mane flowed in some nonexistent breeze like some glorious aurora. Still, the demon mare barely fazed.
“I don’t know how you’re still standing. But I’ll make sure you never so much as kneel before me!” Nightmare Moon shrieked.
She fired a concentrated blast of darkness at Celestia, who fired back with a burst of light. The two alicorns fought for control, trying to push back the other’s spell. Deep in her soul, Celestia could feel it. The hopes, dreams, worries and cares of her entire kingdom at her back, pushing her forward.
Nightmare Moon began to falter as she watched Celestia’s magic grow ever closer. Her hoof slipped, and the light overtook her. Yet, she still resisted. With nothing but her own will to dominate, she staved off the spell, feeling her strength wane with every moment.
There was still one way to win.
“But, I’m your sister…” Nightmare Moon pleaded.
Celestia’s will wavered. Even in the face of evil, she could see her own sister calling out to her. It was only when she saw the devilish smirk of Nightmare Moon that she remembered her sister was no more.
A shout burst from Celestia’s throat as the spell overtook the evil mare. There was a burst of light, and Nightmare Moon had gone.
The moon slowly drifted back to its rightful place. The sun returned to the sky. And all of the evils of the night had scurried back to their abyssal hollows until they could torment the world of light once more.
It was a cruel victory for Celestia. In time, the world was as it was before. But no matter how brightly the sun shined, it was a darker, more terrible place for Princess Celestia. For the centuries after, she lived knowing that it was she who had created the monster her sister had become. No matter how she was consoled or comforted, she knew that it had all been her fault.
Wherever Celestia went or who she talked to, she couldn’t help but feel as if the ponies were judging her. Whether or not they knew what had happened, she would never know. In her heart of hearts, she wished to make things right. However, there were miracles that not even she was able to perform.
The generations passed. The story of Nightmare Moon was no longer history, but a story that ponies told their children to keep them from misbehavior, or to tell around a fire on a camping trip. No matter what, the face of Luna would always be seen from the moon, whether the ponies knew it or not.