//------------------------------// // Mare in the Moon // Story: The Last Long Night // by Archlyn //------------------------------// At last the adrenaline was beginning to lessen. The world was coming, slowly, into focus. On the edge of her consciousness, Celestia could feel the slightest breath of a breeze across her coat.  She stood there, panting, allowing the last of the pent-up energy to leave her body. After what seemed like an eternity, she could finally  truly perceive the world around her once more. Her hooves felt the soft touch of grass beneath them. The bitter, metallic taste of blood was on her tongue and the smells of earth and smoke filled her nostrils She could hear the fading sounds of the battle at the castle in the distance and she could just barely make out its outline on the horizon. Tendrils of black clouds obscured the moon’s soft light, but what little remained wreathed her sister’s prone form in an eerie glow.   Celestia looked down at her now, the despair and anger in her eyes stabbing daggers into the white alicorn’s heart.  Never before had she had to endure so much pain, nor had she ever conceived that she would ever be in this position.  Seeing her sister, splayed before her in defeat at the bottom of a small crater that had formed during the the last moments of their struggle, she could feel the sting of her tears as they began to flow. “No! Do not cry for me! I would not have your lies compounded! I am truly alone! You cannot understand the pain of it!” “Luna,” Celestia said, somehow managing to keep her voice steady while tiny rivulets formed on her cheeks as her tears flowed constantly, “nothing I have said was a lie. I love you. Our ponies love you-” Nightmare Moon gave a derisive snort. “No dear sister,” The vitriol of that one word was palpable enough to draw an audible sob  from Celestia’s lips “there is no love in your heart, not for me.  Your  ponies revel in the day.  They shun the night; their devotion is to you alone, I am but your shadow, ignored and unloved!” Celestia could not bare to to see her sister, the one being in all of Equestria whom was her absolute equal, whom she loved and cherished more than her own existence, belittle herself this way. “Luna! Please! You, part of you at least, must know that is a lie! Listen to that piece of yourself! I beg you! Lower your moon, and come back with me! I will show you the truth and sincerity of my love for you. I promise!” Nightmare Moon sneered. “Pah! My moon remains where it is! You will have to destroy me and lower it yourself. Perhaps my destruction will visit upon you an equal measure of the pain I suffered as I endured thankless night after thankless night as Equestria’s nocturnal guardian and day after day seeing the adulation on the faces of your subjects as they glory in your sun!” Celestia felt a chill breeze brush across her coat, as if the night itself was trying to make her feel the cold anger of that statement, and she recoiled. At last she understood. All of this obstinacy, all of the goading, the harsh words. Her sister wanted Celestia to hurt as much as the other mare felt that she had been hurt.  The ruler inside thought how much the petulant filly Luna sounded, how, despite the hurt this seemed for all of Equestria like the temper tantrum of a foal being denied some trinket from their parents.  Celesia the sister on the other hand wanted to show Luna that she was wrong, that Luna held as much sway in the hearts of ponykind everywhere as she did.  She wanted desperately for her sibling to understand that, while everypony slept through her nights, it was her sister’s stewardship that allowed ponies everywhere to sleep without the fear that so grips the hearts of lesser creatures. These two aspects of her personality warred within Celestia, the ruler asserting that, for the good of all other ponies everywhere, Nightmare Moon had to be stopped and the sun raised.  The sister insisted that Luna could be redeemed, that the horrible jealousy and resentment that now manifested itself in the form of Nightmare Moon could be driven out without destroying her.  These two personas reached a compromise, Celestia would make a final plea to Luna in the hopes that she could be made to see reason; If that failed... She took a few tentative steps toward Nightmare Moon, negotiating the gentle slope of the hollowed-out piece of land with relative ease.  As she approached, she could hear the anger in her sister’s breath as its pace quickened.  “Stay back! Do not touch me! I do not need your false pity any more than I need your false love or your feigned sadness!” Ignoring these words (and the pangs of hurt each brought) Celestia knelt beside her sister, her tears still flowing freely. “I love you more dearly than anything in this world, Luna. I want you beside me, always.  Your nights are wonderful and beautiful and peaceful because of you, I may be able to raise your moon myself, but I cannot shepard  our ponies during that time as you do.  I cannot give them the peaceful respite you provide to them each night.  We each need the other to be complete, without the other we are both diminished ” Nightmare Moon laughed bitterly. “You, the almighty Celestia need me? Hah. Resorting to lies again sister? Or perhaps you have forgotten that your ponies need no guidance at night because they are asleep?” Celestia sighed.  She had been left with no other option now.  Her tears had ceased only because she had no more to shed.  The sadness still tore at her insides and contorted her face but her own emotional turmoil was secondary, The welfare of her subjects had to come first, even if it meant the loss of her own sister.  She stood, glaring imperiously down at Nightmare Moon: “Very well” Celestia’s voice became hard.  Celestia the sister had given way to Celestia the ruler and The Royal Voice poured from her lips. “Nightmare Moon, by your actions you have disrupted the lives of all ponykind.  This cannot be allowed.  Since you refuse to give way and restore the balance of nature, We have no choice but to punish you.” As she spoke, the earth around them shook with the pronouncement. Celestia watched her sister, gauging her reaction. She  thought she could now see, behind the anger and bravado, a touch of fear in her sister’s eyes.   “Your punishment will be thus: You will be sealed away within the moon, there you will have a chance to consider what We have said to you.  It is Our sincerest hope that you will one day see the wisdom of Our words to you and take your place once more as Ruler of the Night.” Nightmare Moon gave another cruel laugh. “Coward.” she spat.  “Afraid to destroy me outright? Very well.  This I swear: I will escape, whether in one, one hundred, or one thousand years. When I am free, Day shall be subverted, Night shall rule all and ponies everywhere will know its beauty!” Without looking away, Celestia began channeling all of her magical energies once more, the Elements of Harmony, appearing seemingly out of thin air, began to resonate in response to Celestia’s own power, amplifying it into the spell that would seal her sister away. The Elements  circled the white alicorn’s body as she wove the magicks and directed them toward her sister.  As the spell settled around Nightmare Moon, the area was bathed in a searing white light bright enough to force even Celestia, Ruler of the Day, to flinch from it. When she opened her eyes again there was no trace of her sister, not even the barest speck of Luna’s magic remained. Celestia panted now, her energy almost spent. She had one more duty to perform though before she could rest. Looking up at the moon , she could see the shadowy outline of Nightmare Moon  etched upon its silvery surface. Closing her eyes, she tapped into the primal forces that she used to bring the sun to its apex. Using this force, she pressed the moon down below the horizon and bade the sun take its place.  Her duty done, Celestia rose high into the air intending to make her way back to the castle.  What she saw stunned her. Her newly-risen sun had thrown their private battlefield into sharp relief.  What were once sweeping hilly plains were now ruined.  Peppered over miles were more craters, large and small. Large chunks of displaced earth and broken rocks littered the landscape.  Black splotches of burnt grass were everywhere, no doubt caused by the magical expulsions of Nightmare Moon and herself.   This... this was too much for Celestia. Her sister was gone, and now to see the terrible destruction their battle had wrought.... Celestia turned and fled, her form becoming a blurred streak of white against the sky as she sped back toward her castle.  There, she hoped, she could find solace in the peaceful embrace of sleep, Tomorrow she could begin to cope, to heal, and to digest everything that had happened. Moments later, the castle came into view, and she slowed herself and, circling a large opening she came into a soft landing.  Her body was now moving of its own accord, for Celestia had withdrawn into herself, not wanting to acknowledge the existence of anything other than the  the immense jumble of hurt and sadness that had consumed her. At some point, she realized she had fallen asleep, but it was not to be the blissful escape for which she longed, Fate, it would seem, was to be far more cruel. ~*~ Credit for the title go to Ariamaki.  And although I didn’t tell you, you’ve given me, well I’m not sure what to call it - You helped me see the mortal sides of Equestria’s rulers.  Without that, I’d never have been able to write this at all I’d also like to thank Quanta over at Equestria Forums for all letting me pester him :) Seriously, your help was invaluable and I can’t tell you how much I really appreciate it Lastly, I’d like to thank Youtube user ponyphonic, his work really inspired me to write this at all.  Go check out his channel!