//------------------------------// // The Lunar Heresy: The Long Night // Story: The God Empress of Ponykind // by iowaforever //------------------------------// The Lunar Heresy: The Long Night         It was dark as Celestia landed outside Everfree Castle. The entire area was abandoned, not a single pony besides Herself to be found, but She knew She was not alone. She could feel the presence of Nightmare Moon, as if the dark alicorn was watching Her every step. Celestia drew Her sword, using it’s power to show Her the way into the castle. The five necklaces and crown, four of them currently bound around Her legs so as to not put too much strain on Her neck, also provided some light as She walked. If only Philomena were here... she would be useful.         Onwards Celestia walked, Her boots clicking against the stone floor. She swept Her sword back and forth, the receding shadows a small comfort to Her. Occasionally She would come across a window illuminated by the moon, casting more shadows across the wall even as She passed by. The stillness of the castle was off putting, but that was not what worried Her.         What worried Her was facing Nightmare Moon.         Celestia stepped in to the Throne Room, and there she stood. The dark alicorn had her back to Celestia, looking out one the the stain glass windows behind the throne. “You are alone.”         “I did not wish to risk my subjects being killed trying to oppose you.” Celestia said, stopping in the center of the room.         “Just you and me then? No reinforcements, no peons to save you again; just you and me.”         “Believe what you like.” Celestia took a step closer. “I would speak with my sister, Luna.” Nightmare Moon let out a small bark of laughter.         “Your sister? Why do you persist in calling her ‘sister’?”         “... Respect.” Celestia lowered Her head. “Luna was... no, is a great mare. I knew it the day I saw her open her eyes for the first time. She is far beyond a servant, or a friend, or even a daughter. She is my equal in all things, and I would be a fool if I were to try and lord over her, as I did with Horus and my sons... Which is why I would speak with her.”         “Luna is no longer here, dear Celestia.” Nightmare Moon smirked, turning to face Celestia as she did so. “And what makes you think she would want to speak with you? Even though you deny it, you did keep her away from power, and we gave it to her.”         “What you gave her was an illusion, so that you could work your plans and destroy everything we have held dear... and I was too much of a self-centered fool to realize that.” She sighed. “If Luna is there, if she can hear me, I wish to apologize for what I have done. I... I fell into old habits. I got swept up by the crowds, the soldiers, everything, and I lost sight of what truly mattered.” a small tear rolled down Celestia’s cheek, but She ignored it. “It’s my fault Luna fell, my fault that I ignored her and did not speak to her about her problems. And... I am unworthy of being called her sister.” Celestia let out a breath of air, Her sword lowering slightly. “She would understand it.” there was silence before Nightmare Moon began to chuckle again.         “This is what the ‘Glorious’ Empress of Ponykind has been reduced to? Groveling at the feet of Her enemies, begging them for forgiveness?” Nightmare Moon laughed louder. “Even if Luna could hear you, what good would it do? Your armies are in ruins, your ‘empire’ is torn apart in civil war, and your beloved ponies have been exposed to Chaos. You may try and make amends, but you will never know peace again until Chaos achieves it’s ultimate victory.” As Nightmare Moon laughed, Celestia paid attention to her speech. The slightest of hesitations, the slightest twitch of the eye or lips, that was all She needed to know the truth behind what Her opponent was thinking.         “If you are so confident in your victory, why do you sound scared?” This stopped Nightmare Moon’s laughter.         “... What?”         “Don’t try to hide it from me. The inflections in your voice are wrong for one who has total confidence. You are nervous, aren’t you; nervous that one thing might go wrong and your entire plan for domination will come crashing down around you.” Nightmare Moon’s glare darkened, her magic glowing as she summoned her sword.         “This will end, now. Once you are dead, the rest of Equestria will fall soon after... my only hope is that you will be able to watch its demise while your soul drifts in the Warp.”         “You will try.” Celestia raised Her own sword. “But if I am to fall today, I will not allow you to live to see your plan carried out.” Nightmare Moon snorted and charged, sword raised high above her head, and Celestia had no choice but to rush forward and meet Her enemy head on.         In the middle of Everfree Castle, two gods clashed.         The force of Celestia and Nightmare Moon colliding against one another was unlike any seen in Equestria before or since. Even Her fight with Discord paled in comparison to the clash between Her and Her foe. The shockwave tore through Everfree Castle, shattering windows and reducing stone to rubble. Structural supports splintered and buckled, the center of the building creaking before caving in, sending thousands of pounds of stone tumbling to the floor. Nearby trees were stripped of their leaves before being uprooted, and the ground was broken and torn as the shockwave expanded outwards.         Despite their formidable strength, both Celestia and Nightmare Moon were knocked back several feet by the collision, their boots digging deep grooves in the floor as they slid back. Nightmare Moon was the first to recover, leaping at Celestia with a downward slash. Celestia parried and rolled to the side, swinging out with Her left hoof and catching Nightmare Moon in the face. Nightmare Moon was knocked back, crashing into the nearest wall hard enough to leave a pony-shaped indent in the stone. She pulled herself from the wall just as Celestia rushed in for another strike, the Empress slamming Her shoulder into Nightmare Moon’s gut and tackling her into the next room.         Celestia reared up for another strike, but Nightmare Moon rolled out of the way and bucked Her in the side hard enough for Celestia to lose Her grip on Her sword. Celestia managed to dodge the next flurry of attack from Nightmare Moon, the dark alicorn’s sword passing dangerously close to Her throat several times, before diving and grabbing Her sword once more, bringing it up and deflecting another strike from Nightmare Moon. Celestia pulled Herself back to Her hooves and attacked, Nightmare Moon parrying each strike but still being driven back by Celestia’s onslaught.         Celestia lunged again, but overstepped and was tripped by Nightmare Moon. The dark alicorn slammed her hooves down into Celestia’s back, the heavy armor plates being the only thing saving Her from having Her spine shattered. As She struggled to get back up, Nightmare Moon kicked Her again and again, the stones beneath Celestia crumbling as She was beaten. She finally managed to pull Her head back and fire a concentrated beam of Warpflame into Nightmare Moon’s face, the other mare reeling back as she tried to regain focus. Celestia rolled over and turned towards Nightmare Moon, but the dark alicorn was ready and knocked Celestia through the next wall and into the courtyard with a bolt of lightning.         Now that She had a bit more room to maneuver, Celestia rose into the air, sword held in a guard position. Nightmare Moon followed after Her, the two circling and trading the occasional blow. But now that they were out in the open, the battle of the two alicorns would not be decided by sword and hoof strikes; each combatant opened up to the powers of the Warp, the air around the battlefield becoming supercharged as more and more power was drawn in.         Nightmare Moon wrapped herself in blue lightning, power running down the length of her armor and wrapping around her wings. Sparks danced from her feathers, her eyes were alight and crackling with energy. With each thrust of her hooves mighty bolts of lightning would split the air, the sound of her attacks and the occasional bout of laughter echoing across the land.         Celestia was bathed in fire, Her armor glowing with otherworldly energies. Her normally pastel mane was a blazing inferno, wisps of flame wrapping around Her neck and jaw. Her eyes glowed like two stars, impossibly bright and bottomless, and each beat of Her wings caused the fire to dance like a serpent. Vast curtains of Warpflame were conjured from nothing, knifing through the air and surrounding Celestia as if She were the sun itself.         Fire and lightning collided with one another as the two titans dueled, both forces combining into a terrifying display. At times Celestia appeared to be winning, but whatever advantage She possessed would just as soon be lost to Nightmare Moon. The dark alicorn tried many maneuvers, ducking and diving to try and get a better angle of attack, but try as she might she could not breach Celestia’s defenses. Celestia tried to use wave after wave of Warpflame to overwhelm Nightmare Moon, but Her opponent would not hold still long enough to take the brunt of Celestia’s attack.         “Tiring, Anathema?” Nightmare Moon asked after dodging another of Celestia’s attacks.         “Only of you, daemon.” Celestia countered as Her spells deflected a bolt of lightning.         “You wound me, Anathema. Wound me!” Nightmare Moon swooped in and swung at Celestia with her sword, but Celestia deflected the attack and chased Nightmare Moon off with a blast of Warpflame. “I thought that you would appreciate my presence more.”         “What makes you think I would ever tolerate a monster like you?”         “Maybe I thought of the hospitality you showed the Anomaly.” Nightmare Moon rushed in once more, pulling Celestia into a blade lock and smiling wickedly. “Or maybe it’s because everything has gone exactly according to plan, Emperor.” Celestia’s composure broke, and She let out a small gasp. The voice, the new flow of power She could feel, the eyes, all screaming at Her something much worse than She had originally thought, something She had never anticipated and could barely accept. There was only one daemon who would ever address her as "Emperor".         “... Tzeentch?!” Nightmare Moon’s smile grew even wider before she blasted Celestia in the gut with a bolt of lightning.         “Ah, so you do recognize me!” the Changer of Ways cried, rising above Celestia. “I had thought that several thousand years of neglect had rotted your memory.”         “I am not so weak as to forget you.” Celestia snarled, bringing Her defenses back up. “I had assumed some of your agents had survived, but you?! I slew you within your Maze!”         “Oh yes there was that. About the War for the Immaterium, we... let you win.”         “... What?”         “It’s true. You didn’t think I would let you defeat me that easily?” Nightmare Moon laughed. “And I wasn’t the only one to pull it off. Khorne, Nurgle, even Slaanesh, all of us are still alive... cut off from the majority of the Warp, but still very much alive.”         “If you went through all this trouble to fake your deaths, why did you just not kill me when you had the chance?”         “I have my reasons. Killing you would have been too much of a hassle, but fortunately your “beloved” son Magnus thought of the idea of sending you to another realm, so we would be free to do what we wished without having to deal with you... too bad Magnus won’t remember that he came up with that idea.” Nightmare Moon frowned. “And then you just had to adapt.”         “I thought you were the God of Change.”         “Change is no good when I’m not there to enjoy it! You started making your precious little ponies, free from the taint of Chaos. Just one of them is... ambrosia. This is where we truly belong, not dealing with the tribulations of your Imperium. We needed access to the well of pure, uncorrupted souls you had gathered here.”         “And I suppose that is when you sent your minion Discord to corrupt my sister and open a path for you to enter my realm!” Nightmare Moon frowned again.         “The being you call ‘Discord’ is an anomaly; not even I know what he is or where he came from. But he did provide a way for me to come in and begin to sow the seeds of corruption in your sister’s mind. After that it was only a matter of time before your sister gave in. Oh yes, she fought back, but fortunately I was able to possess her without much difficulty.” Nightmare Moon smirked. “You were right; your sister is quite powerful, powerful enough for someone like me to possess, and I was able to put that power to good use.” Celestia could feel Her teeth grinding together, and She brought Her sword up and prepared to attack.         “You will pay dearly for this, Tzeentch. I have broke through your foresight before, and I will do it again and rip you from my sister’s body.” Nightmare Moon shrugged at Celestia’s threat.         “My foresight has not been as strong as I would like lately; I had to make some sacrifices to fake my death, after all.” Her smirk grew into a full, feral grin. “But I am still the God of Sorcery, possessing the body of the second most powerful being on this planet, am I not?” Celestia growled and charged again, hurling a ball of Warpflame at Nightmare Moon. The dark alicorn giggled before dodging out of the way, returning the attack with a ball of lightning that barely missed Celestia. Nightmare Moon turned back and fired another blast, and Celestia was forced to deflect it instead of dodging. Celestia drew back with Her power once more, a bright beam of light shooting from Her horn and striking Nightmare Moon. The dark alicorn, for her part, seemed more amused than anything. "It is ever so amusing to see you try and challenge me like this," Nightmare Moon said, redirecting Celestia's attack so it struck the surrounding countryside. "But I tire of this. Now I'll have to see what it's like with you dead, Emperor." Nightmare Moon’s horn glowed with power, and Celestia watched in horror as Her defensive spells vanished one by one. As the last of Her spells winked out, She was tackled by Nightmare Moon, the dark alicorn beating away Her sword and bringing her own down on Her shoulder. Celestia broke away, but Nightmare Moon closed rapidly and began slamming her hooves into Celestia’s gut, her smile growing wider and more feral with each strike.         Celestia was knocked back once again, disoriented and wavering. With a cackle, Nightmare Moon unleashed a blast of lightning, Celestia screaming in agony as the bolts pierced Her armor and shocked every cell in Her body. As soon as the magical attack ended, Celestia was once again subjected to a flurry of blows, the last few causing Her to cough up small amounts of blood. With each strike Nightmare Moon’s laughter grew until Celestia’s hearing was flooded by the sound.         “I do not want to sound like I am agreeing with Khorne, but this is invigorating!” Nightmare Moon howled as she broke away, Celestia stumbling forward on shaky wings. “After having to suffer through eons of waiting, your attempt of killing me gnawing at my mind, this makes up for everything! This is what I had wished for when I first plotted to defeat you!” Celestia tried to bring Her sword up to attack, but Nightmare Moon easily beat the sword away. “Shame that it has to end so soon.”         Celestia let out a gasp of pain as Nightmare Moon plunged her sword into Her gut. Blood filled Her throat and trickled down Her chin, Her breath coming out in wet chokes as She tried to pull the sword from Her body. Nightmare Moon let out a small chuckle before pulling the sword out of Celestia, a small spurt of blood trailing after the blade. She hung in space for a moment before falling, Her wings and powers useless to slow Her down.         Her vision began to darken just before She hit the ground. ...         In a corner of the Warp, a young filly cries. She lays there, curled up into a tight ball, tears streaming down her face as horrible images dance around her. Her subjects slaughtered, her home in ruins, her sister...         She can still hear Her confessing, begging Luna for her forgiveness. She wants to call out, to try and reach Her, but she cannot. She can only stay huddled in her corner, watching helplessly as a daemon possesses her body and kills Celestia.         “Sister...” Luna sobs, pulling herself in tighter. “Sister... I’m sorry... I’m sorry for everything I’ve done.”         “Do not lose faith, child,” a voice says from the dark. “There is still a chance to save your sister.” Luna blinks and looks up, but she cannot see the source of the voice.         “Who’s there? What do you want?”         “To help you.” the voice says. Luna tries to speak again before she feels something brush against her back. Something cold, something metal, but it still gently brushes her back. She looks around and sees a creature clad in silver armor, it’s face weathered as if from a long journey.         “You... you are the being from my dreams.”         “Correct, my child. I have been trying to reach out to you for some time now, but I am not as powerful as some of the denizens here. I could only call out to you and show you visions, but now I have a chance to reach out to you.”         “But... Why?”         “A long time ago... I killed a very dear friend of mine. I had believed they had betrayed me, so I lashed out and paid dearly for my anger. I prepared to die, but before I did something brought me here... and I saw you going down the same path I had, and I could not let that happen.” The creature sighs. “I failed.”         “No, you haven’t.” Luna sits up a little. “You said there was a chance to save my sister. What is it?” The creature looks down at her and smiles.          “You remind me of someone I knew... That doesn’t matter.” the creature stops stroking Luna and hold out his hands. “Give me your hooves. I shall give you as much of my knowledge and experience dealing with daemonkind as you can manage, and combined with your own powers you should be able to drive the enemy from your body long enough for your sister to eliminate it entirely.”         “But I failed to stop it from taking over before!” Luna cries. “How will I be able to stand against it now?”          “It does not know I am here, helping you. I am an anomaly in the Warp; I do not react to it as you or your sister do. I will help you fight off this daemon.”         “And in return?” the creature is silent for a moment.          “I would like a chance to speak with your sister, one last time.” Luna looks into the creature’s eyes; she sees sadness, guilt, all tugging at the creature’s soul. She gives a small smile and nods.         “That is a fair price.” She places her hooves in the creature’s hands. The creature smiles and begins to glow, and Luna can feel power rushing into her. She sees images of mighty warriors, great battles, of courage, love, friendship. The images fade, but the feeling is still lingering in her.          “That should be enough.”the creature says before standing. “Now go; you don’t have much time left.” Luna nods and begins to leave, prepared to enter the Immaterium and face the daemon corrupting her body, but she looks back at the creature one last time.         “Who are you?” she asks. The creature gives the hint of a smile before he begins to melt back into the Warp.          “Just call me Horus.” ...         The bleeding was slowing, but Celestia was unsure if it was because Her wounds were clotting or She had lost most of Her blood. She tried to stand, unwilling to just lay down and let Nightmare Moon kill Her, but Her legs were weak, almost unresponsive. Her entire body shook as She pushed up against the ground, and She almost gave up several times. Pain stabbed into every inch of Her body, but She pushed it out of Her mind as best She could.         “Oh, you survived.” Nightmare Moon said before landing in front of Celestia. “I blame myself for that; stabbing things was not really one of my areas of focus.” She smirked again before raising her sword. “I shall put you out of your misery, Emperor. Maybe you will thank me in time.” Celestia, still struggling to pull Herself up, closed Her eyes as the blade began to fall.         But it never touched Her. She sat there, eyes closed, waiting for Nightmare Moon to kill Her, but nothing happened. Curious, She opened Her eyes and saw that the sword was hovering just above Her head, Nightmare Moon just as shocked as She was. Nightmare Moon tried to say something before her head snapped to the right, her eyes losing their cat-like appearance.         “No!” Nightmare Moon cried in a new voice. “I will not allow you to harm my sister!” Nightmare Moon’s head snapped back, her eyes returning to their original state.         “Wha- You! I thought I got rid of you!” Once again, her head snapped around and her eyes changed, and Celestia used the time to recover as best She could.         “That’s my body you have there! I will not let you take it from me that easily!”         “But how- The Anomaly! He must have done something to keep you here!”         “It doesn’t matter! Leave my sister alone.” Nightmare Moon winced as if she had been struck, dropping her sword and stepping away from Celestia.         “I will not... be defeated by some... child!”         “Leave my sister, and leave my body!”         “N-never!”         “Leave!         “No-”         “LEAVE!” Nightmare Moon screamed and collapsed, her body spasming as if struck by lightning. She let out another scream before falling still, her legs and wings falling limp against the floor. Celestia had no time to check if she was still alive, turning Her attention to Her wounds.         The stab wound was deep, and severe enough that even using the powers of the Warp would not be sufficient to heal it fully. Still, treating it would see that She survived, and with another wince She reached out with the last of Her power and began to mend the wound. She cried out in pain as tissues and cells stitched themselves back together, tears streaming down Her face and mixing with the blood on Her lips. When She felt that the wound was sufficiently healed, She released Her power and slumped over, Her breath choppy.         She heard movement off to Her right, and She looked to see Nightmare Moon standing again. The dark alicorn turned towards Her, and now She could see that her eyes were now a familiar turquoise color. “... Luna?”         “Sister!” Luna cried, rushing over to Celestia’s side. “You’re injured!”         “I’ve survived worse.” Celestia grunted as She began to get back on Her hooves. “You are back in control?”         “Yes... Well, somewhat; I have managed to drive the daemon out of my mind for a short period, but I can’t hold on for long. You need to remove it from my body somehow.”         “I can’t... I don’t have the strength.” She took a deeper breath of air before looking down and spotting the necklaces, bloodied but still intact.         “Those... the Elements of Harmony!” Celestia looked up.         “I’m sorry?”         “The Elements of Harmony... the, uh, necklaces and crown.” Luna blushed and looked away. “Th-that’s what I’ve always called them. But you can use them to drive the daemon from my body!” Luna smiled, but that smile turned into a frown as one of her eyes flickered back to emerald and cat-like “Hurry, he’s star- Starting to regain control!”         “I... I...”         “Sister, please!”         “I... I can’t!” Celestia cried. “I don’t know what these things... these Elements will do to you! I could turn you into stone, just like Discord. You could die!”         “You don’t know that! I could live!”         “I can’t risk seeing you die, Luna! You are my sister, my own flesh and blood, my equal in everything! I already lost Horus, I cannot lose you!” Luna was silent before pulling herself up straighter.         “It is a risk I am willing to take, sister. If I die, I want to know that my death saved Equestria.” Luna smiled. “Please, sister. Don’t do it for me; do it for Equestria, for our subjects.” Celestia’s tears were flowing more freely now, but She knew Luna was right; Equestria was at stake here, and Her own personal desires would only lead to it’s destruction.         The Lord of Change was right; this battle would see Her broken.         Silently, Celestia closed Her eyes and focused. She felt a surge of energy flow into the Elements, a low whine building out in size. Her mane began to flow more freely, and as Her eyes opened a rainbow shot from the crown on Her head and enveloped Luna, the other alicorn smiling even as her features shifted back to those of Nightmare Moon. As the light became more intense, it grew harder for Celestia to focus on Her sister, but She knew she was there watching Her.         “Luna!” She called, hoping Her voice could be heard over the sound. “I... I love you!” there was no response at first, only the sound of the Elements and rushing wind. But then Luna spoke.         “I love you too, Tia.”         And the world went white. ...         Celestia awoke to the sound of birds. At first She thought She was dreaming, but as She opened Her eyes She saw that She was still in reality. Dawn was breaking, and the first birds were coming out of their nests.         In front of Her she saw five stone orbs, each one with a different symbol etched into the side. The orbs were arranged in a star shape, the markings pointing outwards  towards the horizon. The Elements... they have gone inert again. She guessed it was probably for the better; artifacts as powerful as these could not be left alone, less they fall into the wrong hooves. Celestia groaned and pulled Herself up, crying out in pain as She tweaked Her wounds. They would take some time to heal, but She would survive.         A small sliver of Her power remained, and with that She peered into the Warp one last time. Where there had been daemonic presences, there were pools of tranquil emotions; where there was corruption, there was now Harmony. The Warp had been healed, the presence of Chaos swept away as if it had never existed.         Better still, She could feel a strong, familiar Warp presence. Luna is alive!         “Luna!” Celestia cried out, limping along as She searched for Her sister. “Luna, it worked! The daemons are gone, and you are free!” There was no response, so Celestia looked further. If Luna was free, then She had won a complete and decisive victory over the daemons; they had lost their foothold, and Celestia would still be standing strong against them.         “Luna! Where are you? Please Luna! I want to see your face again! I’m sorry for everything, Luna! But now, you and I can rebuild; we can make Equestria greater than it ever was before, a shining beacon amongst the stars! How does that sound, Luna? Would you like that?” When there was still no response, Celestia’s spirits began to drop. Still She pressed on, limping through the ruins of Everfree Castle in search of Luna.         “Luna? Please come out. If you are still mad at me, I am deserving of your anger. Please, Luna, come out... please?” Celestia stepped out into the ruined courtyard, but there was no sign of Luna anywhere. Her spirits fell even lower, and Celestia slumped down to the ground, eyes downcast.         “Luna... Where are you?” sniffling, She looked up, and it was then that She saw it.         The moon was still high in the sky, fading slightly as the sun began to peak over the horizon. But now, it had changed; on the face of the moon was the image of an alicorn’s head, lowered as if out of sadness. Celestia’s breath caught for a moment, and reluctantly She reached out into the Warp.         Luna’s presence was strongest surrounding the moon.         “... no.” Celestia whispered. “N-no! She can’t be! Luna... No!”         In the ruins of Everfree Castle, a goddess wept.