//------------------------------// // Nightmare Night // Story: The Life I Once Had // by Smithawits //------------------------------// Luna's hooves ached as she explored more of the castle; this place was a lot bigger than she remembered. How long had she been here? It had felt like four hours at least, but she knew that wasn't right; more like a half-hour, maybe forty five minutes at the most. It was all of these stairs that were taking a toll on her body. After walking a little longer, Luna finally found the room she was looking for: her throne room. The room was a long rectangle with multiple large, marble pillars and a giant hole in the ceiling. The main doors were on one side and her throne on the other. Above the throne was a large circular stained-glass window that allowed the moonlight to shine through, reducing the torche’s use to being strictly for warmth. She walked towards her rusted, dust covered throne. * * * * It had been six hours since Luna's transformation into Nightmare Moon; six hours since she sent the letter to Celestia and stated that she would never again lower the moon and make night last forever. Nightmare Moon sat alone in silence on her throne as she stared at the floor. She suddenly turned her ears towards the main doors as she heard loud hoof steps approach. Celestia burst through the throne room doors. "What is the meaning of this?" Celestia said in a firm voice. Nightmare Moon was silent. "You need to lower the moon! You know as well as I do that everything relies on sunlight. Without it, Equestria's plants will die; if the plants die, we have no food!" Nightmare Moon remained silent. "Sister, talk to me. This isn't you. What is troubling you?"   Nightmare Moon still didn't say anything. "Luna, please." Suddenly, Nightmare Moon grinned and walked out into the light, "I think you will find that 'Luna' is rather indisposed." Celestia gasped as took a few steps back, "Luna...w-what has happened to you..." An evil smile spread over Nightmare Moon's face, "why so shocked Celestia? Aren't you proud of me; of your little sister? You should be, after all, you were the one who pushed me to this point. Without you, I would never have gotten to where I am now." "Luna...please..." Nightmare Moon became angry and charged her magic, "I am NOT Luna anymore!" Nightmare Moon shot a beam of dark energy at Celestia, who didn't have enough time to dodge the surprise attack. Celestia flew backwards and slammed against the wall, causing dust to cover the immediate area. Celestia stumbled out of the dust cloud and regained her composure. Nightmare Moon charged towards Celestia horn first ready to impale her against the wall. Celestia quickly jumped out of the way, landing on her side; causing something small to fall from underneath her wing. She quickly stood back up. "I do NOT want to fight you Luna!" she shouted. Nightmare Moon charged a large ball of energy on the tip of her horn, which then shot three large energy beams that homed in on Celestia. Celestia quickly dashed and took to the sky. She flew around the room trying to avoid the spell beams, but to no avail; they kept following her. After several close calls, Celestia flew up towards the ceiling. One of the beams swooped low towards the floor and swung up towards Celestia. At the last possible second, Celestia dodged the beam which then collided into the ceiling; blowing a massive hole in the ceiling. Celestia flew through the hole, followed by the other two beams. Celestia flew around the castle, under large stone bridges, even up into the clouds to try and lose the beams, but no matter what she tried, the beams matched her move for move and slowly crept closer and closer. She finally did a quick loop; Celestia was able to turn on a dime, however the beams had to turn in a wide arch. This bought her several more seconds. Celestia shot towards the ground and glided a few feet above it; by now, the beams had already swooped down and were quickly gaining on her. The citizens, who were unaware of what was happening in the castle, quickly jumped and dashed out of Celestia's way. She flew straight towards a fountain and quickly flew around it; one of the beams followed her around the obstacle, but the other collided into it, instantly disintegrating the fountain and shooting a stream of water high into the sky. She doubled-back towards the castle, hoping to get her last follower to collide into something else. Unfortunately, she didn't notice Nightmare Moon standing just outside of the doors to her throne room; before Celestia could find something, Nightmare Moon shot a small beam from her horn. It quickly flew through the sky towards Celestia; Celestia didn't notice it until it was too late. The small beam made contact and sent her muscles into an uncontrollable spasm as strong, electric currents traveled throughout her body. Celestia plummeted towards the castle and into the throne room, she finally slid to a stop in a corner of the room with the last beam quickly approaching. Still unable to control her body, Celestia could only watch as the last beam flew through the open door straight towards her. She braced herself and closed her eyes; only to hear small hoof steps quickly approaching her. Out of nowhere, Starswirl ran over towards Celestia and stood between her and the beam. At the last second, Starswirl back-hoofed the beam which sent it flying through the hole, towards the night sky. He then turned towards Nightmare Moon. "Luna! Stop this insanity!" Nightmare Moon stared at Starswirl with a shocked, angry expression on her face, "I can honestly say, Starswirl this is a complete surprise...I didn't expect YOU of all ponies to become a traitor." "I am not the traitor, Luna. You are! By allowing your bitterness and jealousy to overtake you; you have betrayed your friends, your family, and even yourself!" Nightmare Moon shot another beam of energy directly at Starswirl, who absorbed the blast with his horn. "Look at yourself Luna!" he said. "Is this what you want!? You have become a twisted version of yourself! You have become a nightmare!" A furious Nightmare Moon then spread out her wings; without warning, a swarm of bats made out of pure shadow flew over towards Starswirl and started swirling around him, lifting him into the air. Celestia could only watch as more and more bats flew around Starswirl until he could no longer be seen. Suddenly, the bats dispersed and disappeared. The only thing that remained of Starswirl was his wizard hat and cloak, which glided to the floor. Celestia stared at his cloak and hat in horror, then looked up to see Nightmare Moon slowly walking towards her with an evil smile. "Luna!" a familiar voice shouted from behind Nightmare Moon. She turned in shock to see Starswirl, wearing his traditional garb, walking out from the shadows. "Think about what you are doing Luna! You just tried to kill me even though I have done nothing wrong!" "I am going to do a LOT more than kill you now!" Nightmare Moon shouted. "It's going to be harder than you think," said another voice to her left. Nightmare Moon looked to see another Starswirl walk out of the shadows. "Wha...but-but how?" "Come on Luna," said a third Starswirl walking into the room. "Surely you remember Basic Illusion Spells 101." As he was speaking, three more Starswirls entered into the room. Nightmare Moon laughed, "yes I do. I also know that in order to split yourself this many times, makes the real one extremely weak in power. All I have to do is find the right one." Without warning, the six Starswirls jumped Nightmare Moon; creating a dust cloud. Celestia tried to get to her hooves and help, but her legs gave out from under her. Before she hit the ground however, she was caught by somepony; she looked to see that it was Starswirl, the real one. "Hello princess," he said as he put one of her legs around his shoulders. "We are getting out of here." "No...I-I can't leave...must help....Luna." "We will your majesty. I have a plan, but we-" Starswirl was interrupted by one of his clones flying out of the dust cloud and slamming against a wall. After it hit the ground, it vanished in a cloud of white smoke. "We have to go now!" Before Celestia could protest, Starswirl's horn glowed brightly and the two teleported away. Starswirl's clones instantly vanished and Nightmare Moon was left alone. She looked around and shouted in frustration when she saw the Celestia had escaped. As she was walking towards the door, she stepped on something that caused her to stumble. She looked down and saw Princess Galaxia staring back up at her with a gentle smile. Celestia probably dropped her at some point during the fight. Nightmare Moon stared at Galaxia as she held her in her hoof. After a few minutes, she narrowed her eyes as tears started to form. Nightmare Moon became angry again and quickly made her way outside. When she was out, she took aim and threw Galaxia as hard as she could; Galaxia flew through the air and, from Nightmare Moon's perspective, landed inside what looked like a smoking chimney. "Good riddance," she said as she walked back inside and slammed the doors shut behind her. * * * * Luna pushed the main doors open and was instantly hit with a sharp wind that blew out her torch; the snow storm had become stronger since the last she was out. She took a few steps back, brought her hoof to her mouth and let out a sharp, high-pitched whistle. Instantly, small bats flew out from the shadows of the castle and swarmed Luna. One by one, they attached to each other and morphed back into her cloak. When they were finished, Luna pulled the hood over her head and walked outside into the main courtyard. Her hardest memory was just ahead. * * * * It has been several days since Nightmare Moon last slept, and exhaustion was starting to take it's tole on her body; dark circles were under her heavy eyes and her breathing was long, and wheezy. Since the fight with Celestia, everything in the city has changed. Just as Celestia said, Nightmare Moon's  never ending night has already started taking its tole on the environment; vegetation has started to wither and freeze in the ever growing colder nights, and the city's food rations have started to dwindle. Her once faithful-unto-death guards now serve only out of fear. Her subjects, those who didn't flee the city after the fight, hide in their homes mourning for their lost Princess of the Night. Nightmare Moon was just about to fall asleep on her throne when Celestia walked through the front door with a stern look on her face and her wings closed. "It's about time you showed up," Nightmare Moon said with a chuckle. "I was getting bored." Celestia didn't answer. "Not talking this time hm?" No answer. "Fine then," Nightmare Moon said as she stood up. "Let's begin." Quick as lightning, she suddenly lunged at Celestia. Celestia retaliated by shooting a beam of light at Nightmare Moon; it hit it's mark and sent Nightmare Moon flying backwards and crashing onto her throne. Nightmare Moon quickly got back up shot a beam of dark energy of Celestia. Celestia aimed her horn at the beam; when it made contact, the beam split in two, hitting the side walls. After it had past, Celestia looked up to see Nightmare Moon flying through the air at her. Nightmare Moon tackled Celestia so hard, that the two tumbled out of the throne room, down the steps and into the main courtyard. Celestia slid several feet away from Nightmare Moon. The two hit the ground hard, but they quickly got back up and simultaneously charged their horns and shot another beam at each other; the two beams met and collided with tremendous force, making a sphere of energy in the middle. The two Alicorns put all of their strength into their magic; slowly, the two started walking towards each other while still casting, the force from the sphere caused the ground to shake and crack. The closer they got, the harder it was to move and cast their magic. Eventually, the two were inside the sphere, mere inches from each other; they put their forehooves on each other's shoulders as they forced their horns closer and closer, neither of them yielding to the other. Finally, the two horns touched; just the small tip, but that was enough to make the sphere explode and send the two flying in opposite ways. The two dazed Alicorns slowly got up. Nightmare Moon spread her wings and her eyes glowed white as her horn lit up. Instantly, all of the shadows in the immediate area detached themselves from their homes and slid to Nightmare Moon; a large ball of dark energy slowly grew on Nightmare Moon's horn. Celestia reacted by unfolding her wings; when she did, six gems floated out from underneath them: one red, one orange, one green, one blue, one pink, and one purple, all of them having six sides. The gems spun as they slowly circled Celestia's body. Nightmare Moon suddenly shot a massive beam of dark energy at Celestia; Celestia took a defensive stance and levitated the gems in front of her. The gems quickly bunched together, then separated into a unique star-like pattern, with the purple gem being in the center. Instantly, a golden shield surrounded Celestia which absorbed the beam. After the shield vanished, the gems went back to their 'dance' around Celestia, who by now had charged her horn and shot another beam of light, which made contact on Nightmare Moon. Nightmare Moon screamed in agony as the intense light burned her flesh. She shook it off and prepared for another attack. Before she could shoot another blast however, Celestia's horn flashed with an incredible light; temporary blinding Nightmare Moon. Nightmare Moon shouted and held her head in agony; blinking multiple times trying to regain her sight, meanwhile Celestia  was charging her horn as the gems spun around her body faster and faster. In a matter of seconds, a rainbow ring spun around Celestia. "I'm so sorry Luna..." she whispered as a tear sneaked out of one of her closed eyes. Suddenly, Celestia's body shined like a star as a rainbow beam shot straight into the sky and gathered into a white sphere of light. A split second later, a rainbow spiral shot out of the sphere and spun towards Nightmare Moon. Nightmare Moon was able to fully gain her sight just long enough to see the spiral zooming towards her; she instantly found herself surrounded in a rainbow tornado and being lifted in the air. She quickly found it hard to breath as a sphere of light formed around her and started to close in on her. Nightmare Moon thrashed her legs trying to get free, but the sphere ignored her struggling and continued to get smaller and smaller. Celestia finally opened her eyes to reveal that they were white and shining. As if on command, the sphere shot up into the sky towards the moon. That was the last thing Luna remembered. * * * * Luna lay where she stood as Nightmare Moon 1,000 years ago; tear drops could be seen sliding down her face and disappearing into the snow. The idea that she should just lay where she was and let the snow bury her popped into her head, but was quickly shot down. After a few minutes, she stood up and made her way down the main road. Reflecting on the events after her banishment. According to Celestia, a few hours after her banishment, Celestia had ordered everypony to move out of the city because one, managing two kingdoms at once is too much for a princess; and second, there was nothing left in Winter Solstice except heartache and bad memories. Celestia gave the citizens three days to move out. On the third day, Celestia and her guards did one final check of the city to make sure everypony had left. When they had exited, the gate closed shut behind her for the last time. Luna fought with the wind as she walked back towards The Pony's Pub. She would've missed it completely if it wasn't for the pub's sign that she ran into. She walked in to find the fire still lit, and her two guards still sitting by it; except they were asleep, propped up against each other's backs. Luna cleared her throat which caused the guard facing her to slowly open his eyes. "Ah! Oh! Luna!" He said as he scrambled to get up. The sudden movement made his comrade fall flat on his back. "Why the hay did you get up like that you-" he started to say but then stopped when he saw Luna.  "-Princess Luna!" he too scrambled to stand up at attention but slipped slightly on the ice. Luna couldn't help but laugh lightly at her two guards. "Ready to leave?" she asked. "Whenever you are ma'am," the left guard said. "Then let's go," she said as she made a bucket of water appear. The right guard took it and extinguished the fire as the other guard and Luna walked out of the building. "You're highness," the guard asked. "Are you alright?" Luna looked at the guard and smiled, "yes I am." -Luna sighed- "I'll be just fine." The guard nodded with a smile as the other guard joined them. The three then made their way back to the chariot. As the chariot took off, Luna looked back to see Winter Solstice slowly disappearing into the distance. The last thing she saw of the city was the top of the castle dip below the horizon. "Princess Luna," one of the guards called back. "Before I lit the fire, I found something in the fireplace that seemed interesting. I thought you might know what it is. It's in that small chest." Luna looked down to see a little blue lockbox sitting safely in the back of the chariot. She opened it and gasped. There, staring at her with black button eyes and a gentle smile stitched into its mouth was Princess Galaxia. The poor doll had seen better days; one of her button eyes was dangling by a thread. It was water logged, partially frozen and had several holes in it; however it was nothing a little TLC couldn't fix. Tears of joy came to Luna's eyes as she looked at one of her most cherished possessions. She held Galaxia to her chest with her hoof and hugged her very tightly, slowly rocking from side to side. She stayed that way for most of the trip. Canterlot was coming into view when Luna finally looked up. "Are we heading back to Canterlot?" Luna asked the guards. "Yes ma'am. Is that alright?" "Actually, change course. Take me to Ponyville please. It's Nightmare Night there correct?" "Yes ma'am." "Alright, let's go there," she said as she put Galaxia back in the lockbox. The chariot shifted and turned towards Ponyville as Luna made a quill and parchment appear in front of her. She wrote a quick message, and made it disappear. Within fifteen minutes, Ponyville became visible on the horizon. "Time to put the past behind me," Luna thought. "What's done is done, and I cannot change that. I suppose the only thing now is to learn from the past, and mend what relationships I can." Luna looked over the side of the chariot as it flew over the Everfree Forest. It looked as though a small crowd of ponies were standing beside a statue. "I just hope the citizens of Ponyville agree with me." The chariot suddenly dipped and descended towards the ground near Town Hall. "Hmmm, I wonder, do ponies still use the Canterlot Royal Voice and talk in the third person nowadays? Oh well, we'll try it and see how it goes."