Luna’s eyes shot open. “No, not Luna. Nightmare Moon” a voice inside her corrected. She moved herself from the comfortable bed and looked in the full-length mirror. Her appearance had changed and she was nearly a head taller than most ponies now, her pupils had even taken on a catlike slit. Instead of her normal purple color, her coat was now an abyssal black. Her cutie mark had remained the same shape, but now instead of black surrounding it there was a dark purple splotch. Her mane had become spectral, floating weightlessly.
“A fitting form for my new Queen,” Sombra spoke, entering the room while admiring her new shape. “I trust Luna is gone?”
“Yes, Luna is no more.” Nightmare moon smirked to herself. “But your plan is unfitting. You would have me as your queen? A trophy?”
“Not a trophy, an equal,” Sombra quickly corrected her.
Nightmare moon’s eyes glowed out in anger. “And you think yourself my equal?”
Sombra’s expression changed to one of annoyance. “I created you! Allowed you to reach your full potential! You will give me the respect I deserve!” He used his magic to place a stinging blow across her face.
“You will regret that, fool!” Nightmare Moon charged towards Sombra, horn aimed at his heart. Sombra stood there, unmoving. Right before she hit her mark, he dissipated into shadow.
“Calm yourself my Moon, there is no use for such fury.”
“You dare claim me?” She yelled back, eyes aglow with a dark energy. “I can sense my magic is more powerful than yours.”
“You are rash, and your senses are poor; there is no way you could face a master of darkness so soon after rebirth.”
“Are you so sure?” Nightmare moon released a blast that moved too quickly for even Sombra to dodge. His cape disintegrated from the purposefully aimed attack.
“I will destroy you if I must, but I would prefer compliance,” Sombra stated.
“I’d like to see you try,” she responded with a challenging glare.
Sombra released a huge sphere of energy, the same kind that had partially numbed her when she was Luna. One of this size would knock her flat. Knowing this she shot up a magical barrier, straining against the force briefly before it dissipated, the building giving a slight shudder as the powers in use rocked the very foundations.
Her horn glowed translucent purple as she used dark magic even stronger than what Luna could have ever hoped to wield, for all good within her had been stripped away by the transformation. A force took direct hold of Sombra, pulling him off the ground. She smashed his form against the wall, treating him like nothing more than a rag doll. He fought against her control, eventually breaking it. He fell to the ground battered, but quickly recovered himself, using his stores of dark energy to heal his broken ribs.
Nightmare Moon followed up with a destructive energy blast that he also deflected, blowing a hole in the floor. Nightmare Moon wasn’t going to back down and rushed him once again; he countered her charge, jumping over the hole in the ground. As she swiftly approached Sombra, she let out an energy blast at his feet, causing him to stumble. As he fell forward, she caught his circlet crown and tore it off with her horn, throwing it aside. She then grappled with him, forcing him into the hole in the floor.
As she watched him plummet, she formed a light purple, almost blue helmet for herself. It was elegantly crafted and matched perfectly with the chest guard and hoof and shin guards she also made. Her spectral mane flowed uninterrupted through a slit in the helmet, and a white moon was emblazoned on her chest guard.
Sombra dissipated in a plume of darkness as he struck the floor, she gently glided down to the same grand hall that Luna had fought him in. Sombra reformed, wiping a small amount of blood from his lips.
“I had hoped to not have to do this again.” Sombra began to force his consciousness on her.
She welcomed the intrusion, grabbing at his mind and stabbing mental daggers into it. Sombra writhed in pain, but was unable to retreat from her surprising power. As she continued her assault on his mind, she concentrated on moving towards him, slowly shuffling forward towards his unmoving body.
She now controlled his limbs, as he could do nothing to move away. Her hoof tore away his chest armor and she started to prepare an attack. She became slightly too distracted, and he was able to pull his mind away from her grasp. Sombra stumbled back, shaking his head to clear it.
Nightmare Moon augmented her physical strength with magic and advanced on Sombra, dealing a massive blow to his now unarmored chest area. He gasped out as he stumbled back a few feet, forced to use magic to heal his wounds yet again, this time only managing to heal some of his injuries. His powers were failing him.
He shouted up into the air, “We had a deal! Why have my powers faded?” He received no answer from the demon with whom he had made a deal with so many years before.
“Gah! I still have enough. I must,” he growled out in anger, throwing a powerful blast towards Nightmare Moon, striking her directly. She staggered under the force. He sent another, and another, and another. Relentlessly hammering at her with magic. She was forced to the floor as the building shook around them, a crater forming around her. After the merciless pounding, she lay inside a deep circular impression on the floor, Sombra panting from the exertion. He stood over her and smirked, surely he had won.
Nightmare Moon’s eyes shot open and the invisible barrier she had formed to protect herself shattered away, flying at him and causing numerous lacerations. He squeezed an eye shut in pain after one of the shards slid across it. Nightmare collected the shards, sending them back his way again, forcing him to send a ball of energy towards them to remove them from use.
Sombra turned into shadow, disappearing. Nightmare scanned the room, unable to locate him quickly enough. His dark shape reformed above her as he dropped his weight onto her spine. She gave a wince and blasted him away blindly. As he struck against the wall, she stretched her back out, smirking at how little his attack had done.
She turned around and smote him with her strongest attack so far. He was forced to dissipate as her power tore through him entirely. He formed a dark cloud nearby and she wheeled, preparing another attack.
“Stop! I submit!” he cried out.
He attempted to retake physical form but was unable, having lost too much of his body to the last attack. “You have bested me, please allow me time to regain my energy and physical form.”
“No, Sombra. Today your rule ends. I will not have you, even as a pet. I hereby banish you to the void just as you did to your entire people.”
“You don’t have the strength. You couldn’t possibly...”
Nightmare Moon held his essence in place as she began to focus all her energy into opening a rift to force him through. The building shuddered violently as it opened, pulling any loose items inside. “I believe you have some time to spend in hell!” she yelled out, throwing him in.
“If this is my end you’re coming with me!” Sombra cried out using the last of his magic in an attempt to drag Nightmare and his kingdom along with him into the darkness.
Nightmare had used too much power tearing a hole into the void, and Sombra’s last-ditch effort now threatened her very existence. Nightmare moon now had to fight against both herself getting forced into the void and the whole Kingdom.
~~
The Doctor and Luna
~
Blast after blast shook the castle, bits of the ceiling crumbling downward in dusty motes. The Doctor’s eyes snapped open, searching the immediate room. There were no guards to be seen so he pulled out his Sonic Screwdriver and tried it out on the door. The hum of the Sonic woke Celestia from her sleep. She watched the Doctor as he found the right settings, the cell door springing open.
“That’s hardly fair! These doors are magically protected so even I couldn’t open them. Is there anything your device doesn’t work on?”
“Wood, deadlock seals. Works on most everything else. Come on, let’s see what all the commotion is.” He sprung the latch on her cell with the Sonic Screwdriver and they both bolted up the staircase.
As they reached the top, they could feel the building violently shake, the air taking on an unusual chill. The sight they came on was surprising; Sombra was pulled into the rift that Luna summoned in the center of the chamber.
The sight that granted an even greater pause than the rift was the appearance of Luna. Despite the changes, she appeared to be struggling against some invisible force. The area near the rift seemed stretched, like it was cloth being pulled on.
“Luna?” Celestia asked, receiving a dark glance from the figure.
“Luna is gone, child. Nightmare Moon, the all powerful night, is to whom you speak now.”
“What have you done to her?” The Doctor demanded.
“She has given in to the darkness, I am her true self.” She smirked at the two before giving a grimace, fighting back against the forces pulling at her.
“I know my sister! She is not evil! Luna, hear me! Fight this!”
~
A small light sparked into existence in the back of Nightmare Moon’s mind, pushing aside the thick cloying dark—a memory of what she once was. Laughter reached across the mental barriers, memories of her sister, of their life together. It may not have been the best life, but it was surely better than one of darkness. Luna slowly gained ground, Nightmare Moon was too distracted by her efforts to fight back.
This wasn’t her. The moon was not darkness, it reflected a beauty and light all of its own. This Nightmare would end, and it was her time to return.
Nightmare’s voice echoed in her head, “You don’t have the power to save the Crystal Kingdom without me.”
“At what cost?” Luna retorted, seizing the last control from Nightmare Moon, sealing her deep away. “I will end the cycle of oppression here and now.”
Nightmare Moon’s voice had one last comment as it was forced into the deepest recesses of her mind. “You may have won for now, but you are not free from me.”
Luna could feel herself changing back to her regular size, her dark armor vanishing. The magic trying to pull her into the void, meant specifically for Nightmare Moon, ceased as well,
She collapsed in exhaustion as Celestia rushed to her side. The Tardis materialized over the sisters as the Doctor rushed over, entering to find them on its floor. He immediately began to activate the Tardis again, fleeing the area as it was pulled into the void.
~~
The whole Kingdom vanished in minutes, its populace watching in horror. The Doctor watched from a distance as the rift slammed shut. The whole crystal castle had been uprooted, leaving a crater in the ground. But the most perplexing part was the single monument that remained.
It never would have been noticed by normal means as it had been completely buried until recently. He moved them closer in the Tardis.
Luna shakily stood and walked the strange torn pathway to the stone dais along with Celestia, the Doctor trailing behind. Upon the pedestal lay four objects, each with inscriptions underneath. In order they read,
The Solar Bracer: Heavenly Sentinel.
The Dusk Armlet: Guardian of Knowledge.
The Greave of Night: Keeper of Dreams.
The Shackle of Dawn: Vanquisher of Darkness.
Underneath there was one final warning engraved in the stone.
Only those destined by fate shall wear these bands lest the power destroy them. No simple Pegasus, Unicorn, or Pony will do, only those uniquely gifted shall endure.
Celestia nodded to Luna, stretching her limb out over the dais. Luna did the same, stationing herself above the Greave of Night, somehow knowing the right choice. Celestia chose the Solar Bracer, lowering her limb downwards. As they both came close enough, their selected bands of power sprung to life, wrapping around their limbs, glowing with a foreign energy.
Luna was the first to collapse, her ordeal earlier making the burning pain nearly intolerable. She cried out as the raw energy seared through her form. Celestia kept her rigid stance, jaw clenched. It hurt dearly, yet it was part of something larger, she just knew. As wave after wave of stinging heat radiated from her, she could feel her form shifting.
The Doctor could not approach the stone dais, the energy that bled off was tremendous, all he could do was watch as the sisters battled the pain. Celestia’s form started to shift. Her pink mane shifting to the pastel colors of the rainbow before billowing itself out into a spectral cloud. Her body elongated as well, leaving her a head taller than the Doctor. Her horn had lengthened just as her wings had grown to compliment her new elegant form.
Luna transformed as well, her coat darkening, her mane turning a starry purple as it billowed out, seemingly weightless. She also took on a similar if not slightly smaller stature than her sister. Unlike her other transformation into Nightmare Moon, she did not gain the cat like appearance in her eyes, nor the completely black coat.
As their transformations completed, their bands of power faded from view, the powers having been absorbed. The two sisters looked to each other, jaws agape as they quickly forgot the pain they had just felt. Their eyes locked and Luna gave a nod, both of them thinking the same thing.
Celestia spoke up with strong resolve. “Doctor, we are ready. No matter the darkness we face, our strength of spirit shall overcome it.”
`
Nightmare Moon, trapped away in a dark recess of Luna’s mind, smirked. It was only a matter of time before she would take back what was hers.