Chapter 9
I did a lot over the course of the next year. I helped the Princesses out with quite a few problems. I made a spell for the royal guard that caused their armor to make them all look the same, so as to protect their identities. I worked with Starswirl on his many and varied ideas, including one to “send you back in time”. I didn’t think that one would work, but he refused to give up, working on it by himself. I even helped to cut back crime in some of the smaller cities.
The whole time, the Doctor stayed close to me, always there help when I had a panic attack. The frequency of the attacks decreased, and I was able to calm down enough to leave the castle. Luna and I would often go for walks along the edge of the city. Sometimes, Blue or May would join us, or even Celestia when she had the time. Luna and I grew closer together, but I still couldn’t tell her… that.
I often wondered why the Doctor had told me his name. Whenever I had a panic attack, he’d hold me and break down too, but I still didn’t know why. I didn’t forget his name, and I didn’t tell anyone that he had told me. I didn’t understand why he’d told it to me, the Doctor never told anyone his name.
I noticed something strange. Luna had been fine when I’d gotten back, but she’d gradually grown more and more irritable. When I asked her what was wrong, she refused to answer, and acted like everything was fine. I dropped it, but I didn’t forget.
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Celestia and I were in the throne room, talking about Starswirl’s latest comical attempt at time travel. He’d managed, not to jump through time, but through the wall of his room, and had ended up having to teleport to safety to avoid dropping off of a cliff. Safety, it turned out, was right on top of the Captain of the Royal Guard. The ensuing argument had been hilarious, and we were still suffering from minor giggling fits. During one of these, I heard the sound of a door slamming. We stopped laughing, listening. It had come from behind the thrones. I turned to see Luna emerging from behind hers, looking angry.
“Luna?” I said, starting towards her.
“Not another step!” she said.
I stopped and drew back slightly, surprised by her angry tone. “What is it?”
She ignored me and turned her gaze on Celestia. “Did you really expect me to sit idly by while they all basked in your precious light?”
“What are you talking about?” I said. “Basking? What?”
“There can only be one princess in Equestria!” she yelled, walking up on to the balcony between the two thrones. “And that princess will be ME!”
She smashed the balcony’s front, her eyes glowing bright white with power. Behind her, cracks spread up the wall, followed by a dark shadow. The window above the thrones burst open, and the sun shone through, blindingly bright. Below it, the moon appeared, dark and threatening, and covered the sun. The stars appeared in the sky, and darkness streamed from the fiery moon, surrounding Luna in a dark sphere. I backed away, but Celestia stood her ground. The sphere glowed from within, and the darkness gave way to an orange light.
The light faded, and Luna emerged. But she was different. She was now as tall as Celestia, and her coat had become as black as the night sky. She opened her eyes, which were had slit-pupils, like a cat’s. They were no longer kind, but cold and hard. She laughed, pointed teeth flashing. It wasn’t her soft, kind laugh, but a merciless and elated laugh.
She blasted the ceiling, dislodging large chunks of the stone ceiling. I jumped out of the way of a large falling piece, landing at Celestia’s hooves. She glanced down at me, then back at Luna. She emerged from the dust clouds, the stars shining through what had been the roof. Celestia took off, her wings stirring up the dust. Luna unleashed a magical blast at Celestia, who dodged and returned to the ground. I jumped between them.
“Luna!” I yelled. “What are you doing?!”
“Luna!” said Celestia. “I will not fight you! You must lower the moon, it is your duty!”
“Luna?” Luna said. “I am Nightmare Moon.” My heart began to crack in my chest. Why was she doing this? Why?
“I have but one royal duty now.” she continued. “To destroy you!”
She unleashed a blast at Celestia, who took off. I dodged to the side, avoiding the magical bolt. Celestia flew out through the hole in the ceiling.
“And where do you think you are going?” said Nightmare Moon.
I watched as she took off in pursuit of her sister. From outside, I heard the sound of magical chaos, and saw flashes of light arc across the sky. Then above me, Celestia shrieked in pain as one of the blasts made contact with her, blasting her from the sky. She landed in front of me, and I ran forward, as above us, Nightmare Moon cackled with glee. Celestia lay on the ground, unmoving. Then slowly, she stood, looking up at Nightmare Moon.
“Oh dear sister,” she said, “I am sorry, but you have given me no choice!” She looked over her shoulder at a spot on the floor.
“Celestia?” I asked. “What do you mean?”
“Polaris.” she said, turning to me. “I need you to help me. Please.”
“With what?” The look on her face scared me. I’d never seen Celestia look like this. I looked back at Nightmare M- no! Luna! It was Luna! Tears welled in my eyes, my heart aching. “What’s wrong with Luna?”
“You heard her. She is not Luna. She is Nightmare Moon. I must protect the ponies of Equestria.”
“What are you going to do?” I asked, scared now.
“Do you know what the Elements of Harmony are?”
“Yes. Why?”
“They will only work if more than one pony helps to use them. I cannot do this myself.”
“Do what?”
“I must send her away. She is too dangerous.”
“Send her away? Where?”
“That does not matter.” she said, angry. “Will you help me?”
I hesitated, and then a loud crash sounded, and I whirled around. Nigh- no! Luna! Luna had landed in front of us.
“Luna!” I cried, tears now starting to fall freely. “Stop this! Please!”
“And why should I do that?” she demanded. “What’s to stop me from ruling?”
“Luna…” I hesitated, then forced myself to talk. “Luna… please, stop. I… I love you.” The words came out at last. I cried silently, watching her, begging her to stop.
“Well, that’s just too bad!” she declared. “Because I don’t love you! You are just as bad as the rest of them, so in love with her light!”
She lashed out at me. Her dark mane slashed at me, sending shards of darkness whipping through the air at me. I couldn’t react quickly enough, and they struck me in the chest. I staggered, gasping as burning and freezing sensations ran through me, tearing at my nerves. I started to fall, but Celestia caught me and laid me down gently.
“Sister?!” she exclaimed, as the fire burned through my heart, tearing it apart. She tried to help me, but the pain only seared hotter and colder. I gasped, unable to even muster the energy for a good scream. She stopped immediately, and turned to face her sister.
“What have you done?!” she demanded.
“I have attended to one of the insignificant threats.” she said, advancing on Celestia. “And now for the other one.”
Celestia’s horn glowed, and behind her, a large section of the floor slid away, and a stone pedestal rose out of the ground. Though my body blazed with pain, I was still able to see. Five arms extended from the pedestal. Hovering above each, turning slowly in the air, were five crystals, each a different color. Celestia flew to the top, and the five crystals whisked through the air, circling her. From the top of the pedestal, a sixth crystal emerged, carved in the shape of a six pointed star. It joined the others, and Celestia descended to the ground.
The two of them faced each other, Luna grinning evilly, completely confident, Celestia grim faced and determined. The two of them blasted each other with beams of magic. Luna’s glowed icy blue, and Celestia’s a prismatic display. Luna’s magic pushed back Celestia’s, who was forced backward slowly.
I made up my mind. I forced myself upright, tears of pain pouring down my face. I walked slowly to Celestia’s side, and stepped inside the circle of crystals. I turned to face Luna.
“Please.” I said. “Don’t… don’t make me.”
She flashed her pointed teeth at me. “Go ahead, I don’t care.”
I lowered my head, and channeled my magic into the crystals around Celestia and I. They glowed brighter, and began to spin faster. They lined up in front of us, and the five lesser gems flared, their light flowed into the star-shaped crystal. Celestia’s magic intensified, and now she forced Luna back. It over came her, surrounding her in bright white light. It flared, and a multi-colored comet blazed upward, flying into the sky, and impacting on the moon. On the moon, a dark formation appeared.
I watched for a moment, then I collapsed, the agony in my chest redoubling. This time, I managed to scream. I lay on the floor gasping, and Celestia stood over me, her eyes flying over me desperately. My vision faded slightly, darkness looming on the edges of my vision.
“I… I do not know what to do.” she said. “What do I do?”
Behind her, the Tardis began to materialize, light flashing, dull in my sight. When it solidified, the doors flew open, and the Doctor ran over to me. As he stood over me, he began to cry.
“I’m too late!” he sobbed, sitting down. “I’m too late!” He lifted me upright, holding me gently to him. He pulled away. I was barely breathing now, my heart was seizing up.
“I’m sorry!” he said. “I’m so sorry. There’s… there’s nothing I can do!”
I coughed, the pain of which made more tears come. But the Doctor froze, staring at me. Then he started to pull me onto his back.
“What are you doing?” asked Celestia.
“Saving his life.” he said, staggering on the uneven floor. “Help me!”
She gently lifted me with her magic, and started towards the doors of the throne room.
“No!” he shouted. He pointed at the Tardis. “In there!”
She paused, staring at the Doctor. His eyes were full of desperate rage, his teeth clenched. She hesitated, then did as he instructed. The pain had continued to escalate, and my vision was now almost gone. The Doctor followed her, and once I was in the Tardis, he turned to face her.
“I’m sorry.” He said softly. “You won’t… you won’t… see Polaris again.”
“What?” she said. “Doctor?”
The Tardis doors closed in her face, and the Doctor ran to the controls. From outside, I could barely hear her as she yelled for him to open the doors. The Tardis took off, and this time, the sound of the engines wasn’t like a lullaby. Instead, was telling me to stay awake, to hold on. The pain began to fade. When it was almost gone, I staggered upright. Around me, a faint, glowing golden aura was starting to form.
“Doctor?” I asked, terrified. “Doctor, what’s happening?” He stopped moving, then slowly turned to face me. A wave of pain flowed through my body, making me stagger, grimacing.
“I’m sorry.” he said. He walked over to me, and reached into the pocket dimension of my collar, which had somehow miraculously survived. He pulled out the sonic screwdriver, and handed it to me. “Hold onto this, and don’t let go.”
I stared at him. He was scaring me, more than anything I’d ever seen while I’d travelled with him. “Doctor?”
The Tardis landed with a definite thud. I collapsed, as another wave of pain ran through me. The Doctor caught me, and held me to him again. I could feel his tears running down my back. The Doctor again whispered his name in my ear. I finally understood. He really, truly trusted me. I went limp in his arms as the pain again intensified.
He picked me up gently, and carried me out the doors. We were in a forest, one far calmer than the Everfree. Above us, the stars and moon shone softly. He stopped walking once we were a small distance from the Tardis, then set me down gently. He was still crying. He turned, away from me, and started to walk back to the Tardis.
“Doctor?” I called. “Doctor?! W-Where are you going?”
He continued to walk, and I called out more desperately. “Doctor! Please, don’t leave me!” The Doctor stopped at the Tardis, and looked back at me, his face tearstained.
“I’ll be back!” he said. “I promise!” He whispered something I couldn't hear, then he stepped inside.
I whispered, “Please.” But the Tardis left, its light flashing softly.
Another wave of pain assaulted me, and I gasped, shuddering. I forced myself to stand up. My breathing sped up, my heart racing, the pain intensified, then disappeared. The golden aura was now thick around me, flowing off of my body. I shuddered, then I breathed in sharply. My entire body was on fire! The tongues of flame raced through me, more painful than anything I’d ever experienced. They raged in a way indescribable, burning through every cell in my body. In my hoof, the sonic screwdriver had activated, the sound resonating through my body. As I stared up at the stars, twinkling above me, I cried. Then I yelled loudly as the pain reached its peak, then stopped. I shuddered, gasping for breath. I collapsed slowly to the ground. In the silence, I could hear my own heart. But something was wrong. Instead of the usual one-two, one-two, I heard something else.
One-two-three-four. One-two-three-four. One-two-three-four.
All went black.