"Dear Celestia, if my head doesn't stop hurting My brain is going to do a sonic rainboom." Complained Rainbow Dash as she smoothly hovered in the air beside Trixie and Fluttershy. "How long have we been walking?"
"Three minutes," said Fluttershy with a small giggle. Even though she had nearly lost her friend this evening, she simply couldn't feel sad. Not only did she survive, but now Trixie seemed to be warming up to her. Fluttershy couldn't help but walk with a skip in her step. "It's so beautiful out tonight, isn't it girls? It makes me want to sing! Oh, but I wouldn't want to be too loud because of Dash's headache... Maybe I could hum!" She began humming to herself quietly.
Rainbow Dash looked over at Trixie. "How much longer do you think it will take?"
"Be patient Dash, we will arrive shor- Oow!" Trixie tripped and fell forward. "Gaah! My hoof!"
Fluttershy looked over. "Hmmmoh my gosh! Are you alright?"
Trixie's face showed pure annoyance. "Yes, the Great and Powerful Trixie is fine,". She stood up and hopped on three of her legs to the object she had fallen over on. "What in the name of Trixie? Is this what I think it is?"
The other two ponies crowded around the object, and were immediately shocked, and a bit grossed out. There in between them, sat a shining auriferous horseshoe. It was bent and covered in blood, and they all recognized who it rightfully belonged to. This horseshoe belonged to princess Celestia, and both Dash and Trixie couldn't figure out what it was doing here.
But Fluttershy knew. "Oh my goodness, I think I just figured out what happened!" She quickly turned to Trixie. "What colors were the in the rainboom?"
"There was no rainboom," chided Dash defensively.
Trixie looked at the rainbow maned pony with another face of irritation before she thought for a moment. "I believe it was a light blue, mint green, and a bright fuchsia."
Fluttershy began to hop up and down a little out of excitement. "Those are the same colors as Celestia's mane!" The other two ponies looked at her incredulously. "And when I went chasing after Rainbow Dash, I saw a silhouette of the pony that hit you, and something dropped from it as it fell. This is what it must have lost!"
Trixie still didn't look totally convinced. "Well that would explain the blood..."
Rainbow Dash butted in. "Then why wouldn't she have stopped? It's not like her to knock people out of the sky and ignore them." She rubbed her head gently as she talked. "It's more likely to be a robber who dropped some of his ill gotten loot! Like in "Daring Do and the Stable of Doom", when the evil Professor Trotswell stole the-"
"Um, Trixie's not so sure that's the case."
Rainbow Dash landed next to Fluttershy. "Well, Twilight's house is just up ahead, well ask her what she thinks." She turned away from the group.
"I still like my Daring Do idea better," muttered Rainbow Dash under her breath.
o.0.O== Meanwhile ==O.0.o
Luna was asleep once again, and like always, Nightmare Mare Moon was there to greet her.
But this time was very different. Instead of lambasting Luna for endless hours, she began to recite a quick and strange poem.
"Tick goes the clock, while the moon is still in lock,
the sun and night's sky will lose a friend over a talk.
Inch by subtle inch the future closes from atop
Not your sister or her friends will live to carry what I drop."
Nightmare moon looked at her with a satisfied grin, before she once again walked into the darkness of her mind. She felt the air rush around her, and she woke up gasping for air.
At first, Luna was a bit startled not see the familiar ceiling of her room, but as she looked up at her surroundings, she realized that she was in a hospital. The walls were a dull grey, and the ceiling was a boring white. The only thing to break the monotony of the colorless room was a large square window. There were a few newspapers on a stand next to her bed, and she tried to pick one up with her magic, but her horn sparked out and nearly caused her to lose consciousness once again.
She was bewildered. Luna hadn't regained any of her magical energy after collapsing in her sisters room, but she had barely used any at all. Where was it all going?
Luna's hair was still in it's natural form, which meant her body was completely deprived of magic, and she couldn't sustain her normal ethereal one. She kept thinking.
"Why have I stopped generating magic?" She pondered the question. Then she had a disturbing realization. "I have to be generating magic. But something is using it... Stealing it," she grimaced to herself. She didn't want to believe that Nightmare Moon could use her energy... But what if she could?
This would explain why she ran out of magic so quickly, and now, she was just a ticking time bomb. As soon as Nightmare Moon had enough energy, she could overtake Luna and reassume control.
Luna thought about what she should do in her predicament. The Elements of Harmony couldn't fix her, and it was only a matter of time before the dark side of Luna took over. The princess would have to make sure that Nightmare Moon was as far away from civilization as possible when it happened. That way she could give her sister whatever precious time she could to figure this whole mess out, which Luna knew she must have been doing.
She looked out of the window once more, and stood up. Though she was magically exhausted, she felt physically fine. She stepped out of her bed and checked the room. She had it all to herself, like she had expected, but there were two figures outside the door. Presumably guards posted to protect the princess. What they may not have realized is that it was they who would need protection from Luna.
Luna turned toward the window for the final time, before she opened her wings and glided gently to the ground. As soon as she had left the comfort of the hospital, she realized the air outside was frigid. From what she could tell, it was around 40 degrees Fahrenheit, which meant that she was pretty far north. Celestia must have sent her to the relief institution up in Vanhoover, which was a hospital reserved for royalty and the very apex of aristocracy.
In the distance, she could see the vast sprawling city that was Vanhoover, with the Frozen North being but a blur in the clouds beyond.
She paused for a moment as she considered her course of action. Did she really need to flee? Was it even the smartest thing to do? She pondered these thoughts for a very long while, before deciding that she would have to delay Nightmare Moon for as long as she could. No matter the cost.
She took flight in the soft light of nighttime and began to make her way to the icy wastelands beyond.
o.0.O== Meanwhile ==O.0.o
Trixie stood in front of the residence that belonged to her former nemesis. The large peaceful looking tree billowed softly in the wind, it's leaves singing like an arboreal choir, but Trixie only heard the ominous creaking as the trunk screamed at her to turn back. She dreaded getting dragged along this far.
She stared feebly at the hollowed oak while Rainbow Dash walked right to the door and turned around. She then knocked loudly on the door with her hind legs. "Twilight! It's Dash! Let me insiiiiide!"
Trixie looked at her like she was crazy. "Dash, be quiet! It's nighttime, some ponies are trying to go to sleep! You don't suppose your friend might be resting?"
Fluttershy sat next to the shocked purple clad mare. "It's OK, Twilight ought to be used to her doing this by now,"
Trixie turned toward her. "You mean to tell me she does this regularly?"
Fluttershy began to paw the ground. "Well, with the new Daring Do book coming out next month... 2 Or 3 times."
"A day?" Trixie responded incredulously,
"An hour". Fluttershy said softly. " Even more during the daytime,"
"C'mon Twi! This is gah!" She gripped her head in between her hooves before she continued her sentence. "Serious!!!" She banged with her hind feet a few more times, before the door swung open and revealed a tall white princess, standing over them with a stoic expression.
If it weren't for Rainbow Dash's quick reflexes, she would have kicked her leg out right at Celestia.
"Princess!" The three shouted in unison.
In her mind, Trixie wanted to scream. She knew coming to Twilight's was a bad idea, but it was her trademark vicissitude for it to get as worse as the world could make it.
"What," the Princess mumbled a bit impolitely as she forced a gentle smile to her face.
Rainbow dash was the first to speak. "Um, princess... We just wanted to see Twilight. Is she here?"
Celestia nodded. "She is, but what is your business?" She stated flatly.
"We just need to borrow some of her magical expertise, your highness,". Said Fluttershy quietly.
"She is occupied, however I am capable of fulfilling whatever magic you may require."
"You see princess, I was mysteriously swiped out of the sky,". Rainbow Dash paused for a reaction, but Celestia's face betrayed nothing. "Whatever hit me left a nasty cut in my head, but Trixie here was able to fix that." Celestia looked strangely at the royal blue unicorn. "But I still have this personality splitting headache from the impact, and I was wondering if you could help me with it".
The princess wasted no time in getting to work. A pure white beam erupted from Celestia's horn, and snaked it's way to the teal Pegasus. Within a few seconds, Dash's head began to clear of all pain.
"Aahhhhhhh,". She sighed dreamily as she fell to the ground. "Thank you princess, you have no idea how good I feel right now. It's almost like I never fe-". Rainbow Dash caught sight of Celestia's hooves from her spot on the ground. And just as Fluttershy had predicted, one of her back hooves was bare and slightly bruised.
"Princess, where is your other horseshoe?" Asked Rainbow Dash as she looked up at Celestia.
"Now is not the time for discussion, I will consult with you later,"
"I know where it is princess. Why are you avoiding the question?"
"Listen, there are more pressing matters in Equestria at this moment, and I require princess Twilight to stay, and for you to kindly leave. I'm sorry my little ponies,"
"No princess! I was nearly killed! By You! I deserve an answer, and I will not leave until I get one!"
"Rainbow Dash!" The princess was now using her Royal Canterlot Voice, point blank at the teal Pegasus. "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, and I'm not sure how long Luna will last before she turns back into Nightmare Moon!" All three of the smaller ponies stood before their princess in fright, before Celestia opened her eyes and realized that she had shouted her secret loud enough for all of Ponyville to hear it.
Fluttershy was cowering in the grass, and Trixie was flinching, trying her best to hide behind her purple attire. But Rainbow Dash looked shocked and on the verge of tears.
Celestia lowered her head and let out a long weary breath. "Well now you're aware of the issue. And if I'm lucky, so is Cloudsdale. I no longer see a point in keeping any of this from you, so I humbly invite you inside, should you wish to aid your princess in our situation."
All of the ponies were still shell shocked from the sheer stentorian bellow that exploded from Celestia, but Rainbow Dash was the first to recover.
"I'll help, just as long as you don't scream like that again,". Said Dash weakly, before Celestia stepped aside, and Rainbow Dash entered the house.
Celestia turned to Trixie with a face full of thought. "You had some bad blood with Twilight, am I correct?" Trixie lowered her head and nodded slowly. "I assumed so, Twilight could have filled a novel with all of the letters she wrote me about you."
Trixie turned her head away from the princess shamefully. "I'm is sorry for bothering you princess, I'll head home."
"Not so fast," interjected Celestia. "Perhaps this could be your chance to clear up any animosity between the two of you." Trixie turned back toward her. "I will not force you to aid us, but I strongly recommend you do."
Trixie was arguing with herself in her mind once again. One does not simply say no to the princess, and it's not like she had much to go back to. Ever since Twilight out-dueled her twice, her magic show had become the laughingstock of Equestria. Nopony would take her seriously, and as a result she had fallen into some treacherous financial ground. She slept in her traveling caravan for a while, but after a pack of Timberwolves ravaged the vehicle, she had been sleeping wherever she could find shelter.
She looked up at the princess before sighing and nodding her head. She walked inside slowly.
The only pony that was still standing outside was Fluttershy, and once she realized there was nopony left standing beside her, she galloped frantically into the house without paying any mind to Celestia.
Once inside, they found Twilight sitting in a table that had been set in the center of the library. The purple unicorn's eyes were wide, and her pupils were narrow. A cup of tea sat in front of her, but her hooves made no move to touch it. They instead lay on the table in front of her, shaking slightly. Spike was next to her, but he looked distraught. His claws had left grooves in the brown wood, and his face showed nothing but worry.
The three ponies took their seats around the table while Celestia paced around the room. There was a long silence that hung like lead between them, before Dash's voice broke the stiff air.
"So Luna is going to have to go back to the moon."
Everyone turned to her immediately.
"No," Celestia said evenly. "She won't be banished to the moon again, Nightmare is too strong for me to overcome."
Dash looked around strangely. "Are we just going to use the Elements? Zap her and then everything goes back to normal?"
Celestia turned toward Dash once again.
"Nope." She said quickly. "Elements won't work." She lifted them to the table with her magic and threw them roughly on the wood, causing sparks of all colors to shower over the sides. "They broke! Our ace in the hole is completely useless! Reduced to a few pieces of tasteless jewelry." She put her two front hooves on the table. "This fight can't be won like all the others. We need a plan, and quickly. There isn't enough time to mobilize the Canterlot Royal Guard, there isn't enough time to evacuate any of the major cities, and there certainly isn't enough time to prepare for a head on battle!"
Everyone in the room was a bit frightened by Celestia's violent demeanor. She was normally composed, level headed, and reasonable, but the severity of the situation simply left no time to be wasted.
"Our only option is to intercept Luna before she is overcome by Nightmare Moon, and... And,". Celestia's lip began trembling, as a singular tear fell to the library's wooden floor. "Then we have to take her life before Nightmare Moon can return."
The room fell silent once again. Everyone looked around sadly as the princess spoke of having to murder her own sister. "Right now, she is being hospitalized just south of Vanhoover, we will travel there tonight and finish the job."
No one had words to speak for what seemed like ages. They simply exchanged incredulously glances with each other, with the exception of Twilight and Spike.
Trixie looked at the princess. "Why does she have to die? Is there no other way?"
"I have known of her corruption for a long time. Discord had informed me long before the signs began showing, and even then I had my suspicions. I know for sure that Nightmare is gathering her energy, it's the only way she could break Luna's control."
Twilight suddenly sat up in her chair. "Princess, if you knew so early on, why have you chosen to do nothing up until now?" Her voice was shaky and disbelieving.
"I was afraid that Nightmare Moon held the power to simply kill her on command. If she thought that there was a chance of her retaking control of Luna, she would have kept her alive. But if she knew I was onto her, she could have cut her losses and simply killed Luna the moment she knew. But now I realize that she had no such powers, and that I have made the grave error of waiting for too long..."
She turned away for the group.
"Now it is no longer a matter of keeping her alive... It's a matter of landing the blow in time."
The entire room looked toward the floor sadly.
"We leave in thirty minutes. Pack warm, as we will be heading far north." She walked to Twilight's fireplace and lit a small ember. She then sat and stared with a melancholy expression into the small blooming flame.
Celestia's words echoed in everyone's mind as they tried to let the emotional speech sink in. Fluttershy was sobbing quietly as she thought of the innocent pony that would have to die. Suddenly, she didn't feel so keen on humming. Rainbow Dash cast her eyes on the golden necklace that represented loyalty. It sat like an overpriced rock on the cold wooden floor, simply staring back up at her. She didn't think that she could represent her element in a mission that involved killing a friend.
Trixie didn't believe why she had heard. She was sure it was all a horrible dream that she would wake up from in any moment. All of these horrors were just her questionably dark imagination, venting it's jealousy, hatred, and other unpleasant emotions in a fantasy as evil as it's protagonist. But she knew that there was no escape from this nightmare. There was no escape from life, unless she grew weary of it herself.
Twilight was the first to get out of her seat and walk upstairs. She gathered a small saddlebag and began to pack a few coats and other winter wear. It would be a cold night that far north, and she wouldn't want to be shivering when Celestia put to rest her own sister.
Twilight paced around her bedroom. She felt so sorry for Luna... After she returned from her banishment, they had gotten to know each other pretty well. Whenever she would find herself in the castle, Luna was always there to offer a helping hoof. She had aided her through some of the nuances of royal conduct, and even began to teach her the royal Canterlot voice. She didn't think she would be able to stand by and allow her friend to die.
The other's were just getting out of their seats before Twilight's front door burst open and a Royal guard came bolting into the house.
His armor was slightly askew, his eyes were wide, and his wings were slightly extended.
"Princess! Princess! Terrible news!"
Celestia jumped up from her perch on the floor
"Luna has gone missing! She disappeared from her room in the hospital!"
Celestia's mane billowed ominously as she stared into the guards eyes. It was a long time before she answered.
"I have once again made the error of waiting for too long."
The guard looked at her expectantly, silently awaiting orders.
"Do not send any search parties to look for her"
"What, but princess-"
"She will return... But not as Luna"
The guard paused before he closed the door and left.
Everyone looked at the princess. The only noise that could be heard in the library was the crackling of a fire that burned behind Celestia. Her mane began to droop and wilt towards the floor, as her head dipped in hopelessness.
"Now, we are truly out of options."