//------------------------------// // Martyrdom // Story: Moon Fall // by 007Delta //------------------------------// Twilight spun helplessly through the air. She didn't have enough strength left in her wings to level herself out, as the rapid decent from the cloud had drained what little she had. Thanks to Twilight's recklessness, she had made the situation two times worse than it already was. How could she have been so foolish? The protégée of the princess, Celestia's most prized and trusted student had made an error so great, it would cost Twilight and possibly everyone around her their lives. She knew she wasn't capable of stopping her fatal plummet, her wings were far too tired and numb, not to mention she knew of no spell that could stop a fall this large, not that she could focus herself in time anyway. As she spiraled, she caught a glimpse of Celestia, who had already recovered, but failed to notice Twilight as she tumbled towards earth. She didn't see Discord, but she was sure the Draconeqqus had already warped to the ground by now. Twilight had been falling for what seemed like an eternity, but the howling roar of the air around her was a cruel reminder of how little time left she had left to live. She squinted tears out of her eyes as she screamed for her life. She could hardly make sense of the world as she spiraled through the air, but she could see the ground as she quickly drew close to it's inescapable grasp. She put her hooves over her head, expecting the hard, bloody impact that was soon to come, but when it failed to occur, she was left wondering. Instead, she saw the sky as she gently floated to the ground. She felt like she was being carried, but she was in such a panicked stupor, that it was hard to be sure. Twilight stared, dumbfounded, at the eclipse before her, noticing that the moon had grown to double it's normal size. She wasn't sure what that meant at the time, nor was she sure that it wasn't some sort of hallucination, brought upon by the liters of adrenaline that had been pumped into her veins. Perhaps this is what it felt like to die and transcend to heaven, after all she had been a good pony throughout her life. She slowly closed her eyes, and relaxed her body. -When she felt her back being dropped slightly against the ground. Twilight abruptly opened her eyes, only to see a grief stricken and panting teal Pegasus above her. "Rainbow Dash!" Twilight exclaimed loudly before jumping to her feet, only to topple over seconds later. Her head was spinning with dizziness as she tried to force herself to stay still. Dash used her two front hooves to steady the Alicorn in front of her. "What the hell happened up there?" asked Dash, who was obviously terrified. "Were you in that blast?" Twilight looked at Dash, her eyes slowly coming to a stop before she nodded her head and began to speak. "I screwed up, Dash". She stated, her ears flattening to her head. "Really badly," Dash's expression grew grim. "What did you do," she asked flatly, fear draining all the emotion out of her speech. "Twilight, Rainbow Dash!" Exclaimed a happy, pudding covered dragon as he ran toward the pair. "Oh, am I happy to see you two!" "Spike?" Said Twilight, recognizing the voice immediately. She turned her head away from Dash and sharply to the chocolate covered dragon. "Oh my sweet Celestia, Spike!" She began to gallop over to the sprinting chocolate blob, before tackling him in a big, pudding covered hug. "I saw you die! I saw Nightmare push you over, and I saw you fall. Why are you covered in pudding? How did you find me, how did you survive, and again, why are you covered in pudding?" Dash only stared in confusion at the baffling sight before her. Apparently, Twilight thought Spike was dead... But he wasn't, and now he's covered in pudding for some reason. "Me?". Announced Spike, "I thought you died! I saw the rubble, and I thought you were buried somewhere beneath it..." Spike broke the hug and stared up into Twilight's eyes. "I came here with Discord and Fluttershy to help with the battle,". Spike looked down, his guilty, green irises trained toward the ground. "Even though you told me not to," Dash's ears perked up, breaking her train of thought. "Fluttershy?" She called to Spike before she jumped over to the chocolate covered pair. "Where is she?" Dash inquired, a serious tone behind her words. Spike looked up at Dash, surprised by the question. "Uh, last I saw her she was at the foot of the mountain. I'm not sure wh-" Dash had already taken off, eager to clear her conscious before it was too late. "What's her deal?" Asked a bewildered purple dragon as he looked up at Twilight, "I'm not sure,". Said a befuddled Alicorn beside him. "It doesn't matter, we have to go Spike," "What?" "We... We have to get out of here." "Why!" Said Spike, obviously opposed to the idea. "We have to at least try to help Discord and Celestia," "We can't Spike, I may be an accomplished magician, maybe even more, but I couldn't wave my horn at the caliber of magic they are pulling off," Spike couldn't believe what he was hearing. "So you plan on running away? Twilight Sparkle, the esteemed mind and apprentice to friendship, is abandoning those who need her most?" suddenly Twilight's eye's narrowed as she became infuriated with Spike. "Because of me, Nightmare Moon is unstoppable! I accidentally gave her the Mindsmear Mixture, which makes you think incredibly clear, before it..." Twilight's face suddenly came to a realization. "Knocks you out," Twilight's entire demeanor changed. "Spike, that's it! She only has about 10 minutes before she'll be face first in the dirt! All we have to do is keep her at bay until she conks out!" Spike opened his mouth to begin talking, but the voice they heard didn't come from him. "Only ten, measly minutes?" Said the ominous pony behind them. Twilight knew who was speaking, and couldn't believe her ears. She slowly turned around, only to have her worst fears confirmed. There, standing behind her, was Nightmare Moon. Twilight's heart sank. "What..." She managed to utter out in a slow whisper. Nightmare Moon let out a slow chuckle. "No need to cower, Twilight Sparkle, I have come only to thank you." She cast a nasty glance at Spike. "However, your dragon might not survive my gratitude." Spike clenched his fists and glared at Nightmare, who only cast her gaze back to Twilight. "You lent a helping hoof during my time of need, so I felt it only appropriate to reciprocate." Twilight stared at her, eyes filled with a potpourri of emotions, ranging from sorrow to regret. "But first, you see, I must expedite a few plans of mine, on behalf of my imminent incapacitation. Take a look at the moon, Twilight Sparkle." The purple Alicorn grimly turned her head to the sky, before opening her eyes and taking in a shaky breath. The moon was huge, almost three times as big as it was normally. How could Twilight not have noticed? She had been staring down on that battle for so long, that it never occurred to her to look up. "As we speak, that beautiful, milky white pearl is hurtling through space at speeds that would boggle your mind. I wanted to truly appreciate the sight of the moon crashing into our earth, so I made the cursed boulder drop fast enough to reach the earth three hours after starting it's decent. Now that I have found out about my unfortunate ultimatum, I'm going to have to rush things a bit." Twilight turned to Nightmare in horror, who only smiled with a calm evil air about her, as she lit her horn black. Twilight stood up and began to use her magic. She couldn't sit idle while Nightmare talked of destroying the world, no matter how outgunned she may be. Twilight sent a bright purple magic missile hurtling from her horn, but it dissipated upon hitting the mare's black skin without leaving so much as a mark. Twilight desperately continued to fire her magical projectiles, only for each violent bolt to have the same useless effect. Nightmare Moon only smiled as her horn glowed a photon absorbing black. The world around her seemed to distort with the indescribable amount of power that was being focused through one being. Twilight's vision warped and wobbled, before there was an deafeningly loud blast, sending a pitch dark beam of energy to the moon. Twilight looked on in horror as the already falling chunk of rock lurched towards earth, it's figure growing larger and shaking violently as if it were vibrating. The white surface began to darken and smear, as the celestial object reacted with Nightmare's magic. "The moon will hit the earth in just 5 minutes, giving me enough time to take care of a few final business matters before watching that over glorified rock decimate this one" The evil black mare turned towards Twilight. "Now everyone on this planet will die, except for two lucky ponies." Nightmare Moon wrapped her wing around Twilight's shoulder and pulled the stupefied Alicorn to her side. "And my gift to you, for making all of this possible," Nightmare's horn sparked black. "Is your life." Suddenly, Twilight was encased in a transparent, magical bubble. She began to bang her hooves on the side of the container, but to no avail. "This pod will protect you from the impact of the moon. Before I succumb to the adverse effects of the potion, I too will encase myself in a pod like this. Once the planet has been destroyed by the lunar monstrosity that was my prison for 1000 years, I will reshape the broken pieces into a world more suitable for my tastes, and you will be the primary catalyst in all of it." Twilight tried to use her magic to break the bubble, but the inside neutralized her horn, sending a jolting burst of electricity down into her skull, causing her to collapse against the inside of the imprisoning orb. Nightmare Moon watched with a smile before turning to the small, purple figure, who watched helplessly as Twilight struggled inside of her spherical prison cell. "And as for you, little dragon," Spike said nothing, he only stared at the moon with a sad expression. "I cannot say that I don't admire your bravery. You are quite the remarkable little dragon for one so young, and though it is a shame that I must kill you so early on in your life, know that you will always be my favorite martyr." There was a black flash, and an infinitesimal beam of energy pierced the baby dragons chest, ripping past his scales and tearing through his flesh. He stumbled around for a few seconds, desperately trying to keep his hold on life, before he toppled to his side, his large green eyes completely still and lifeless. Nightmare Moon could hear Twilight's frantic crying as she witnessed her life companion die in front of her, while she could do nothing but watch helplessly. Normally, death made Nightmare Moon lustful and bloodthirsty, but the sheer misery that emanated from Twilight made her feel something she hadn't felt in a long time. Satisfaction. As Nightmare Moon watched each one of her plans succeed without interruption, she could only smile. This was her destiny. This was her purpose. She was destruction. She was death. When suddenly, the little purple dragon began to crawl towards Twilight. Nightmare looked on as the dying dragon spent his last modicum of energy, dragging himself along the dirt, before stopping to write something. Pink blood began to pool where he lay, as he shakily began to etch a few letters into the ground. He only managed to write, "Thank y" before he slumped over and lay completely still. Twilight hung her head low in the bubble, sobbing profusely as she read Spike's, final words. Nightmare simply began to laugh callously as the terrible sight before her took place, however Twilight was too far down in her own despair to pay her any mind. Nightmare Moon then turned around and took off. She wanted to find Celestia. She had a few words she wanted to share with the princess before she destroyed the very land she claimed to rule.