It's gorgeous sunny day in the land of Equestria. Song birds sing their beautiful songs, while a beautiful field of flowers sways back and forth in the soft afternoon breeze. Under the shade of a small tree, a pale pink alicorn mare with a pastel colored mane and tail sighs contentedly as a butterfly lands on the end of snout. She lies on a red plain picnic blanket. A gold tiara sits beside a small picnic basket with the remains of picnic lunch. The alicorn chuckles softly as the butterfly is scared away by the soft snoring coming from a dark blue unicorn horse with a crimson mane and tail. A single light pink strip runs all the way through his mane and tail.
"Justice!" the Alicorn calls softly trying to wake-up the sleeping unicorn horse who is her picnic companion. Slowly the eyelids open, looking back at the Alicorn with a yawn were the most beautiful light blue eyes.
"I am sorry Celestia did I fall asleep on you," Justice inquiries apologetically yawning once again, shaking his head to wake-up after his latest assignment from a noble.
"Don't say you're sorry Justice, I know what my nobles are doing to you, and they are trying their best to keep us apart. So this relationship I have started with you will fall apart and everything will go back to normal...but I am not going to let that happen by a long shot. You are best thing that happened to me, next to getting my little sister back." Celestia understands as she reaches her front hoof out and touches Justice's hoof with her.
"Thank you, my dear Celestia, but these assignment your nobles are sending me on are getting more and more dangerous, I feel that your nobles are not trying to keep us apart....But trying to kill me, so I can never come back to you" As Justice's voice quivers, placing his chin onto Celestia's shoulders as a single tear runs down his cheek. It splashes on her eternal mane causing it to quickly flash on contact.
"Surely you jest my beloved....granted my nobles are trying to keep us apart. But they are far from trying to kill one of my personal guard unit's members and especially trying to kill my solar guard commander. It means being punished severely for his death and no noble wants that," Celestia said diplomatically as it didn't reassure Justice of his feelings towards her nobles trying to kill him.
"But please explain, why do you think that Justice?" Celestia was wondering. A dark blue magic aura encased the gold tiara lying on the picnic blanket and floats it into the air; before he places it gently onto Celestia's head behind her horn.
"Like this latest assignment.....I was ordered to scout a forsaking part of Everfree Forest," Justice explains as Celestia gasps, tossing Justice off her shoulders. She got to her feet, tossing the gold tiara with her magic, onto the ground away from her as the gold tiara begins to rust and falls to dust
"What wrong with you Celestia?" Justice says puzzled as he moves towards her. Celestia charges her horn and fires a beam that impacts just in front of Justice's front hoofs.
"Please Justice; I beg you don't move toward me, I don't what to hurt you!" Celestia's voice quavers as Justice moves an inch. He met by more powerful beam that causes him to use the unicorn fail safe magic a wink.
"NO!" Shrieks Celestia as Justice appears in front of her. He touches her front gold horseshoe with his hoofs. She quickly takes to the air and kicks her front horseshoes off her hoofs. Before they even touch the ground, the horseshoes rust and fall to dust and are taken away by a breeze.
"Celestia, What's going on?" inquired Justice yelling as Celestia begins to weep,
"You are cursed my beloved...that place you scouted is called Darkmore. Long ago a foul unicorn pony cursed that place. Any pony who enter that place is cursed. Anything they touch, ages quickly and falls to dust. But my beloved, there is still hope as long as you didn't find Darkmore castle the heart of the curse," Celestia says hopefully as Justice lowers his head.
"I am sorry Celestia, but I did. It was part of my assignment to find the ancient castle ruins," breaks Justice's voice as Celestia dissolve into tears.
"Who ever gave you the assignment has broken us up in the most dreadful way. We can never be together," Celestia said sadly as tears splashed on the ground under her.
"WHAT! Never be together, you say? Tia you will never let that happen! Have you been lying to me all this time? Do you not love me like you say? Am I just a pony to help you? I was so blind to think that Princess could love commoner like me" Justice was pushed to edge of indignation turning his back toward Celestia.
"Justice! Please I do love you, my heart has never lied to you, I would never use your love like that, I'd rather be unloved than living a lie. I refuse to see you as a commoner. You are a pony, same as me, and yes a princess can love a pony like you, more than you think," Celestia said heartfelt as she lands and folds her wings onto her back.
"If you are telling the truth Celestia and you do love me, then please help me! Don't back away from me, I can't fight this on my own. I can feel something has changed, deep inside of me," Justice said worried and fearful as Celestia tears-up again.
"It's the first sign that a curse is taking hold of you!," Commented Celestia.
"What?," Exclaims Justice, puzzled
"When the curse takes over you completely, you will become a wraith pony....(a pony that feeds off the life force of any living being that crosses it path)....I can never die...I am willing to be endless supply for you, because I love you Justice," Celestia says lovingly as Justice's mouth tightens into a stubborn line.
"NO! Celestia! You will not become an endless supply for me!" Justice screams in exasperation at the thought of feeding off his princess, if he becames a wraith pony.
"What?" Says Celestia as her eyes widen with alarm.
"I have faithfully served you with honor and asked nothing in return. Now I must ask you, my beloved Celestia, to do something that might kill you. I want you to destroy me if I change into wraith pony. It will be better for Equestria and other ponies if I die. I don't want to become a hunter, I don't want to hurt my sun princess or moon princess or my family." Says justice in a lifeless monotone. He drops his head as tears soak his snout.
"What you are asking of me is impossible", Celestia says hurting as her eyes mist over,
"Impossible? Why? Do you want me to live like this, stealing the life forces of the ponies you swore to protect?....Change those ponies that I drain into wraith ponies themselves....If that's your reason, then you are not the princess I thought you were," Justice says coldly as he slowly begins to lose his substance. He transforms into black, vague pony-shaped clouds starting from the end of his tail traveling. Two glowing red eyes were looking back at Celestia. A menacing laugh escapes the dead lips of Celestia's former and beloved Solar guard Commander Justice Silverlight.
"Good bye, Justice,........." Celestia speaks softly as single tear runs down her cheek. Broken hearted, she fires her most powerful beam at the creature. It destroys the creature where it stood. With the painful deed done, Celestia allows herself to breakdown. This strong willed Alicorn princess becomes choked up with emotion, once again, being forced to stop someone she loved to save her ponies. But this time there's no way to get him back, like she did to get back her sister Luna.
“I am sorry Celestia” a hooded unicorn regretfully said watching the whole scene from the top of a small hill. As the scene ends, the unicorn drops his head and walks back down the other side of the hill out of the view of Princess Celestia.
“Is it done?” said a younger female voice, inquiry as a dark purple Alicorn mare with translucent bordered dark blue mane and tail lands in front of the hooded unicorn. A black tiara sits in her mane behind her horn. Around her neck she had a black collar with a white crescent moon mark on the front. Standing before him was Princess Luna Celestia’s little sister and co-ruler of Equestria.
“Yes, your highness. But at what cost? This was the second time she had to stop someone she loved to save her ponies. As much as I want to protect Equestria it doesn’t sit right with me. Not at all.” The hooded unicorn’s voice was as cold as death. The hood floats off his head, revealing the face of Solar guard commander Justice Silverlight. A wounded look was in his eyes.
“It shouldn’t sit right with you!....,” Princess Luna exclaims boldly
“Because you are a good pony and loyal to the Princesses and Equestria you have gained the Princess of night friendship. Not many ponies can say they are friends with Princess Luna.” explains Luna as she sits down in front of Justice, who sits down in front of her, dropping his head as a single tear splashes on the ground.
“Was there no other way than to have Celestia destroy wraith pony that looks like me? You did sense how much it hurt her to have to stop someone she loved for the second time!” Justice said sadly as a frozen breeze encircle his warm heart.
“I am truly sorry, Justice,” Luna says apologetically.
“But there was no other way. My magic was barely able to stop it and your magic kept you alive till you got back to the palace. As weak as you were, you had enough mind to seek me out for help. Unfortunately the only way to save your life, Justice, was to make the wraith pony a solid pony and the only form I could use was yours. I never guessed that wraith pony had most of your active memories or, why else would it head straight to Celestia, the most powerful Alicorn princess to try to feed off her?”, explains Luna as Justice didn’t feel any better about hurting Celestia that way.
“But anyway back to business, I still have not figured out why you are resistant to the curse of Darkmore castle, like me. Your magic is not associated with night magic which is the core of the curse. Granted, you are from Federation of Dream Valley, a land we don’t know too much about and we will never know. The magic your unicorn can do from there is mysterious even to us Alicorns.” explains Luna as dark blue magic aura forms around a small rock next to Justice on the ground. Without difficulty, the rock is carved into the exact likeness of Princess Luna which he gives to Princess Luna.
“Before you passed out from the life force drain of the wraith pony that you brought back to the palace with you,….you said there’s something else going on at the ancient castle. Can you tell me what?” Princess Luna inquires as a chill runs up Justice’s spine. The memories of the ancient castle flood back into Justice’s head, but in a jumbled mess.
“I am sorry Luna, but all those memories are too muddled up to be any help to you.” Justice explains as Luna places her hoof onto his shoulder,
“Its fine Justice, you’ve been through a lot. Let’s get you home to rest and I’ll talk to Celestia about what happened”, says Luna politely as she walks Justice back to his stable in the city of Canterlot.