Scootaloo stared at the tall figure of Nightmare Moon, standing across the dark and cold hall, eyeing them as if they were nothing but flies to be swatted away.
She could still remember when Nightmare Moon had returned a few years ago, the same night that Twilight had arrived in Ponyville. Back then, Scootaloo hadn’t even heard of Princess Luna.
To see her like this again, after getting to know her so well, it was hard to believe they were the same pony.
All those times that they had met each night, Luna had always seemed so cool and collected. Only rarely did Scootaloo ever see a hint of sadness or anger cross her face, and never for more than a second. Now it seemed like everything she kept pent up inside had finally been released.
“Luna…” Scootaloo said, her voice nearly a whisper. “I know you have to remember us. You have to remember all those nightmares you helped us stop. And you have to remember that this is all in the past. You aren’t Nightmare Moon anymore.”
“I have heard enough from you,” Nightmare Moon said, her voice echoing throughout the hall. “Perhaps I was not clear when I told you to leave this place. Very well, then. I shall remove you myself!”
A blast of violet magic shot out of her horn, crackling with veins of black lightning. Scootaloo leapt out of the way, but she could feel the static electricity pass by, grazing the tip of her tail.
“Luna, you have to stop this! It’s all just a bad dream!” Scootaloo shouted. “You’ve seen tons of other ponies’ nightmares, can’t you tell when you’re having your own?”
Her question was answered with another bolt of magic. She flew behind one of the stone columns lining the hall, and found Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle taking shelter there already.
“How are we supposed to get her to listen?” Apple Bloom said.
Scootaloo peeked around the corner at the tall figure of Nightmare Moon standing across the room. There was a dark gleam in her eyes as she fired another volley of magic blasts at towards them, shattering the pillar just inches above their heads.
Sweetie Belle squeezed her eyes shut tight as she quickly conjured a barrier above them, the rubble bouncing off harmlessly. Her horn flickered and it faded. “Just saying, this would be a really great time to wake up.”
“We can’t! Not now!” Scootaloo said. “Besides, even if we could get ourselves to wake up, we can’t let this thing take over Luna’s mind again.”
“So… whatever this thing we’ve been fighting is, it’s what made her turn into Nightmare Moon a thousand years ago?” Sweetie Belle said.
Scootaloo nodded. “I think so. But we might still have a chance to stop it. As long as we’re in her mind, too, we might be able to snap her out of this.”
Apple Bloom bit her lip, taking a cautious peek from behind the piles of debris. “Luna, uh, whatever it is you’re goin’ through, you gotta remember who we are,” she said. “Just because you’re mad or scared or whatever doesn’t mean you have to take it out on us, right?”
Another blast of dark purple magic streaked past, just inches from Apple Bloom’s face, and she shrank back behind the broken pillar.
“Uh, Scootaloo, I’m startin’ to think nothin’ but the Elements of Harmony can stop her now,” Apple Bloom said.
“It’s just a nightmare. We can fix this like we’ve fixed all the others,” Scootaloo said.
No matter what happened, she didn’t want to have to resort to the Elements of Harmony. Luna had only been back in Equestria for a couple years now. If she turned evil again, maybe Celestia would decide she was too dangerous, and banish her again. Maybe permanently this time.
She had no choice. She had to keep trying.
“I know you feel angry at Celestia. You’ve told me about this before,” Scootaloo said. She glanced back at the others. “We’ve all got big sisters. And you were the one who helped us through our problems with them, remember? We understand what you’re going through!”
“No. You do not.” Nightmare Moon’s eyes narrowed. “Nothing you say can return one thousand years of lost time. How can I be expected to rule over an Equestria I no longer recognize?”
Scootaloo stared at her. “You do remember…”
“She has no right to call herself my sister. She does not even have the right to call herself Princess of Equestria!”
“We can just talk about this! We’re friends, aren’t we?” Scootaloo said. “Please, Luna! You don’t have to do this!”
Nightmare Moon’s face softened, just for a moment, but in that brief glimpse Scootaloo could see something left of Princess Luna in there.
“You have to remember what happened a thousand years ago,” Scootaloo said. “You can’t let that happen again.”
“Enough!” Nightmare Moon shook her head. “You have refused to listen to me. Just as she refused to listen. There is but one way to settle this.”
Nightmare Moon began to charge another spell. Her horn was covered in a thick purple aura, crackling with lightning.
Scootaloo took a small step forward out from behind their cover. She stood in the pool of moonlight filtered through the stained glass windows. “Luna, I… I know you wouldn’t hurt us,” she said. Her voice was shaking, and she wasn’t completely sure she believed what she was saying. But she had to hold fast. “We can just talk about this. I can help you, like you’ve always helped me.”
There was a flash, and for a split second Scootaloo saw a bolt of dark magic flying straight towards her. She heard Sweetie Belle call out her name, just before Apple Bloom ran up and pushed Scootaloo aside.
She heard something shattering, and was briefly aware of colored shards of glass floating all around her.
Then all three of them were falling. They’d broken through one of the stained glass windows, and now they were—
Scootaloo hit something hard, much earlier than she had expected. She rubbed her head, and managed to stand up. Shards of the broken window crunched beneath her hooves.
“How the hay did we end up back here?” Apple Bloom said, looking around.
Somehow they had ended up back in the throne room. Not outside, plummeting several stories to the ground like she had expected. It was a pleasant surprise, at least.
Scootaloo rubbed her head, and looked up to survey her surroundings. It was still dark, but something had changed. The remaining windows looked different, but she couldn’t tell what it was in this light.
“What was that sound? Is someone there?” She turned to see Luna standing at the far end of the room near the throne, looking in their direction. “Sister, is that you?”
It was Luna. Her armor was gone. The banners hanging behind her had changed—there was now a golden sun alongside the moon. Luna looked just as she always had, but her eyes were wide with fear. She seemed to be staring past them, towards the far end of the room.
“She’s back to normal?” Sweetie Belle tilted her head. “But how? What’d we do?”
Scootaloo galloped over to Luna’s side. “Luna! Are you okay? Can you wake yourself up now?”
Luna didn’t respond. It was as if she hadn’t even noticed them, or the window that they had just smashed through. Scootaloo looked back at it, and despite the glass still littering the floor, the window was still intact. It showed the figures of Luna and Celestia standing together, in front of what seemed to be the Crystal Empire, but it was halfway covered by dark clouds.
But then Scootaloo noticed something else—a figure standing at the far end of the room, her eyes blazing with a mixture of both fear and anger.
“Luna…” Celestia said, her voice trembling. Her eyes were wide as she stared at the pony across the room. She spoke again, finding the strength to raise her voice. “I’m sorry. You’ve left me no other choice.”
Luna blinked. “Sister, is something the matter?”
Celestia lowered her head, aiming her horn towards Luna as it began to shine with magic the color of sunlight. “I will do what is necessary to protect Equestria.”
Taking a step back, Luna shook her head. “Please, I... I do not understand what you are saying. We have always protected Equestria together, have we not?”
Celestia said nothing, but closed her eyes. As the light around her horn grew brighter, the rest of the room seemed to become darker. Luna inched away, closer to the throne, but still refused to prepare a spell of her own.
Scootaloo ran up to stand in front of Luna. “Princess Celestia, you don’t have to fight her!” she shouted. “She’s back to normal! Don’t you hear me?”
Celestia didn’t move. The light around her horn began to shine brighter.
There wasn’t any time to think. Scootaloo spread her wings and leapt into action.
She flew straight across the room, careening into Celestia, knocking her aside. The contact felt solid. The blast of magic she had been charging ricocheted off and blasted a gaping hole in the ceiling. Chunks of stone rained down, sending up a cloud of dust covering the room.
“What?” Celestia gasped. She looked around for the source of the attack, but she didn’t seem to be able to see them.
“What are you doing?” Sweetie Belle cried. “Did you just—you just attacked Princess Celestia!“
Celestia stood back up, gritting her teeth. She didn’t even look in Scootaloo’s direction. Scootaloo realized that Celestia couldn’t even see her. Neither of them could.
“Luna must be remembering what happened a thousand years ago,” Scootaloo muttered. “Or some version of it, at least. We can’t let her get banished again.”
“But she’s not evil anymore, is she?” Sweetie Belle said. “Why would Celestia still be trying to fight her?”
“It’s not Celestia. Not really,” Scootaloo said. “That’s just part of her nightmare. Whatever it is, we can’t let it win.”
Luna stood her ground at the end of the throne room. “Sister? What is the meaning of this?”
Celestia spoke very slowly, her voice trembling. “No matter what the cost, I will not give up until I have defeated you.”
Luna folded her wings at her sides. “I don’t want to fight you.”
“For the good of all Equestria, I will do what has to be done.”
Celestia aimed her horn and shot another burst of magic across the room. Luna quickly created a barrier in front of her, and it shattered as the force of the spell made contact.
Apple Bloom dodged between the pillars, making her way across the throne room towards Luna. “Come on, Princess,” she said. “Can’t you just stop and think for a sec? Your sister wouldn’t do somethin’ like this! Don’t you trust ‘er?”
Luna gritted her teeth. She tried to blink back tears. “Sister… I beg of you, please stop this!”
Her horn began to crackle with black electricity. Instead of a magic aura, darkness was starting to form around it. It was the same as it had been just moments before. As she slowly opened her eyes, and Scootaloo saw something there that wasn’t the same Luna she knew.
“Luna, don’t give in to it!” Scootaloo yelled. No matter how much she strained her voice, neither of the Princesses seemed to hear. “This isn’t how it really happened, don’t you remember?”
The dark magic on Luna’s horn crackled and fizzled out. She blinked again, and her eyes returned to normal.
A blast of golden light shot past her, and she quickly jumped out of the way. It burned a hole through one of the dark blue banners, smoke rising from where there had once been a crescent moon emblem.
“The only way Equestria’s safety can be ensured is if you are removed from it!” Celestia said. “This is for the good of the entire kingdom!”
“I know I’ve had fights with my big sister before,” Sweetie Belle said. Her voice was almost too soft to be heard above the spells ricocheting off the walls. “Don’t you remember all the things she’s ever done for you? You two must be friends, just like me and my sister…”
The column near Sweetie Belle exploded, hit by a stray spell. There was a flash as she teleported away, and the roof caved in. The night sky could be seen through the hole in the ceiling, and snow started to blow inside, glittering in the light of the moon.
“Remember, Luna? She still let you come back after a thousand years!” Sweetie Belle said. “She could have sent you away forever, but she’s your sister, so she wouldn’t do that! She wanted to help you!”
Luna leapt into the air, weaving through the hail of magic Celestia was casting at her. Scootaloo glided along beside her, studying her face for any sign that she was hearing what they were saying. She seemed completely focused on her avoiding her sister’s barrage of attacks.
She swooped down for a landing near one of the few remaining windows, and stood there panting for breath. Scootaloo landed beside her.
“Didn’t you say you had to take responsibility for this? It isn’t Celestia’s fault. I know it’s hard, but you’ve got to admit that.” She sighed. “Come on, you have to be hearing me!”
“Luna! Can you hear me, sister?”
Celestia’s voice rang out, echoing through the hallway. Scootaloo looked over and saw she was still fighting. But somehow, it hadn’t sounded like her voice had actually come from her…
“Please, open your eyes!”
The remaining windows shattered, the walls collapsed and crumbled into dust. Everything outside was utter blackness surrounding them.
It all went deathly silent. Then:
“Sister! I beg of you, just open your eyes!”
Luna stood there, barely visible in the darkness, trembling uncontrollably. Her eyes were wide, staring blankly ahead.
Scootaloo followed her gaze and saw a door standing open, though nothing was beyond it but a solid stone wall. She frowned, and let her eyes adjust to the almost total darkness. They were in a cave somewhere, and the throne room was gone. It didn’t look like they were awake quite yet.
Celestia’s horn glowed bright gold as she slammed the door shut. She put a wing around Luna’s shoulder, but Luna recoiled at her touch.
“You attacked me,” Luna said in a quiet voice, staring at Celestia. “You told me you were to be the sole ruler of Equestria.”
“It was an illusion,” Celestia said. “There is nothing to fear. He is using these visions to scare you. We promised we would always rule Equestria together as sisters, and I would never betray that promise.” She gave a gentle smile, and reached out her wing over Luna’s shoulder again.
Luna nodded silently, but didn’t take her eyes off the door.
Celestia’s expression became serious again. “But we must continue on. The Crystal Empire is depending on us.”
“Y-yes. Of course, my sister,” Luna said, her voice still weak.
A bolt of magic shot out of Celestia’s horn, shining a blinding light on the door, which swung open again. Instead of solid stone, there was now a shimmering stairway of crystal beyond the barrier, bathed in a bright light.
“Quickly,” Celestia said, and led the way forward. Hesitantly, Luna followed after her.
Scootaloo watched them disappear up the stairway, feeling as if it was impossible for her to move. She turned and saw Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle still at her side. She took a deep breath, and put one hoof forward.
The door slammed shut in her face.
Sweetie Belle jumped back. “I don’t get it. What’s going on?” She looked around, as if noticing their surroundings for the first time. “And where are we now, anyways? It doesn’t look much like the Crystal Empire. Are we underground or something?”
“Must be another one of her memories,” Apple Bloom said, tilting her head. “Did she ever say anythin’ to you about what happened in the Crystal Empire back then, Scootaloo?”
“No, I don’t really know much about that,” Scootaloo said. She walked forward, placing a hoof on the door. It was solid, cold wood. It didn’t seem to be enchanted, at least as far as she could tell. “I think it’s still hard for her to talk about her past. Even with me.”
“Then I guess we should just follow ’em so we can find out what this is all about?” Apple Bloom said, pointing towards the door.
“Right.” Scootaloo nodded.
She looked up at the door. It seemed odd to see a plain wooden door, like something you’d see at in old house, in the wall of a cave. But then again, she’d seen weirder stuff in dreams before.
She reached up for the knob and pulled it open.
She squinted, trying to make out what was inside. It didn’t look like much of anything, but the shapes were starting to come together. Scootaloo could swear she had seen this before.
That was when something pulled her inside.
Everything went dark.
She turned around. “Uh, Apple Bloom? Sweetie Belle? Are you guys there?” They didn’t respond.
Gradually, she began to make out her surroundings. Things were starting to take shape around her. She knew this place.
And no matter how many times she came here, it always went the same way.
The overgrown forest path was familiar, but at the same time, strange. Moss hung down from the skeletal branches above her, and tangled roots poked out of the ground. Somehow Scootaloo knew that Ponyville wasn’t far away, but no matter how many times she came here, she never knew the way out.
The rotten trees reached out their branches towards her like they were trying to grab her, but they didn’t actually move. At least not when she was looking.
Just like she always did, Scootaloo would start walking. It was all she could do. The only sound here would be the sound of her own hoofsteps, at least for a while. Then after she would walk a short way, she would start to hear an echo. And then she would stop. And the echo would keep going.
She always knew she wasn’t alone here, yet the sound would still surprised her. Panic would flare up in her chest. Her heart would start racing, and she had to get away.
The second set of hoofsteps would start to move quicker. Scootaloo would pick up her own pace as well, into a fast trot, then a gallop, but those other hoofsteps were always faster. And getting louder. Closer.
She would look over her shoulder and see the dark figure there, outlined against the night sky. A pony rearing up tall against the night sky, just like in the old story. A pony without a head.
Scootaloo tried to run away as fast as her legs could carry her. She realized she still didn’t know how to get back to Ponyville. She was alone out here. Nopony was here to help her. Nopony except…
Except…
Scootaloo stopped. She turned around to face the other pony. It seemed to stare back at her, but of course, it had no eyes.
“Why am I doing this?” she asked.
It didn’t answer. It wasn’t used to questions.
“You’re just some old campfire story Rainbow Dash told me a long time ago,” Scootaloo said. “I haven’t had this nightmare for months now. I shouldn’t even be afraid of you anymore. I’ve seen way worse nightmares than you, and I beat them all. So why am I running from you?”
The Headless Horse stood there motionless.
“This isn’t what I’m really afraid of. I don’t think it’s ever been what I’m really afraid of,” Scootaloo said. “But I know what I’m scared of right now. I’m scared that I’m going to lose Princess Luna, maybe forever, unless I can get back out there and help her. I’ve been through all kinds of nightmares, and I can’t let myself mess up on this one.”
Scootaloo took a step backwards, taking one last look at the Headless Horse before turning away. The way out had to be somewhere around here, if she kept looking. As she spun around, she ran headfirst into something.
Standing right there in front of her, looking down at her in surprise, was Rainbow Dash.
“Whoa. You’re, uh… doing pretty well for yourself, squirt.”
“Wha—R-Rainbow Dash?” Scootaloo stammered. “What’re you doing here?”
“You’ve had this dream loads of times now. I’m supposed to be the one who shows up and helps you out of these things, right?” Rainbow said, eyeing the Headless Horse still standing back there a few steps away. “Of course, I haven’t done that for a while now. And looks like you’re handling things just fine on your own.”
“Well, yeah. I guess I am.” Scootaloo grinned nervously. Then she shook her head. “Wait a second. You’re not even real, are you? I’m dreaming right now. Except we were just in Luna’s dream. And then… uh…”
“Does it even matter if I’m real?” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “You’ve got other ponies waiting on you, don’t you?”
Scootaloo suddenly remembered Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. She looked around, but they were still nowhere to be seen. “Oh. Right.”
“I’ll make this quick, since I’m bad at talking about these kinds of things and you’ve got places to be right now,” Rainbow said. She paused a moment, and scratched her chin. “Look, you’ve grown up. A lot. You’ve been doing all sorts of crazy stuff practically every night. And you know why?”
“Um…” Scootaloo stared at her. “I guess I wanted to be like you?”
“I don’t think that was it.” Rainbow shook her head. “It’s because all those ponies having nightmares were your friends. And you know better than anypony what it’s like to have nightmares. You didn’t want to see them going through that.”
“Yeah. I guess so.”
“Plus you’ve been looking out for your friends the whole way. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle would’ve been hopeless if you didn’t have their backs the whole way. You’ve really turned out to be a leader, you know that?”
Scootaloo scratched her head. “Well, yeah, but what’s this all about?”
“I’ll get to the point,” Rainbow said. “I, uh… I haven’t always been there for you like I should have been. You deserve a way better big sister than me. And, right now, I think you deserve this, too.”
She stuck out her hoof, and Scootaloo looked down at the sparkling object being thrust in her face. A red lightning bolt glinted in the center of a gleaming necklace.
“Huh? But that’s your—“
“Like I said, not much time. You’re gonna need this more than I do right now. And I think you’ve got what it takes, kid.”
Slowly, Scootaloo reached out and took the Element of Harmony from Rainbow Dash. She tried fastening it around her neck, but it hung there limp, definitely a few sizes too big for her.
“What am I supposed to do with it, though?”
Rainbow shrugged. “You’ll figure something out. You always do.”
Scootaloo touched the gemstone, but as far as she could tell, it was just plain old jewelry. “Could you at least tell me how you use it?”
Without another word, Rainbow Dash began to fade away, until she finally vanished completely. Scootaloo was alone in the woods again. She took a step back.
That was when she felt a hoof grab her shoulder.
“Hey, you alright? Come on, say somethin’!” Apple Bloom shook her.
Blinking, Scootaloo looked around. They were back in the cave. Now she wasn’t sure if she had ever actually left. The door was still open in front of her, but there was only a solid rock wall behind it.
“Scootaloo? Are you going to be okay?” Sweetie Belle said quietly.
“Yeah. I’m fine.” Scootaloo nodded, then looked down. She could still feel the weight of the necklace, and sure enough it was still there, even if Rainbow Dash was gone now.
“Wait, where’d that come from?” Apple Bloom said.
Scootaloo shook her head. “There’s no time to explain. We need to get back to Luna.”
“Whoa, slow down. What just happened to you? You tried to open that door and you’ve just been standin’ there ever since,” Apple Bloom said. She was still staring at the necklace. “What the hay did it do to you?”
“I’m not sure,” Scootaloo said. She turned to Sweetie Belle. “Think you could figure out a way past it? I think Princess Celestia used some kind of spell on it.”
Sweetie Belle scratched her head. “I guess, but what kind of magic would that be?”
Scootaloo stared at the door. When she went through, she’d had the same old nightmare she used to have, ever since the camping trip. And had this been the thing that gave Luna that nightmare about Celestia attacking her? She’d been staring at it when they got pulled out of that part of the dream…
“Whatever this thing is, it’s got something to do with the nightmares everypony’s been having. There has to be a way to get past it,” Scootaloo said.
Apple Bloom let out a sigh, and sat down on the floor. “Well, I’m no expert on magic. I got no clue what we should do.”
“I’m not really an expert on magic either,” Sweetie Belle said.
Was this even a part of Luna’s nightmare, or was it something else? Somehow Scootaloo got the feeling this door had something to do with all the different nightmares she had been through, ever since…
That was when it hit her. Scootaloo ran over to Sweetie Belle. “I’ve got it!”
“Huh?”
Scootaloo put her hoof on Sweetie Belle’s shoulder. “Just think about last year when you sang at the talent show. That time you got your cutie mark,” she said. “Then try to cast a spell on the door.”
“You think that’ll work?” Sweetie Belle wrinkled her nose, frowning.
“When you were able to get up in front of all those ponies, it’s because you were able to get over your worst fear. The one you had been having nightmares about,” Scootaloo said. “I don’t know much about magic, but just try to remember how it felt when you weren’t afraid anymore.”
Sweetie Belle paused. “Uh…” She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. Then she opened them, and smiled. “Here goes...”
At first, nothing happened. A few feeble green sparks fell from the tip of her horn and fizzled out.
Then, a surprisingly bright jet of green magic shot out of her horn, and surrounded the door. It glowed for a moment, and Sweetie Belle dug her hooves in, pushing back against the massive surge of energy. Then, finally, the door swung open.
Scootaloo was nearly knocked sideways into the snow by a sudden gust of frigid air. There hadn’t been snow a moment ago…
“Uh, what the hay is that?” Apple Bloom said.
When Scootaloo managed to stand back up, she let out a gasp. In front of them was a gigantic, writhing mass of darkness, towering above them, even dwarfing the two alicorns standing before it.
“Now, sister! If we use the elements, we can seal him away!”
Princess Celestia was standing a few meters away, in between them and the dark cloud. Three glowing gemstones orbited around her, shining with all the colors of the rainbow.
Scootaloo stared at the wall of shadow, taking a step back. She glanced over her shoulder and wasn’t surprised to see that the doorway they had just come through had vanished. Typical. She turned her attention back to whatever it was that the princesses were fighting. It was a chaotic, formless thing, but the longer she stared up at it the more she began to see it taking shape.
“Is that… King Sombra?” Apple Bloom said under her breath. “It’s just like our sisters told us, remember? This must’ve been when the princesses saved the Crystal Empire.”
Luna took a step back away from the darkness, and cast a sideways glance at Celestia. Then she produced three gemstones of her own. They began to spin around her, glowing brighter as they increased in speed.
“O-Of course, my sister,” she said. “We will end this now.”
The writhing black mass seemed to condense, taking a more slender shape that was still somehow not quite solid. It was almost starting to look like a pony. Whatever it was stood tall, its head lifted high, looking down on them.
Luna blinked. Her magic began to falter, and the Elements circling her began to slow. She stared at it, then breathed a single word.
“You…”
The dark shape turned what seemed to be its head. If it had any eyes, they would probably be fixed on Luna. But maybe it was actually looking farther, at the three fillies standing in the snow behind her.
Then, it began to speak.
“We still depend on the power of Harmony to fight our battles? Do we really believe our bond with our sister is strong enough to overcome every obstacle?”
Sweetie Belle backed away. “What is that thing?”
“It kinda sounds like… Princess Luna’s voice,” Apple Bloom said quietly.
The red gemstone hovering near Luna drifted over towards the black figure, but the blue glow of her magic around it didn’t fade.
“We have always given her our loyalty, but when has she ever shown any to us?” the shape said. It was beginning to solidify, looking more and more like a mirror image of Luna. The light from the red gemstone, floating right next to its face, didn’t reveal any features. “Is a princess who leaves her own sister in the shadows, her own sister who has stood beside her in her every moment of need, truly worthy of ruling Equestria?”
Luna stared at it, though she didn’t seem apprehensive or even surprised. She simply listened. Celestia still held her ground, her own three Elements swirling around her. She didn’t seem to have noticed the transformation or heard anything it said.
“You have stood back and allowed her to claim all the glory, never once asking for thanks. Is it truly wrong to desire just the smallest amount of recognition?”
Luna took a step back, and glanced over at Celestia for just a moment.
“Whatever that thing is, don’t listen to it,” Scootaloo said.
Luna's shadow reached out a hoof towards her. “We, who have seen inside the very minds of our subjects. We, who have faced their every darkest fear. Are we to remain unknown forever while she basks in the admiration of her kingdom?”
“We must defeat it now, or the Empire will surely fall!” Celestia said. “Quickly, sister!”
The voice coming from the shadow sounded slightly amused. “If ponies were to wake up one day to find their precious sun no longer shining, they would have no choice but to finally recognize the beauty of our night, the darkness that we have always guided them through.”
“Are you certain…” Luna’s eyes drifted over, watching Celestia. “…that they would hear our message after only one day?”
There was a loud crack. The Element of Harmony held by the black shape shattered into pieces. The magic aura around them faded, and they drifted away on the wind, vanishing into the distance.
“Listen to me, Luna!” Scootaloo said. “It doesn’t matter if nopony notices what you’ve done. It doesn’t mean it was pointless. Whether they know what you did or not, it doesn’t change the fact that what you do is important!”
Luna blinked, as if she had just been released from a trance, and her ears perked up.
“I know that Celestia depends on you. Even if she gets all the attention, she still knows how much you do for her. And she can’t defeat this thing without you!”
Without any time to lose, Scootaloo remembered what Rainbow Dash had said to her. She tugged on her necklace until the chain snapped. She threw it towards Luna.
For a moment, it seemed like Luna still couldn’t see her. The necklace flew past her face and she didn’t even blink. Then, suddenly, her horn lit up and the pendant was frozen in midair. She pulled it back closer to her, and the red lightning bolt joined the two other gems circling around her.
“Now, sister!” Celestia’s voice rang out, and the shadowy duplicate of Luna dissipated back into formless black mist. The wall reared up, like a black ocean wave about to crash over them.
Luna’s eyes narrowed, and the Elements swirling around her converged with Celestia’s. A dazzling rainbow shot out, surrounding the dark form and forcing it back away.
A deep roar seemed to issue from within the mist, a sound that wasn’t like any creature or pony Scootaloo had ever heard. It rumbled throughout the snow-covered fields.
The ground beneath their hooves began to shake. The crystal towers scattered across the field, one by one, began to tumble and fall.
“He must have used what remained of his magic to seal away the Empire,” Celestia said. “We were too late to save it, but the rest of Equestria may still be safe. But we must leave, immediately. We shall return to Everfree.”
The tremors grew even stronger. As what was left of the black cloud faded away, the light around them was nearly blinding. Scootaloo put her hoof up to shield her eyes, but she still couldn’t see a thing.
“I... I think it’s workin’! She’s wakin’ up!” She could hear Apple Bloom’s voice, but she couldn’t tell where it was coming from.
“Did you hear that, Scootaloo?” Sweetie Belle said, somewhere. “It worked! I think we were able to—“
Scootaloo blinked in the bright light. The sun was shining. It seemed like forever since she had seen it.
She was standing on top of the castle walls, or at least what was left of them. Only one tower was left standing, the rest of them had been destroyed. In the distance, she could see Everfree—the city, not the forest. Only a few distant figures could be seen milling about the streets.
Luna was standing beside her, silently looking out over the destruction.
“Uh, Luna?” Scootaloo said, unsure if she would get a response. “Please tell me this is all over now…”
“Sometimes it is hard to believe it has been over a thousand years since we lived here,” Luna said. “It pains me to see it in this state. And yet, I know there is none to blame but myself.”
“You’re… okay now?” Scootaloo blinked.
“You have seen now what I have struggled with every day since my return.” Luna’s voice was bitter. She turned her head away. “It has not been easy, and I cannot say that it is over yet. It may never be.”
A shadow passed over them, and Celestia swooped down a short distance away. Her white coat was smudged with dirt and soot. She hung her head with a sigh, then blinked up at the sun on the horizon.
Scootaloo watched her. “I don’t think it was easy for her, either.”
“Certainly not…” Luna said quietly.
Celestia closed her eyes, and with some effort her horn flickered and began to glow. The sun began to set over the edge of the horizon. The single remaining tower cast a long shadow over Scootaloo and Luna, but Celestia didn’t seem to see them. This was only a memory, after all.
“It’s hard to understand what other ponies are going through, isn’t it?” Scootaloo said. “I always thought I had it bad. But I guess everypony does. Even you.”
The sun had nearly disappeared completely, and the sky was on the brink of twilight. The aura around Celestia’s horn flickered and nearly faded, but she braced herself, and the light began to shine steadily again.
Luna watched as her sister raised the full moon in the sky, over the ruins of their castle and the ponies sleeping in town. From where they stood, they could see for miles, over all the fields and forests and mountains to the edge of the horizon, all disappearing into the shadows as night fell.
“This first night must have been especially difficult for her,” Luna said. “I cannot even imagine how she ruled over Equestria alone for so long.”
Celestia finally released the spell, and it seemed to drain the last of her energy. She stumbled, and nearly collapsed right there on the spot. With a deep breath, she spread her wings, and flew away, circling back down to the entrance of what remained of her home.
“I believe we have seen enough here,” Luna said. She looked down at Scootaloo. “Shall we be returning home, then?”
Scootaloo nodded. “That sounds like a great idea.”
She could still see the full moon shining above them in a starry sky, but she was beginning to feel the warmth of an afternoon sun on her face.