My Little Pony
Friendship Is Magic
The Light of Harmony
Chapter Nine
The Darkness of Day
Although the silvery glow from her sister’s moon was just as strong as it was when Luna had first raised it many hours earlier, it did little to illuminate much, if any, more of the demolished castle that Celestia had once called her home. Around Celestia it was just like any other fall night; the trees where all shedding their summer foliage which now crunched beneath her hooves. The wind had picked up as well, making all of the now barely leafed trees sway. It was as if the everfree forest itself was frightened, frightened of what lay in the castle. The essence of darkness here at the ancient castle had always been there, Ever since the rise of Nightmare moon, now seemed stronger; as if it were feeding off of somepony or something within.
Celestia prepared herself mentally as her hoofsteps echoed through the crumbling walls, chips of the stone floor that had been upturned now crunched beneath her golden slippers.
She scanned her surroundings, unable to see into the silhouetted rooms, corridors, and hallways that twisted and turned through what was left of the castle.
The sun princess huffed in frustration as her patience began to dwindle. A dangerous monster claiming to be one the four legendary Equestrian Horses of despair was somewhere in her ancient castle home yet she could not find him. Ponies were suffering because of him, but as much as she wanted to apprehend this pony; part of her wanted it to be just another petty thief with an over-inflated view of himself. But as the aura of darkness that permeated the castle grew stronger, she knew there was something about this intruder that made her feel uneasy. Although that uneasiness seemed to dominate her mind she remained ready to face this demon, horse of war or not.
Suddenly, a loud metallic crash sounded through the castle and echoed into the Everfree forest. Celestia immediately recognized the metal hitting the stone floor as one of the suits of armor that her parents had on display throughout the castle. She dashed toward the noise where she deduced the sound came from, her heart pounding from apprehension. Celestia saw the archway that introduced visitors into the library.
The bookcases of the royal library, even for the Princess of the sun, seemed to stretch toward the star studded skies above. But it was the site before her that had caught her attention and filled her heart with fear. Before her was a monstrous being, the silvery moonlight glinting off the armor that adorned his body, flames belched from his head and his hindquarters signifying a mane and tail. The being’s blue eyes gazed into his hooves, almost like he was questioning himself; the mask this being wore resembled the likeness of a dragon. Embedded into the chest armor she saw the familiar outline of the alicorn amulet, its bright gem gleaming with a healthy crimson color. But what caught her eye about the amulet was a purple and blue dot swimming around in the amulet leaving trails of the same color as it dashed from one end of the crystal to the next. Celestia stepped back for a minute; there was only one stallion throughout all of Equestrian history who wore this armor. “No!” Celestia said to herself, trying to stem the ever increasing fear inside her “anypony could have stolen his armor; this could still be a visad.”
The solar monarch gave a slight breath as she walked forward, the being’s head suddenly shooting up, registering her hoofsteps that echoed across the decrepit old Library. She knew she had to get an answer from this being, what did it want with Equestria?! She knew why he wanted the Jewel she gave to Glaciem, and it was not for its psychological importance. Celestia immediately stalled as she stared at the being, whose eyes went from a familiar ice blue, to a blood red and fire yellow combination.
Celestia closed her eyes for a slight second, unable to understand what she had just seen. “Did his eyes just change color?” she asked herself, despite knowing that her eyes did not deceive her. The princess of the sun noticed the ice blue color of the eyes before and thought of the night her and Glaciem shared under the moonlight many centuries before. She quickly shook her head, trying hard to remove the image of her love from her head. “Even if he was still alive, he would never be willing to terrorize innocent ponies for fun or otherwise…” she asked herself why she would ever consider Glaciem going dark. Was it because of the snowflake pendant she received from Twilight when she faced this monster?! Celestia raced forward toward the beast, he will be brought to justice! For Twilight, For Equestria, for her lost love!
“I am Princess Celestia of Equestria, and I hereby demand that you stand down and cease you attack on innocent ponies, in the name of Equestria...I place you under arrest, Nemesis!”
Glaciem gave an angry snort as his horn immediately came to life in a furious display of red electricity. There was no doubt in Glaciem’s mind that this was a changeling imposter. After all; the real princess Celestia had died during her battle against Nightmare Moon from her wounds she suffered during the battle. The disrespect the changelings showed toward the pony whom he once considered to be his closest friend, his most loyal supporter, but most importantly; she was the one mare who loved and cared for him through every mistake he had ever made when he was staying in Canterlot.
The dark warrior remembered the moment he was told that the light of his life took a powerful magic blast to the chest, the blast he was told was strong enough to punch a hole through her gold collar. Celestia defeated Nightmare Moon using the powers of the elements of Harmony, but not even the strongest defensive force in all of Equestria could save the solar Princess from her injuries. In his heart, Glaciem knew he could’ve helped his childhood friend; Helped her try to talk some sense into a jealousy driven Luna.
In his head; Glaciem could not blame Luna for becoming Nightmare moon he knew that even good hearts could be corrupted, given the right circumstances and enough time to grow and fester in both the mind and the heart. But in his heart, Glaciem could not help but feel a twinge of anger and disappointment towards somepony whom he considered a little sister. The night his final two friends; Celestia his special somepony, and Luna his unofficial little sister left the world any resolve he had left in him diminished. The only thing that satisfied him now was battle, for twelve hundred years Glaciem had hunted dark magic users that had failed his master; feeding off of their magic. And now he had some form of Closure; he had defeated the main reason Celestia had died, he defeated the demon that dragged Luna’s name through the mud, and now he would defeat the insect that had taken advantage of the royal power vacuum his master told him off and made a mockery of the Name “Celestia.”
Finally, Glaciem’s metallized voice rang throughout the castle in a slightly condescending way. “So...is this all the changeling’s have to send against me? So what do I owe the prestigious honor of being visited from an over glorified mosquito?” the dark warrior huffed toward the Solar Princess, his voice soaked in sarcasm.
The solar Princess did not know what to make of his condescending remark. “Over glorified Mosquito” played again and again in her head, going over each species known to Equestrian’s. “Could he mean changelings?” Celestia asked herself. Equestrians who felt nothing but resent toward the attackers, started relating the Changelings appearance and scavenger like eating habits to insects like Mosquitoes. For over one thousand years; since she herself had to take over the power of raising the moon, after the night Luna was banished to the moon.
Celestia dug through the many memories that surrounded the Changeling hive and their deceptive Queen. The Canterlot wedding fiasco was not the first time Chrysalis had set her eyes on the Equestrian capitol with Conquest in mind. When Luna was banished to the moon, the shadow of uncertainty surged across Equestria. Their Princess, Celestia, had defeated the wicked Nightmare moon but the cost was more than she could bear.
Celestia remembered all too well the dawn one week after Luna’s banishment, waking up to warning bells ringing through the city. She recalled running toward the window and tearing the curtains open and seeing nothing but a living, breathing black mass of changelings suddenly swooping down and attacking the guards who still managed to hold off most of the attacking Changelings. After a tough fight against the changeling monarch Celestia managed to overtake Chrysalis. However; Chrysalis vowed to return but next time, the Changeling Queen Decided, Discretion would be the better part of valor.
The Solar Princess shook her head, bringing her memories to an end and bringing her back to the present, bringing her opponent back into view. The metal warrior tilted his head, confusion in his eyes but the Equestrian co-ruler could also see impatience surging through his eyes as well.
As far as Glaciem was concerned, if this was a test of his spirit one thing he was sure of; this revelation was taking too long. Considering that this was about as insulting as it got to the emotional pain he went through when he lost Celestia. Glaciem’s muscles tensed in frustration as the amulet illuminated the area around him, feeding off of his building rage and sending a strong burst of magic through him to his horn.
“Enough of this! The tarnishing of Celestia’s good name ends here Demon!” Glaciem growls toward the solar Princess. Celestia watched the amulet embedded in the warrior’s armor began to illuminate the destroyed castle’s stone walls and began to mass itself into a single large red orb above his horn. The Equestrian Ruler’s yellow aura begins to collect itself around her horn as a massive amount of red hued dark magic rockets erupts from the orb above the Warrior’s horn, rocketing straight towards her. The Solar Princess quickly responds, firing her own yellow magic toward the Red beam. A thunderous boom rocks the castle ruins as the beams collide.
Celestia felt the shockwave of the magic blasts, Her muscles tightened in an effort to stand her ground as the full force of the shock wave slams against both her and her opponent. As strong as the Equestrian ruler’s grip on the stone floor was, she could not stop the shockwave from sliding her back several feet; the gravel crackled beneath her sliding hooves. The solar Princess shifts her gaze from the ground back up to the black alicorn and hardens her gaze.
“I will not ask again Dark One Who are you? And why do you want The Jewel of Winter? It already chose somepony…” Celestia paused as she felt the icy grip of sadness clasped her heart. She began to a feel lump in her throat as the name of her closest friend was once again uttered, but after a moment she began to reign her emotions in; it was in the past, and that is where it should stay. “It chose My Best Friend; Glaciem! For my Kingdom, for my student, for the memory of my lost love; all of which whose memory you seek to disgrace! You will not, nor will you ever claim the winter Jewel’s power to purify this world!”
Glaciem sneered at his opponent; but among the feelings of rage he glimpsed a brief but bright glint of amusement in his Opponent’s assumption.
“Power?” The fallen warrior asked in a frustrated voice; as he did however, an amused, but unseen, smile crept across his face. Glaciem felt the cool night air seep through the three vertical cuts in his helmet that made up his helmets ventilation. He struggled to find any words to explain to this imposter just how wrong she was about the real meaning of what this gem meant, at least what made it special to him. Power was not the reason Glaciem wanted it, he could not say the same for the dark voice that rang in his head however who’s appetite for strength seemed insatiable.
A shudder crept down Celestia’s back as the thought of what this stallion, this demon, could do with the Winter Jewel. The Winter Jewel, the one she gave Glaciem so long ago and now target of this demonic warrior, was said to be one of the four jewels that created and maintained seasonal harmony throughout the world and proved to be a very valuable defense for the land before the elements of harmony were created. As its name suggests, the winter jewel controlled all of winter; from torrential snowstorms and blizzards to the sheets of ice that covered each lake across the land. What this jewel could do, if corrupted, would be disastrous for Equestria and to the ponies that called it home. With that threat looming in her mind Princess Celestia, the co-ruler of the land, was not about to see her ponies slowly starve into Oblivion; this warrior whoever he was must fail in his quest for a gem that was not even his to start with.
“Is power the best reason you could come up with?! It’s more than mere strength that jewel calls me for!” Glaciem angrily shot back at his opponent. Of all the reasons he wanted that gem, power was only half of the last reason that the crystal would come across his mind. Glaciem, of course, heard the legend surrounding the jewels powers and how it was one of four jewels that made up the elements of time. But it was the kindness and love from that day he remembered about that crystal the most.
The cracking of his opponent’s voice and the sadness he saw in her eyes made Glaciem step back for a moment, the anger loosening its hold on his heart. But as much as he wanted to smear this imposters confidence all over the dilapidated and crumbling walls of this decaying castle, Glaciem had to admit that he was Impressed this Changeling actually knew his old name.
Normally Changelings only learn the most rudimentary knowledge they need to pass the deception. But not only did this changeling remember his name, she did so in a very convincing way, like the Knowledge she knew was actually breaking her worse than any of his attacks would soon do; perhaps maybe she was telling the truth?
No! Glaciem remembered what his master told him about Changelings. How they tried to do their utmost to make you believe in any sort of lie their twisted minds could come up with, it only made sense that they would also try to change the tone of their voice to match the mood they were trying to sell. Glaciem now began to grow annoyed with this castle and with this mission; and the more the same two questions repeated over and over again in his head, the more frustrated he became. Nothing made sense anymore, he was sure the Celestia that stood before him was an imposter! Just like the last one was! And this imposter will suffer the same fate. In the name of his Best Friend that he lost many millennia ago, he swore that her name shall no longer be disgraced.
The warrior’s horn came to life as it began to collect energy from the surrounding forest. Glaciem snorted as he heard sizzling coming from his horn, the building Red electricity sending a tingle down his back. Glaciem spread his metal cladded wings out and jumped into the air above his opponent, He had it with this decrepit and decaying old castle toying with him.
But as he did so, Glaciem’s mind seemed to second guess the rash decision he had just made “No...Something about this just doesn’t make sense! How is this changeling aware of my former name?!”
“You are one of my best friends…” Celestia’s voice rang through his memory.
Glaciem did not want to do it, but he could feel in his soul his master’s harsh gaze watching his every move, judging him silently. Glaciem knew that his master sent him here for this mission; at least now he did. For several centuries now; Rixa’s patience with him slowly dwindled. When it came to fighting his enemies he had become hardened into a formidable warrior; striking down any of her most powerful rivals, if not giving them a warning by fighting, she asked him to. His weakness in Rixa’s mind however lay in Glaciem’s mind. For years she had tried to get him to strike down any semblance of Celestia she could come across or convince him to finish the job when he is sent on missions. In her mind the Spirit of War must not show mercy or compassion and instead only show two things; Ruthlessness and Brutality. To Rixa, the more brutal a war is the faster it will be over.
“Love is a cruel lie…” Echoed through Glaciem’s mind as his vision once again blurred, his senses once again were fading. This time however Glaciem tried his best to resist the takeover of his body but as he struggled he noticed that his sight eventually went black. This takeover however was stronger than the first time. Before tonight, on his occasional missions, Glaciem would once or twice feel some sort of presence emanating from the Amulet, A Dark presence that would sometimes goad Glaciem into being more aggressive than he usually would be. Despite his best efforts however, Glaciem had once again lost control of his body to the spirit of the amulet.
For the first time in hundreds of years he was in control of a physical body once again. Free to do whatever he pleased until Glaciem could regain control, and He was about to savor every moment of freedom...
The Equestrian Princess of the sun eyes were glued upon the dark Alicorn as he shot up into the air, he moonlight began glinting off of him, giving the alicorn a silvery outline. Celestia clenched her muscles and flexed her wings; this invader of her home was not going to get away; it’s what Luna would do...it’s what He would do. She shook her head not wanting to be distracted with her emotional attachment that she thought she had left behind and began transferring all of her available energy to her horn.
Glaciem flinched a bit as he felt a burning sensation surge through his throat, up through his skull and began to manifest itself on the tip of his horn as a small orb of Fire that grew more and more into a more sizeable ball of intense heat. Glaciem then slowly turn his head to the side the flames that now roared at the top of his horn now began to make his body shiver, the amount of energy it took to keep this fireball from either flickering out or going collapsing like a Supernova star and severely injuring them both took a strain on his body. And as he flicked his head forward a split second before the fire rocketed itself toward his opponent; her voice came through again…
“Somepony who wants to be your special somepony…”
He shook his head again, why was he hearing her voice again? He never heard it when he hunted down some of the Kingdom’s worst enemies. The last time he heard her voice was when he took on the mantle of the Spirit of war, when he remembered what she had said to him when at he was mourning his parents “You will always have friends here…” but that was a long time ago and he had moved on since then, up until this encounter tonight.
Celestia could feel the intense heat of the fire attack the warrior had summoned grow as it approached her. The solar Princess quickly glided out of the way as the pillar of fire shot past her and a loud thud was heard and the smell of smoke permeated through the castle air. For a split second the Princess looked back to see the damage; She could only barely see through the thick smoke The impacted bookcase was now just a blazing pile of lumber, the books no more than silhouetted, charred squares from where she was hovering.
Celestia then returned her attention toward her opponent, meeting his glare with her own. She watched as he arched his head back and to the side and flicked it forward, once again sending a fire attack toward her and once again missing; instead hitting the wall behind her and listening to it crumble onto the forest ground below this time however he kept this pillar alive as he watched her fly around him; his pillar of fire nearly incinerating anything it touched until finally the searing heat from behind her had begun to dwindle and, at last, Fade.
Although Glaciem’s energy was now beginning to fade after not only his battle with Nightmare moon but a massive fire attack, the warrior gritted his teeth in preparation. The battle with Nightmare moon had taken a mental as well as physical toll on him but as much as his Physical form complained, he paid it no mind, this time he was going to put an end to the besmirching of Celestia’s good name and prove to his master that he was indeed somepony to be reckoned with. He had trained for millennia for this battle; first with changelings and hooves, then with soul swords, than with the spells he currently used now spells that modern day ponies would be considered “Unnatural.”
Celestia heard a small but persistent grunting noise coming from her foe; she also noticed that for a brief second he was not attacking. The Princess understood what was going on, battling somepony before her and summoning a strong attack like the fire spell was beginning to take their toll. She took this opportunity to start thinking of a plan to find the answers she seeked. However for this to succeed she will need to harness the power of dark magic for the spell she was going to use. Celestia knew she could ask this warrior who he was and get one of two responses; the first and most probable response would be for him to ignore her question, the second was he would likely lie and come up with a name. For what she had in mind was a mind scanning spell.
Celestia almost never delved into the realms of Dark Magic; she had neither the drive, nor the want to practice Dark Magic if she could help it. There was once a time when she was interested in all aspects of Magic. However when her sister fell ,she saw firsthand the overwhelming power it had in consuming one’s personality; twisting and perverting every innocent soul it ever came across.
But why was Celestia remembering this now?
Celestia once again shook her head clear of the memories of her sisters fall out of her head, She had a job to do and a fight to win, if this pony wanted to delude himself into thinking Dark Magic was any sort of answer to his problems then so be it. She had to mind scan him just as he mind scanned Twilight Slowly. Celestia hated the fact she had to use arcane Magic to identify her foe, but she hated the thought of him tormenting her little ponies any further.
Celestia realized that this would not be an easy spell to cast as she closed her eyes to remember the memories of when she first began dabbling into the dark arts. It can be done without some wearing down but the more energetic the victim is the more resistance the mind can put up and eventually the scanner will risk having his or her connection to be severed, usually without any information being revealed. For the mind scan to work one of three things must occur. Either the pony being scanned must comply willingly, or the pony being scanned must be to mentally exhausted to offer any resistance.
The dull grey stone floors of the castle around the Princess began to turn into a golden yellow as Celestia began to collect as much of her magic into her horn as she could. She was certain she would need every ounce of it to fend off her opponents attacks.
Nemesis’ eyes were locked into his opponents; scanning her every move and facial expression. He knew she was nervous and basked in every moment of her fear. “You asked who I am.” His voice echoed through the castle’s corridors hauntingly with a hint of amusement amid the confusion that plagued the ancient war spirit. A low, echoey chuckle escaped his throat and reverberated through the night air. “I won’t tell you exactly who I am Princess, but I will say this. It has been nineteen hundred years since I last left my mark on Equestria, since I taught pony kind the harsh reality of fighting with each other in the name of pride and arrogance. I left a legacy that to this day has been virtually Uncontested.” As Nemesis spoke on, Celestia could hear the humor in his voice die away, Replaced by nothing but contempt and hatred.
“And now you, Celestia, Daughter of two of the ponies who helped defeat me and leader of the land I set fire to, now ask who I am?”
Celestia stood there speechless, her narrowed eyes fixed on her opponent with disbelief in her mind and soul. She easily pieced together the stallions words from an old story her parents used to tell her, when her and Glaciems parents fought and Defeated the Spirit of War and Hatred. But in her mind, the stallion’s claims were too outrageous to be true. Nemesis Died nearly two thousand years ago and was never heard from again, the elements of harmony had shredded his spirit into nothing, never to be heard from again. In her nearly eighteen hundred years, she never once saw a spell in any books strong enough to protect themselves physically or otherwise against the Elements of harmony.
“The Pony you claim to be no longer exists! The elements freed Equestria from his tyranny!” Celestia shot back toward her opponent. She was certain that Nemesis had not returned this had to be somepony who studied and practiced his magic in some delusion that he was the Dark Horse of War. Finally Celestia realized the built up energy and hurtled it toward her opponent.
“Losing our cool are we?!” Nemesis said smugly under his breath as he watched the yellow hued magic attack rush toward him. It surprised him to see Celestia acting so rashly with her attack. It was nothing he could not parry, but it also pleased the War Spirit. Nemesis was almost certain that it would take Longer to crack celestia’s temper. But as his amulet sparked to life and began to manifest her rage in the dark red mist of which he absorbed and gained strength from, the surprise of Celestia’s attack almost instantly wore off. A barely audible growl escaped from Nemesis as he absorbed the red mist of Celestia’s anger and began to grow stronger from it, he now has what he needed, who was he to question how quick it had come?
Nemesis could barely see the castle walls around him as the golden missile approached him. The Alicorn warrior crouched down, his front knees complained. The strains on his joints mounted from crouching were suddenly relieved when he opened his wings as the cold steel that enveloped the tops of his wings glinted in the moonlight and leapt high into the sky. The light of the attack dimmed as he heard a loud explosion and saw the wall beneath him disintegrate from the attack.
The dark magic Nemesis absorbed from the solar Princess was some of the most Powerful he had absorbed in a while. For the longest time the spirit of war had only Glaciem’s rage and sadness to regenerate him and gain power from. But as time went on he found his partner to be less angry and more complacent, more indifferent to the world around him. Eventually he stopped caring about every pony else; his life as he knew it had changed. Glaciem felt alone and he had lost every pony he ever cared for so eventually to protect himself from insanity he just quit caring. When he quit caring Nemesis began to grow weaker again, and he had come too far to be denied again.
Nemesis smiled an unseen smile as he suddenly realized that he would be giving the fool he possessed what he wanted. Sure her personality will be a bit altered but overall he will be with Celestia again. All that needed to be done was for Nemesis to influence a tweaking of Celestia’s soul and mind. After all he did it many times throughout history, what made the ruler of the land any less susceptible? She has regrets, she has hate and anger within her just like every pony else. Being immortal does not always ensure a happy ending.
“How can you be completely sure of that Princess?” The warrior’s deep voice echoed through the wind and crumbling walls of the castle once again. Nemesis exhaled as he began to channel the negative energies he had collected and summoned them to the tip of his horn, where he heard a much stronger sizzling than before. The fresh dark energy he had collected from Celestia’s own anger making the coming attack all the stronger, she was about to find out first hoof the consequences of letting her anger overcome her common sense.
The shockwaves that came with the release of the energy that made up the lightning was powerful enough to shake Nemesis enough to make the world around him spin as the Shockwaves flung him back several feet. The resounding crash that sounded when both beams struck each other could be heard throughout the forest, as the red lightning and yellow solar energy beam clash had grown more strenuous to maintain by the second.
Celestia winced as she committed more of her solar magic to the giant pillar of swirling Red and gold before her. Slowly, she felt a burning sensation in her head grow over time, She knew now was the time to begin wearing her opponent down. He may be powerful but he must be feeling the same magic exhaustion she is, “Eventually all magic sensitive beings suffer this if they have continued to use their magic without giving themselves a break.” The Princess reminded herself of her basic knowledge of the magical arts from when she had studied magic.
She summoned what was left of her stamina and fired more magic into the pillar, slowly; her opponents Red hued Pillar began to shrink before her golden magic.
Nemesis smiled an unseen smile as he watched his power falter before the sun goddess’s power. Indeed he was starting to feel the burning sensation of magic exhaustion; however this failed to even cause concern in his mind. He could practically smell the pain and anger that she was putting into these attacks.
Immediately the Red pillar disintegrated, and Celestia’s magic rocketed toward the warrior; who instantly opened his wings, letting their full span glisten in the moonlight; off the metal that covered his wings and shot into the air, as the wall behind him cracked and disintegrated from his opponents attack.
Nemesis shook his head violently, trying to regain his senses and in a vain attempt to shake the exhaustion from his magic.
“Such Power…” Nemesis hissed to himself. He admitted this was not going to be easy, this mare claimed to be Celestia, And now he knew she had the magical strength and endurance to reinforce her claims. Closing his eyes, he began to think of the possibilities that would arise if Celestia had a sudden Realization. One that would make her submit to the darkness just as much as it destroyed Glaciem’s will to resist him.
The Dark spirit of the amulet gave a sigh underneath his breath as he opened his eyes when he came to the conclusion Celestia received her power from love of her subjects, her family, and most of all her friends. The idea of drawing one’s power from something as fickle as friendship was a nauseating one to him. “You truly think Friendship can help you? Mortals are selfish beings; they are only interested in furthering their own glory. Whether you think your rule purged their inner darkness or not changes nothing, they are not the sort you should be risking your health over. ”
The solar Princess did naught but glare at her opponent and his hate filled declaration of her subjects. She knew in a way Nemesis was correct, despite her and Luna’s best efforts, a few ponies and some other species have indeed put their own interests before the wellbeing of their fellow Equestrians. However she was proud to note in the millennium since she had taken the throne; Pony kind had matured and adopted the ideas of Generosity, Kindness, and loyalty into their everyday lives and even let these virtues guide their very personalities.
“You don’t believe me do you Princess?”
Although she had stood her ground against her foe, The Princess could not help but ponder if what this stallion said was true. “Is he really Nemesis, The Nemesis, one of the most dreaded spirits in Equestrian History?”
“Take yourself for example…”
Nemesis returned Celestia’s glare with one of his own. She had a powerful dark side; she was not about to fool him into thinking that her or her subjects where any different than now than how their ancestors were two thousand years ago. Nightmare moon existed for a reason. The solar Princess just needed a little push in the direction.
“Your dark magic is stronger than I first thought Princess. Who would have thought the most regal, patient, and most looked up to of ponies in Equestria would have such control of dark magic. Almost like she let her darker emotions overrule her personality. But then again; it wouldn’t be the first time a daughter of Aligardian gods fell to the Dark side if I am correct Celestia.” He said in a humorless, accusatory tone.
An appalled Celestia took one step back; a look of combined disgust and fear crept across her face as she looked her opponent’s eyes as he hovered above her. Surely he was not referring to her younger sister. Although she knew in her heart the answer was staring her in the face, she had to ask him, how could he of known of Luna’s downfall? Celestia stepped forward towards her opponent, her yellow magic surging through her and sparking at the tip of her horn.
“How do you know of my sister Nemesis?”
Nemesis silently eyed his opponent as he turned his head to the side. “Mind Reading many benefits; one slight drawback; when I scanned your Faithfull Student…” The last two words soaked in mockery and annoyance “I not only saw what I needed, but was pelted with all of her Sickening Memories. Some of those memories being childhood stories of hers; care to guess one of the most prevalent being that of a certain Mare in the moon…sound familiar?”
His question was met only with a glared silence from his opponent.
“I see I’ve…how you say…struck a nerve?” Nemesis continued his probing as he looked down on his opponent. He Frowned he saw and heard through Twilight’s memories that Equinity maybe has learned of Politeness and Friendship. They certainly did not practice it as much as he first thought they might have; would not be lectured about the goodness of Ponykind.
“So before you lecture me about how good your subjects are, or how friendship and harmony are real, remember this! I have seen the true nature of today’s ponies through your student…and like the ponies of two thousand years ago they do not respect one another. They mask the darkness of their souls behind their civility! Even your own sister the daughter of Aligardian gods succumbed to the darkness within her…and I can guarantee you will as well! So don’t tell me you or your kind is as innocent as you claim!” Nemesis roared to his opponent.
“Enough!” growled Celestia in response; her eyes now a glowing white as she dashed forward, unfolded her wings and leapt into the air to fight the Spirit of War and Hatred.